Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 31 | Page 16

NEWS ITA focuses on Big Data CBO issues instructions on fraud risk management T he Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has issued a set of instructions on fraud risk management to all licensed Finance and Leasing Companies (FLCs). In a circular addressed to all finance and leasing companies operating in the sultanate, CBO noted that although globalisation of financial services and innovations in technology had positive outcomes, it has nonetheless thrown up the challenge of protecting the system from fraudsters. The CBO advisory therefore exhorted all FLCs to be increasingly on their guard to foil the attempts of cybercriminals, as fraud has other undesirable ramifications other than simply exposing the vulnerabilities of the systems and processes used by FLCs. “Importantly, fraud is a threat to public trust and the trust, as will be appreciated, is the very basis on which the financial system operates and hence, has to be zealously guarded,” said a statement from CBO. CBO further advised that FLCs have to pro- actively attune their policies, procedures, processes and technologies in line with the emerging trends, developments and concerns, to stay ahead of the adversaries. FLCs should also unequivocally commit themselves to prevent fraud and dishonesty and actively promote an enterprise-wide anti-fraud culture, CBO said. T he Information Technology Authority (ITA) in Oman has conducted a specialised workshop on Big Data, in co-operation with Exceed Company as part of its efforts to support the organisation’s projects. The workshops targeted government entities’ eTransformation teams and around 50 participants attended it to learn more about the impact of Big Data in the workplace and beyond. During the workshop, the participants were introduced to the concept of Big Data itself and to identify the best ways to benefit from it on a daily basis 16 INTELLIGENTCIO through the monitoring and analysis of raw data. The workshop explained how best practice concerning Big Data can contribute to providing the best services, applications and decision making processes and thus enhance productivity and improve service delivery. Other issues addressed included the increasing importance of artificial intelligence, eLearning and the advanced data analysis that can contribute to empowering government employees with the relevant skills needed to utilise these applications in the work environment for maximum efficiency. www.intelligentcio.com