ICT sector to be spearheaded by a new cybersecurity company

To exploit the accurate possible of the sector, it has now been decided to produce an active and vibrant cybersecurity market, which will be spearheaded by a new cybersecurity company with international requirements.

The project, envisaged by the Ministry of Transport and Communications with the help of Information Technology Authority (ITA) and Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU), will concentrate on 3 important places of cybersecurity: managing safety solutions, cybercrime evaluation and cybersecurity solutions such as safety incident management and safety consultancy.

A report on the ‘Outcomes of Information and Communication Technology and the 4th Industrial Revolution Lab’, which was held from February 18 to March 14 this year, stated that primarily based on the discussions, the Lab came out with a cybersecurity enterprise model that consists of the establishment of a new cybersecurity company.

‘The Lab proposed to separate the operational tasks of some governmental institutions and establish a partnership with neighborhood and international organizations to introduce new technologies and abilities to be employed in the neighborhood
marketplace.’

It added that at present there are no institutions specialised in the provisioning of complete and integrated cybersecurity solutions, except for ITA, which renders such solutions to public organisations but does not commercialise them. ‘The Lab, therefore, identified the need to create an active and vibrant cybersecurity industry. Public and private investments in this project will amount to RO10mn. Moreover, the project will contribute to increasing the sultanate’s competitiveness in the near future, attracting investments, and increasing the contribution of the private sector to the establishment of cybersecurity business.’

Dr Salim bin Sultan al Ruzaiqi, CEO, ITA, stated that the ICT and the 4th Industrial Revolution sector face several challenges that hinder the development of its contribution to the national economy and neighborhood improvement.

“The ICT sector is one of the promising sectors that is expected to contribute to the development and diversification of the national economy. Statistics indicate that the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP of Oman is estimated at 2.1 per cent (in 2016), which is less than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development defined minimum. Moreover, the employment opportunities provided by the sector to Omanis are limited due to the absence of a strong ICT industry in the sultanate,” he stated.

Work is also on to market Oman as the region’s hub for disaster recovery solutions in the ICT sector. The concept has been proposed beneath a programme that will be spearheaded by ITA in cooperation with the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (Ithraa).
Oman is the perfect nation to supply disaster recovery solutions in the area, thanks to the special geographical place of the sultanate, which offers it a competitive benefit more than its neighbours, in addition to its political stability, stated the report.

‘These services are defined as a facility used by the institutions to host their basic applications and data, in order to operate and recover them when they are not available in their original sources for any reason. The issuance of Oman Data Protection law will accelerate the implementation of this project. The government and private investments in this project will reach RO25mn and will create more than 850 job opportunities by 2024,’ it added.

Oman has a fantastic possible to be at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it enjoys robust connectivity with majority of the submarine cables that pass by means of the area.

‘In addition, the sultanate can ideally provide these services as it is connected to major submarine cable systems in the region.’

Information Source: Muscat Daily