24 July, 2009

• For the Confidentiality, Integrity and Easy Access to Information

Essam Al Humaidan: this step copes with the Public Prosecution vision in enhancing the existing working mechanism while keeping its confidentiality and integrity

The Public Prosecution of Dubai signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) that was established by the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and was accredited by the UAE Ministerial Council for Services, under Direct number (89/5) for 2008, as the national CERT of the UAE. The MoU encompasses important electronic points that have been agreed upon, tackling the services that must be provided that include consultancy, monitoring and incident response, and research and analysis.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Essam Easa Al Humaidan, Dubai Attorney General, and H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General.

This MoU is in conjunction with the wide spread dependence of the Public Prosecution on the Information Technology (IT), which it uses to apply its work and store it electronically. Hence, the need to link the IT with the Internet has increased tremendously, where the confidentiality, integrity and easy access to information have become very important.

Dubai Attorney General Al Humaidan stated that this MoU comes in a very important and vital stage of the work of the Public Prosecution, where depending on technology and exchanging important and confidential information for effective outcome has become crucial. Therefore, this MoU insures the Public Prosecution with the needed state of confidentiality, integrity, trust, IT security, and easy access to different information.

Al Humaidan clarified that the Public Prosecution strategic plan is moving towards a more positive and creative approach in conjunction with the vision and strategic plan of the emirate of Dubai till the year 2015, where the dependency on technology is increasing on daily basis, with all its integration with the cyberspace. Thus, “it is vital and necessary for us as responsible for justice, law and security for all, to ensure that our confidential information is secured, in addition to the ability to access it smoothly and file it within the proper safety measures.”

Al Humaidan stressed that the Public Prosecution of Dubai believes in the necessity to benefit from all creative services and facilities since it insists on positive and effective cooperation with all institutions of the society, in conjunction with its practical vision to enhance the working mechanism continuously. Hence, the aeCERT constitutes a cyber security coordination center in the UAE, facilitating the detection, prevention and response to the broad set of cyber security incidents on the Internet, through its services; which cope with the nature and working mechanism of the Public Prosecution of Dubai.

In his turn, H.E. Mohamed N. Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, expressed the TRA pleasure in signing this MoU with the Public Prosecution of Dubai on behalf of the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT), assuring that it is within the strategy of the TRA to support a secure cyberspace in the UAE for the cyber safety of all the citizens and inhabitants, where this MoU is within the main tasks of this strategy. The aeCERT will provide Dubai Public Prosecution with specific services to enhance the security posture of Public Prosecution of Dubai IT infrastructure, through providing advisory, education and awareness, along with consultancy, monitoring and incident response, and research and analysis.

Mr. Al Ghanim clarified that the goals of the aeCERT are to enhance the cyber security law and assist in the creation of new laws; to enhance information security awareness across the UAE; to build national expertise in information security, incident management and computer forensics; to provide a central trusted point of contact for cyber security incident reporting in the UAE; to establish a national center to disseminate information about threats, vulnerabilities and cyber security incidents; to foster the establishing of and provide assistance to sector-based Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs), to coordinate with domestic and International  CSIRTs and related organizations; and to become an active member of recognized security organizations and forums.