Dubai Smart Government holds symposium on information security attended by international experts

UAE, November 7, 2013 - Dubai Smart Government has organized a symposium on information security that aims to raise awareness about the Dubai Government Information Security Regulation (ISR) and Dubai Government's initiatives in this field. The week-long event which kicked off at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City Hotel on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, will include workshops and training sessions about information security and meetings that will discuss timely security issues and IT topics in the presence of leading international experts on digital security.

The Information Security Symposium has attracted strong participation from senior officials, managers and engineers who have a background in IT systems and digital security at government entities, to review the latest best adopted global practices to reduce the threats of information security violations. The symposium was held in collaboration with Dubai Government's Information Security Committee, and focused on the details of resolution No 13 for 2012, which was issued by the Dubai Executive Council, to adopt the best practices that will reduce the risk of information security violations within the framework of the integration of roles among government entities in Dubai, as well as the application of best practices necessary to protect information and address the risks that threaten information security.

The breakout sessions on the first day focused on a wide range of topics related to digital security standards, anti-piracy strategies, efficiency of encryption passwords and others. Wesam Lootah, Assistant Director-General, Dubai Smart Government, said: “This symposium is very important because it provides an interactive platform to promote effective channels of communication and exchange information between information security officials and decision makers at government entities in Dubai. It also represents an essential step towards supporting the joint efforts undertaken by the Information Security Committee of the Government of Dubai and Dubai Smart Government for the smooth and effective application of ISR, which represents an integrated framework for the development of a unified strategy for information security, in order to ensure the creation of a safe and reliable environment for storing and saving government information efficiently and effectively and maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of customer data.”

Lootah gave a detailed explanation of the ISR which was recently approved in both Arabic and English and represents a hug step forward in terms of investment in ICT infrastructure development, improving government performance and achieving global leadership in the knowledge economy.

Furthermore, Lootah highlighted Dubai Smart Government's initiatives in the field of improving the level of information security within the framework of integrating the roles between government entities in Dubai. At the forefront of these initiatives was the Information Security Symposium, where Lootah highlighted the security culture program and exclusive training programs in the information security field, including the Apprenticeship Training Program. Lootah also drew attention to the features of the government's emergency plan, the first draft of the Smart Services Mobile Secure Development Guidelines, the early reporting service for security threats to government information systems and others.

Lootah added: “ISR helps create a safe and reliable environment to maintain customer information and privacy of government transactions and encourage investment in advanced infrastructure that supports the accelerated transition towards a smart government model. This would improve government services and support the efforts to advance the UAE to become amongst the top five governments in the world, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“The symposium is part of our strategy to keep pace with rapid technological developments and increase awareness about information security through the launch of awareness programs and campaigns that target government entities in Dubai, in a bid to introduce novel ways to adopt to ISR which represents a fundamental pillar to meet the urgent need for an integrated methodology to handle, manage, update, save and transfer the vast amount of information available to government entities, especially as it consists of twelve domains, including governance, operation and security, which all represent the information security structure.

The 12 domains which constitute the structure of information security are 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; and Information Security Assurance and Performance Measurement.