Abu Dhabi, 14 Nov 2010 (WAM): Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the regulatory body of the healthcare sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, announced today that it has recently received the prestigious ISO 27001:2005 certification the worlds highest accreditation for information protection and security, from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The certification was awarded due to HAADs possession of and compliance with high technical standards of information security, operations and security procedures, especially related to their information technology services. The ISO 27001 certification received by HAAD places them on par with leading international health authorities in the space of security and protection of their customer data and is just the start of an aggressive strategy to carry out technology implementations across the entire information infrastructure. Engineer Zaid Al Siksek, CEO of HAAD, said, "Receiving this ISO certification was a key priority for us as it ensures the development of HAADs techniques and constant upgradation of information technology, which is the backbone of the authoritys services and administration. Throughout the past few years, HAAD has implemented state-of-the-art technology upgrades that have transformed our IT platform into one that offers the latest generation of e- services, enhanced features, upgraded global networking and high-performance connectivity". Mr. Ali Mohammed Al Ali, Head of IT Services at HAAD, said: "The ISO 27001 certification is the result of establishing the Information Security Management System, which is equipped with all high-end technical specifications such as operating systems, surveillance systems, security and protection systems. All this provides high performance and capabilities with non-stop, continuous operations". The award of ISO 27001 certification came after a detailed risk assessment conducted by Paramount Computer Systems. Following this, the Certification Company Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd (LRQA) did a detailed assessment and auditing of HAADs Information Security Management Systems. After these extensive processes the certificate was awarded to HAAD. This certification is associated with the usage of information security related to HAADs IT services. HAAD will at a later stage expand this process to cover the entire organisation. Brian Baxter, LRQA Manager - United Arab Emirates, said, "Achieving the ISO 27001:2005 certification is a remarkable achievement for Health Authority Abu Dhabi. Through hard work, commitment and determination, Health Authority Abu Dhabi demonstrated that they are a focused organisation on implementing information security best practices for their IT department"Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
