Attendance by 80 "IT" specialists, representing 40 Abu Dhabi government entities
Al Mansoori: "Having information security mechanisms in place
Does enhance the world-level achievements of Abu Dhabi e-Government"
Abu Dhabi: Thursday morning 3/3/2011, at Shangri-La hotel Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center held a meeting for introducing the objectives & annual plan of the Information Security Programme of Abu Dhabi government-2011, which was attended by 80 "IT" specialists representing 40 government bodies, in addition to a number of elite information security specialists at the local government level. Such a meeting is held within context of the center's 2011 strategic plan related to information security policy, which involves government systems assessment to ensure efficiency of the applicable security measures thereto, updating information security measures, focusing on implementation of security techniques to better ensure safety of network and government systems, as well as continuing to spread awareness of the programme, and providing government bodies with the required support to implement such a programme.
H.E. Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, director general of the center, commented, "Abu Dhabi government has made great achievements within the e-Government Programme. Such achievements have made Abu Dhabi government well-recognized, both regionally and internationally; thereby requiring to have mechanisms in place so as to protect government information against potential risks that might target such information thru using state of the art, sophisticated technological devices by several groups of people. Hence, Abu Dhabi government has, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Executive Council, worked out a comprehensive programme for government information security, where certain information security & documentation requirements were defined, and authority was given to the center so as to manage such a programme, stipulate the relevant measures and instructions, provide the relevant training, and make the necessary coordination for implementation of the programme".
Al Mansoori added, "The aim of meeting is to measure the progress done, that qualifies government bodies during this year to award certificate of verification, adopt Abu Dhabi's information security policy, after having provided 35 government bodies - since beginning of 2010 - with specific objectives and tasks that would enable them to implement such a policy. The center's information security team made available the necessary instructing and training to the specialists of each of these bodies, as well as informed them about the required actions to minimize security risks associated with their activities, and made sure all the government employees are properly trained to conduct their own information security".
Effective Management of Information Security Providers
From his part, Mohamad Karmastaji ,the programme manager, said, "Events of the introductory meeting featured a prosperous panel discussion between a well-chosen group of information security specialists from the most advanced government bodies in implementation of information security measures, and the attendees. Both raised questions and delivered answers reflecting a considerable understanding of the programme's importance, where the two parties were desirous to share own knowledge for the best interest of all government bodies. As well, the agenda embraced a detail-oriented presentation on the achievements of the information security programme during 2010, with a highlight on strengths & weaknesses for further action, and also risk management phases were addressed with a stress on implementation of the required measures, as well as assessment of autonomous information security implemented by government bodies via third party(-ies), in order to create some sort of neutralism and avoid duplication. Then, another presentation followed, where specialized companies were given the chance to take part and show how their services are being effectively managed within scope of the information security policy and measures of Abu Dhabi government".
It is worth mentioning that information security measures are meant to protect government information against a wide spectrum of threats through maintaining secrecy, integrity, and availability of the information. The effective implementation of such measures does ensure uninterruption and expansion of the sensitive electronic services hand in hand with the other government services without the least obstacle. It is, therefore, necessary for any trial information system to implement those measures so as to be able to award accreditation and endorsement by the information security programme of Abu Dhabi government. It is also recommended that government information be secured upon generation or retrieval (collection), through integrating information security procedures into as early as the system design phase in order to set up an active protection prior to trial and operation; thereby helping to minimize risks, reduce and save costs in the long run. In addition, the center takes a considerable interest in taking part in government events spreading-wide awareness on the programme, such as: "IT Standards Festival Day", recently organized by the College of Information Technology at Zayed University within Abu Dhabi, where a presentation on management and governance of policies & measures of Abu Dhabi government was delivered, as well as on the center's efforts in raising awareness in implementing measures within daily work so as to achieve quality, integrity, and efficiency of product(s).
-Ends-
ABOUT ABU DHABI SYSTEMS & INFORMATION CENTRE:
In late 2005, the Abu Dhabi Government--under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council--began work on a far-reaching service transformation programme that transcends all Government departments, authorities, and administrations. This programme strives to make the Abu Dhabi Government more effective and efficient in delivering modern services to its diverse customer base along a multitude of delivery channels. It is empowered by optimal information technology (IT) solutions and fulfilled by a highly skilled work force--and in today's e-transformation terms, has the key objective of establishing a modern, efficient, and constituent-centric e-Government to match the best in the world.
To develop, drive, and support the various initiatives within the Abu Dhabi Government service transformation programme, the Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC) was created as a Committee in October 2005 by Executive Council Decree No. 33, and established as a Centre in December 2008 by Law No. 18. The Centre is considered as the governmental party that owns the IT agenda of the Emirate, and has the authority to practice the following competences:
- Supervise the implementation of the e-Government programme in Abu Dhabi Government entities (ADGEs).
- Sponsor initiatives and mature assets and competencies that it deems of critical importance for the e-Government project.
- Propose policies and technology standards for government and relevant entities to achieve a comprehensive quality in reaching the highest levels of efficiency, confidentiality, and safety in the e-Government project.
- Issue rules and guidelines regarding the implementation of IT policies and the technical specifications, and communicate them to all the Government entities.
- Submit the guidelines to the Council regarding the IT sector and the e-Government.
Building on the strategic vision for a service-oriented government in Abu Dhabi, ADSIC developed a government-wide service improvement and e-Government Strategy together with an implementation Masterplan. This was accomplished through a six-step development framework that functionally analyzed gaps between the current state of ADGEs' service delivery and the service-oriented target state; proposed initiatives to correspond with action areas needed to reach the target state; and documented an implementation plan that included financial and human resources requirements.
For more information, please contact:
Rani Saddi
PR & Communications Manager
Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre
P.O. Box: 3133
Tel: 02- 6717000;
Fax: 02 6717333
E-mail: pr@adsic.abudhabi.ae
Web site: www.abudhabi.ae
© Press Release 2011
