Dubai Government's ISC discusses Information Security Regulation implementation plan

[UAE, Dubai, September 28, 2013] - Dubai Government's Information Security Committee (ISC) has recently held a meeting at H.H. Dubai Ruler's Court, presided over by H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, ISC Chairman, and representatives from the ISC and Financial Audit Department (FAD). The meeting reported on the current status of government entities as to submitting their implementation plans to the ISC by the end of September 2013 and assessing their level of commitment. 

The meeting also discussed the latest developments related to the implementation of Dubai Government's Information Security Regulation, which is aimed at managing the government information security environment and devising relevant controls by developing an integrated strategy and a unified policy for information security and Dubai Government information systems for the purpose of working in a secure and reliable environment for storing information. 

The ISC further shed light on the previous meetings held with its major strategic partners in Dubai Government's Human Resources Department, FAD and Department of Finance, underlining the information security strategy that is adopted by Dubai Government, in addition to highlighting their respective performance indicators and assessing their contribution to the successful implementation of the Information Security Regulation. Tariq Al Ghaith, Director of Information Systems Audit Department, FAD, explained the monitoring mechanism to be adopted by FAD to determine how far the government entities are committed towards implementing the Information Security Regulation.

H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, ISC Chairman, stressed the need for all local government entities to adopt the Information Security Regulation to achieve common goals aimed at creating a safe and reliable environment to maintain customer information privacy and confidentiality. “This Regulation is of great importance as it encourages investment in ICT infrastructure development, paving the way for a new phase aimed at upgrading government performance and becoming a global pioneer  within the knowledge-based economy,” he added.

Wesam Lootah, ISC member, presentation the progress achieved by implementing  the initiatives related to the mechanisms of alerting government entities to emergencies and information security incidents, in addition to organizing and implementing specialized training programmes to raise awareness and provide the necessary implementation guidelines. Lootah further clarified that a specialized committee from Dubai Smart Government is currently working on determining the requirements of the general emergency plan for Dubai Government by looking into similar projects, as part of its preparations to circulate them among specialized companies to attract the best offerings.

The meeting also discussed the findings of the awareness meetings that were organized by Dubai Smart Government for government entities to raise awareness on Dubai Government's English and Arabic-specified Information Security Regulation and means of implementation. The Committee also approved the official launch of the ISC website after revising its Arabic and English content and discussed the online support programme provided by Dubai Smart Government to maintain an effective way to communicate and respond to the inquiries and suggestions of the government entities adopting the Information Security Regulation.

The Information Security Regulation for Dubai Government covers 12 domains, including Information Security Management and Governance; Information Asset Management; Information Security Risk Assessment; Incident Management; Access Control; Operations, Systems and Communication Management; Business Continuity Planning; Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Management; Environmental and Physical Security; Human Resource Security; Compliance and Audit; Information Security Assurance and Performance Measurement.