The Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman has signed a contract with e-Cop (www.e-cop.net) to set up the National Computer Emergency Response Centre (CERT) of the Sultanate. The agreement was signed by His Excellency Mohammed Nasser Al Khasibi, Secretary General of the Ministry of National Economy and Chairman of ITA, and Mr Noel Hon, Chairman of e-Cop.

The National CERT is a vital component of Oman's national IT strategy. It is aimed at creating adequate cyber security awareness and building up the country's capability to respond to security incidents in a timely manner.

Mr Noel Hon (left) signing the agreement with His Excellency Mohammed Nasser Al Khasibi.

Under the agreement, e-Cop will establish, operate the National CERT of Oman, and transfer knowledge to the Omani team over the next 20 months. 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.

The CERT will have sophisticated systems and tools to monitor security systems while creating a platform to promote research and development (R&D) in the field of information security. It will help build trust in the use of government e-services and coordinate with other regional and international CERTs.

"I am confident that the National CERT will play a pivotal role in the realisation of eOman by creating expertise in the field of information security and managing cyber threats and risks more effectively and in a timely and organised manner," said Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, Chief Executive Officer of ITA. "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."

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. Through the contract, e-Cop is committed to share its information security expertise and experience with Oman.