Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 48 | Page 12

NEWS Omani investors urged to prioritise cybersecurity High-speed government network launched in Oman T he Ministry of Technology and Communications in Oman has organised a cybersecurity workshop for investors at the ministry headquarters. The workshop, targeting public and private investment organisations, aims to spread awareness on the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report on Incentivizing Responsible and Secure Innovation, and to incentivise investors on prioritising cybersecurity risks on their investment portfolios. This will help them ensure the security of their investments and maximise the return on them because cybersecurity attacks have been proven to cause huge financial losses on well-established organisations. During the workshop, Eng Badar Ali Al Salehi, the Director General of Oman National CERT at the Ministry of Technology and Communications, and the head of the ITU-Arab Regional cybersecurity centre, gave a presentation on global and national trends in cybersecurity and gave an overview for the country. He also took the participants through the WEF report and the basic principles of cybersecurity that investors can incorporate throughout their investment journey. Eng Al Salehi also presented the Cybersecurity Due Diligence Framework, and the assessment methodology by the WEF guiding investors to assess cybersecurity during the investment journey. Members of investment agencies in the private and public sectors attended the workshop. T he Ministry of Technology and Communication in Oman together with Oman Broadband and Ooredoo has launched the high-speed Oman Government Network (OGN) in Muscat. This is an integrated and safe government network that meets the future demands of e.oman projects, like the G-Cloud, the official Oman eGovernment services portal, the National Data Center and other e.oman infrastructure projects. Dhafir bin Saif Al-Kalbani, Director General of Infrastructure, speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Technology and Communication, said: “The high-speed Oman Government Network replaced the current OGN in 63 government entities in Muscat including all ministry 12 INTELLIGENTCIO headquarters and some of their main branches in the capital. “They were linked using fibre optics network in a way that helps these entities in benefiting from the new network to provide their eServices with a better quality and a speed that reaches 1 GB in all government sites. “Moreover, the new network will play a role in upgrading the capacity of the OGN’s ISDN lines and elevating its quality while decreasing the previous costs. Our hope for this network is for it to have a vital role in supporting a quicker Digital Transformation process in Oman and serving all important sectors like health, education, manufacturing, tourism, economy and other sectors through providing high-quality eServices.” www.intelligentcio.com