Establishment of a Cybersecurity Innovation Centre for the Arab Region

Overall reliance on the Internet continues to increase. Unfortunately, in this dynamic, distributed, and interconnected environment cyber-attacks occur rapidly and can spread across the globe in minutes without regard to borders, geography, or national jurisdiction. As a result, there is a growing need to be able to communicate, coordinate, analyze, and respond to cyber-attacks across different business sectors and national borders. 

Furthermore, developing countries, with limited human, institutional and financial resources face particular challenges in elaborating and implementing national policies and frameworks for cybersecurity, critical information infrastructure protection as well as Human Capacity Building, and harmonize them at the regional and international level. 

There is therefore a need to make available expertise and capacity at the regional level, in order to address the borderless nature of cybercrime and respond in a structured manner to the risks posed by cyberthreats. Within the framework of the collaboration between ITU and the International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), (ITU-IMPACT initiative) and, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Agreement signed on 15 December 2012 between the Information Technology Authority of the Sultanate of Oman and the International Telecommunication Union, the main goal of the project is to setup a Cybersecurity Innovation Centre for the Arab Region, with the support of Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman represented by Oman CERT (OCERT). This setup will not only provide a better reach for ITU cybersecurity related initiatives in the region but will also enhance the capacity, capability, readiness, skills and knowledge in the areas of Cybersecurity, Critical Infrastructure Protection and Human Capacity Building for the Arab Region. The Cyber security Innovation Centre will be hosted by OCERT, in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.