eCompany and Cybertrust implement ISSA(Information System Security Auditing) for ADSM

eCompany and Cybertrust conducted a comprehensive review of the IT Security processes at ADSM in term of a Business Risk and a Technical Risks Assessment. From a technical stand point, the assessment reviewed the security of the existing technology, system configuration and scanning of vulnerabilities on the system.

eCompany and Cybertrust also conducted penetration testing in terms of ethical hacking by stimulating an attack on the ADSM system. The ADSM website was also subject to a Web Application Vulnerability Assessment in order to prevent hackers from disabling the website.

The review also assessed the existing organizational structure and training needs. Significantly, the assessment through detailed gap analysis plugged gaps and identified areas for improvement in terms of control mechanisms thereby enhancing the security standards at ADSM and giving a realistic comparison with international best practices such as the BS 7799 certification. The project will eventually help ADSM ensure network uptime, prevent Internet breaches and protect confidentiality of data at all times.

Khalfan Al Mazrouei, IT Manager, Abu Dhabi Securities Market, said, 'In the last five years, ADSM has grown into five offices with two more opening this year; has over 60 registered brokerage firms and has links with three international exchanges. As our reach continues to grow, IT security has never been so important to the UAE financial markets. We are currently aiming to become the first exchange in the UAE to achieve ISO 17799 certification and are delighted with the work eCompany and Cybertrust has done to benchmark our system.'

'We are extremely pleased at this opportunity to work with ADSM which is a leading stock exchange in the Middle East,' said Abdulla Hashim, Assistant General Manager, eCompany. 'We see the financial sector as one of the most critical segments of the security market with its inherent requirement for a higher measure of information security compared to other types of businesses. Moreover, this project also reflects the cutting edge expertise and local knowledge of Etisalat and its partners.'

Rashed Al Abbar, Product Manager, eSecurity, eCompany said, 'The proposal that we presented to ADSM was a complete security model which covered all the perspectives and this was instrumental in helping ADSM decide on us as their eventual vendor. We are continuously introducing the latest technologies and methodologies in IT Security to assist organizations in achieving their goal of a highly secure business environment.'

'For an organization such as ADSM, it is critical to minimize exposure to damaging threats, reduce the costs of security management and get more from in-place information security assets,' said Gavan Egan, Vice President of Sales, Cybertrust. 'We commend ADSM for taking further steps to increase the security of their critical data, protect identities and demonstrate ongoing compliance.'

'This project has shown the successful teaming experience of two leading service providers in the region,' continued Egan.