Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai (third left); Minister of State and Chairman of the Free Zones Authority, H E Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed (second left); President of NCSA, Engineer AbdulRahman bin Ali Al Farahid Al Malki (third right); and Chairman of the General Authority of Customs (GAC), Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Jamal (second right) during the Qatar Cyber Assurance conference yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) yesterday launched the accreditation service for penetration testing service providers as part of the accreditation programme offered by the agency during the second edition of Qatar Cyber Assurance conference.
The conference, titled ‘Governance of Cyber security Supply Chain,’ was held in the presence of Minister of Communications and Information Technology H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of State and Chairman of the Free Zones Authority H E Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, President of the NCSA, Engineer AbdulRahman bin Ali Al Farahid Al Malki, and President of the National Cyber Security Center of Jordan, Engineer Bassam Maharmah.
The conference aims to enhance cyber awareness of governance and cyber security of supply chains through issuing certificates of compliance in accordance with national standards, and accreditation programmes for cyber security service providers through Qatar Common Criteria Scheme which is recognised globally.
Eng Al Malki stated, “Today we celebrate the second edition of Qatar Cyber Assurance Conference, which culminates the mission of the National Cyber Security Agency in strengthening and developing the governance of cyber security supply chain in the State of Qatar.
“Based on our keenness to support the cyber security system in the country in accordance with the Qatar National Vision and the National Cyber security Strategy, today we are making unremitting efforts to ensure the integrity of critical data and information and to maintain the continuity of supply chain operations in the field of cyber security in compliance with national standards.”
Eng Al Malki lauded Qatar’s achievement in obtaining the International Recognized Approval for Issuing Information Security Certificates for IT devices as the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to issue these internationally recognised certificates from the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA).
Meanwhile, Director of Governance and National Assurance Affairs at the NCSA, Eng Dana Al Abdullah, said, “Many organisations are being penetrated due to supply chain which requires working in several directions. Therefore, the concept of governance and communication with the entities concerned is the cornerstone for reaching a safe and balanced strategy in supply chain governance without hindering development, innovation and sustainable economic development.”
She added, “The National Cyber Security Agency is constantly striving to create a safe and resilent cyberspace and one of the most important initiatives and programmes to achieve this goal is to comply with the national cyber security standards and requirements.”
Al Abdulla reviewed the programmes launched by Qatar to secure supply chain, including accreditation initiatives for cyber security service providers and programmes to examine devices and applications and issue compliance certificates. She stressed that the NCSA would continue reviewing those programmes and develop activities and services that contribute to achieving the desired goals.
Also speaking, Director of the Cyber Assurance Department at NCSA, Eng Jassim Al Muftah, said the agency is working to raise the efficiency of service providers in the cyber security field through the Accreditation Programme. He said the programme is based on measuring the commitment of service providers to the quality and standards necessary to perform penetration testing including the efficiency of capabilities, the quality of procedures and the safety of services.
On the sidelines of the conference, the NCSA and Qatar Free Zones Authority signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at the governance of companies that provide cyber security services. The NCSA alslo signed another MoU with the Qatar Financial Center to cover governance of companies that provide cyber security services and regulate data privacy.
During the conference, Lawrence Tai of Singapore Cyber Security Agency discussed Singapore’s experience in securing supply chain, shared lessons learned and success stories. Keynote speakers from Turkiye and Germany also reviewed experiences related to the examination of devices and applications.
A panel discussion tackled issues of supply chain and cyber security service providers. Two workshops were also held, while the NCSA and the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore held a bilateral meeting to outline ways of collaboration, especially in governance of cyber security supply chains. The conference was attended by around 280 corporate executives, assistant undersecretaries and department directors in various ministries as well as cyber security specialists and professionals.
