Eng. Badar Ali Al-Salehi is the Director of Oman National CERT, an e-Oman national initiative aiming at addressing cybersecurity risks, building local cybersecurity capabilities, and promoting cybersecurity awareness among public and private sector organizations in Oman. A veteran in this arena, Al-Salehi is a member of several regional and international forums and committees.
In an exclusive interview with CISO MAG, Al-Salehi discusses regulations and laws for cybersecurity, state of ethical hacking in Oman, and requisites for keeping critical infrastructures safe from cyber-attacks.
OCERT was established in 2010 to ensure the cyber safety and security of the country. How has the journey been in the last eight years and what are the key milestones OCERT has been able to achieve?
OCERT was established with a clear vision and objectives. The initiative has been able to accomplish the following:
- Built highly skilled and expert professional team in cybersecurity and cyber incident management
- Obtained regional and international membership and recognitions including GCC-CERT, OIC-CERT, FRIST, Malware alliance, APWG, and Honey Net Project.
- Elected as the chair of OIC-CERT
- Elected as the chair of ITU Arab Study groups 17
- Hosted the ITU Arab regional cyber security center
- Obtained the World Summit in Information Society (WSIS) award in the category of building confidence and security in the use of ICT
What are the key components of a solid framework that would facilitate the government to offer secure e-government services?
The framework we are adopting is based on a global cybersecurity agenda that addresses cybersecurity with regards to organizational structure, legal and technical measures, capacity building, and international cooperation.
