ITA signs contract to establish Omani National Computer Emergency Response Center (CERT)

H.E. Mohammed Nasser Al Khasibi, Secretary General, Ministry of National Economy and Chairman of ITA signed the contract on behalf of ITA along with Mr. Noel Hon, Chairman representing E-COP.

Through this contract E-COP will establish, operate the National Cert of Oman, and transfer knowledge to the Omani team in the next 20 months period. The National CERT is a vital component of the nation's IT strategy aiming to create adequate cyber security awareness as well as to respond to security incidents in a timely manner.

Increasing incidents of security risks in the use of computers and the internet as well as the lack of adequate information security awareness are a global phenomena requiring organized ways to tackle the related issues. As a proactive approach, ITA aims to establish the National Computer Emergency Response Center (Cert) in order to create cyber security awareness and to undertake proactive measures to minimize security risks and their impacts as well as to respond to the security incidents.

"I am confident that the National CERT will play a pivotal role in the realization of eOman by creating expertise in the field of Information Security and managing cyber threats and risks more effectively and in a timely and organized manner. The National Cert will create skilled cyber security capability among Omani experts to manage its operations subsequently. It will also educate and spread wider awareness within the community about Cyber safety and best practices in the use of computers and Internet in cooperation with the public and private sector,"

said Dr. Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA.

e-Cop operates and maintains several Security Operations Centres (SOC) around the world, all of which are ISO/IEC 27001 certified and powered by its highly advanced, award-winning security event correlation technology developed internally by its R&D team. E-Cop's commitment to Oman through this contract is to share their expertise and experience in the information security industry.

The National Cert will serve as a trusted focal point of contact for any ICT security incidents. Its activities will involve and target critical national infrastructures and key industries in the public, private and government sectors. Its mandate includes creating adequate levels of cyber security awareness in the Omani Internet space and providing accurate and timely information on current and emerging security threats and vulnerabilities.

It will have sophisticated systems and tools to monitor security systems while creating a platform to promote research and development in the field of Information Security. Functions of the Cert aim to build trust in using the government e-services and coordinate with other regional and international Certs.