24 May, 2009

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) Alliance signed today an Agreement of Partnership & Cooperation, where the TRA represented one of its initiatives, the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT), which was accredited by the Ministerial Council for Services as the National CERT of the UAE.

The signing ceremony took place at Godolphin Ballroom 1 at the Emirates Towers in Dubai with the presence of the media, where the signatory were, H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, and Dr. Mohd Noor Amin, IMPACT Alliance Chairman.

Reporters present at the ceremony raised a number of questions, where H.E. Mr. Al Ghanim said: "The TRA is pleased to sign this Agreement with IMPACT Alliance on behalf of the aeCERT in its continuous efforts to develop the capabilities of cyberspace security in the UAE and to enhance the aeCERT faculties in this area; especially that IMPACT Alliance is the official physical home for Global Cyber-security Agenda (GCA) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)."

"IMPACT Alliance is an International organization stationed in Malaysia that encompasses one of the most advanced and informed Global Response Center (GRC) not in Asia only, but worldwide. It has partnerships and alliances with tens of multinational corporations and relevant public entities that it coordinates with in exchanging information to provide this network of communications with the fastest alerts on cyber threats, including viruses and attacks. IMPACT Alliance has also an Escape Collaborative System, where security experts and professionals from around the world log into it together to form a virtual team of highly accredited experts to solve cyber threat incidents. It also has highly accredited training facilities for its partners and affiliates to join free of charge," added Al Ghanim.

"Hence, by signing this Agreement, the UAE, through the aeCERT, has become the first country in the region to be one of IMPACT Alliances affiliates and partners, to exchange information and benefit from all the experiences of this global organization to serve the safety of the UAE cyberspace. Yet, with the training facilities, even the UAE national ICT human capital will be also allowed to benefit from this partnership. In the final analysis, this Agreement represents the core of the TRA strategy, including the strengthening of the UAE ICT sector and the development of the UAE national human capital, especially in the ICT field," concluded Al Ghanim.