The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) yesterday launched the framework of mechanisms for compliance with national standards for information security during an event organised by the ministry in the presence of HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, and representatives of government agencies and service providers from the public and private sectors.
Minister al-Sulaiti said that the majority of the government systems in the country are provided by international suppliers with varying levels of skill and security, pointing out that it is the duty of the ministry and the official authorities, as owners and operators of these systems, to ensure that they have the necessary protection against cyber-attacks.
“To this end, we are pleased to announce the launch of the national information security standards framework, which is our approach to aligning ICT programmes, systems and services with best practices for the protection of digital information and data in accordance with our laws and regulations, through the issuance of licence certificates, documentation and accreditation in accordance with our national standards to help institutions from all sectors to secure information systems and improve maturity in the implementation of information security policies leading to the creation of a safer and more vibrant cyber environment”.
He stressed that this compliance mechanism includes the launch of a new standard, designed to ensure the quality and security of government digital services, empowering government institutions to provide more sophisticated services to all citizens and residents.
The minister pointed out: “The ministry’s mission is to provide all the tools and knowledge that will help to ensure the safety of our country, but we have a responsibility to use those tools and knowledge to make sure that all our government systems are secure, and we fully understand the difficulty of compliance, but, as in all areas, many important things are difficult and require more effort and joint action”.
He pointed out that the country’s leadership realised long time ago the need to work to protect its technical system, and accordingly, a National Cyber Security Committee (NCSC) was established to promote public-private co-operation and to formulate a clear national strategy for cybersecurity, as well as to develop national policies and standards, conduct information security assessments and provide relevant programmes to help everyone protect information technology systems and electronic assets in both public and private sectors, in particular the operators of bioinformatics.
Mechanisms for compliance with national information security standards include the launch of an IT audit certification programme that allows any organisation wishing to obtain a compliance certificate to engage with an accredited control service provider to support it and to ensure that the compliance certificate is obtained quickly and efficiently.
HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti speaking during the event.
