The Oman National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (OCERT) was launched in April, 2010 to seek a secured cyber environment for Omani users whether they are a public or private institution. It is one of eOman initiatives and considered to be the focal point for security incidents in the Sultanate. This initiative functions in helping to build the trust in using online governmental eservices. It also aims at developing information security strategies and policies to preserve governmental and private entities’ online existence. The OCERT drafts technical recommendations and technical reports to the administrators of networks, systems and applications in government and private institutions, as well as individuals in order to prevent them from being attacked.

The OCERT’s services target the internet users, governmental entities, private and critical national infrastructure in Oman.

OCERT aims at fulfilling the following objectives:

1. To provide a very safe cyberspace in using governmental eservices for every Omani citizen and residents in Oman.
2. To encourage trained personnel to work in information security in the different bodies and institutions.
3. To respond to any security problem and reduce their impact.
4. To raise awareness about the importance of cyber security among the Omani society.

OCERT provides many services for its users such as:

1. Supplying the governmental and private entities with Omani trained employees working in this field.
2. Monitoring live sites in order to discover any threats or attacks.
3. Providing training and awareness courses, sessions and workshops for all constituents.
4. Providing a proactive and reactive response to any incident in real-time.
5. Protecting the systems or recovering any systems that were affected by providing guidance.

Statistics about OCERT according to MTC’s annual report (2014):

• Identified more than 8,713 real and serious cybersecurity attacks targeting Oman’s cyber-space resulted from analyzing and filtering millions of connection attempts.
• Discovered 537 real and seriously damaging malware infections and malware spreading targeting to and generated from Oman’s cyber space.
• Conducted 13 security Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing and verification tests for government organizations for organizations and critical national infrastructure organizations in 2014.
• Handled 118 digital forensic cases resulted from the analysis of 288 devices including computers, mobile, external hard disk and USBs.
• Found 288 digital forensics evidences in 2014.

The National Digital Forensic Laboratory:

It is a place for dealing with digital evidence on electronic crimes and provide it for the law in order to implement the actions legally set for these crimes. Such evidence will guarantee extraditing IT criminals to justice. This service, furthermore, aims at obtaining international recognition which enhances the lab credibility and digital evidence. The service covers computer and mobile device forensics and data recovery.

The Regional Cybersecurity Center:

• The Oman National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (OCERT) has officially hosted the first ITU Regional Cybersecurity Centers in March, 2013.
• It is responsible for finding cybersecurity requirements of the Arab World.
• It plays a key role in supporting ITU-IMPACT’s networks globally in different regions by localizing the cybersecurity services as per the Arab needs.
• The center organized the Third Annual Regional Cybersecurity Summit in 2014.
• The center participated in the ITU Council Working Group meeting on Child Online Protection in Geneva.

Achievements:

• The Oman National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) has won a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prize in Geneva, Switzerland, in the category of building confidence and security in the use of ICTs.
• The Sultanate Ranked First in the Global Cybersecurity Index across the Arab World Initiated by International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Source: www.cert.gov.om

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