Ministry of Information and Communications Technology boosts information security for government network

The SGN is one of the Jordan e-Government Program's most important infrastructure projects, and currently services the Prime Ministry, the Ministries of Planning, Finance, Information and Communications Technology, and Industry and Trade, as well as the Municipality of Greater Amman. Operational since March 2003, the SGN currently delivers quality email and communications solutions across the 6 participating entities, which is projected to include an additional 12 entities in the near future.

Following initial success of the SGN, an upgrade process is currently being implemented by the Jordan e-Government Program. The Security Assessment Project is designed to make recommendations for this modernization, and will involve an evaluation of the current status of internal, external, physical and logical security of the SGN.

A contract was signed between the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and a joint venture between Intrah and Computer Associates for the assessment's implementation. The Security Assessment Project aims to raise the standards of existing security policies and procedures for the overall program, as well as define and scope concepts for further security projects and implementations.

"The Security Assessment Project is crucial to the success of the e-Government Program", stated Mahmoud Khasawneh, CIO and Director of e-Government at the MoICT. He added that 'addressing such critical security issues will raise the level of trust and user confidence in using e-services and broadening the e-services portfolio to citizens, government and businesses, thereby promoting and achieving the wider objectives of the program."

Hasan Hourani, Chief Technology Officer for the Jordan e-Government Program, added, "The project aims at creating a culture of security and eliminating vulnerabilities in critical systems, infrastructures, and networks, and in the general use of information technology within government. The project represents a major step towards facilitating secure and reliable e-Government services and e-business within the public and private sectors and within the wider community."

The main objectives of this assessment include evaluating the existing security policies and processes for the purpose of identifying any weaknesses, threats and vulnerabilities in the current operational entities within the SGN architecture and recommending ways to address these. The assessment will identify and scope "quick wins" that can be implemented to enhance the current level of security. Additionally, it will provide medium and long term strategic recommendations and requirements as well as an implementation strategy for the overall improvement of the current level of security utilizing industry standards to bridge existing gaps.

Furthermore, the assessment will assess and articulate the risks associated with the current network/systems and security design and shall provide risk assessment, prioritization and mitigation details. The assessment shall also identify and scope different options for a comprehensive Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity strategy.