The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE (TRA), has signed a turnkey contract with the international “Symantec” to setup the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT).

“The aeCERT constitutes a cyber security coordination center in the UAE. This initiative will facilitate the detection, prevention and response to the broader set of cyber security incidents on the Internet,” stated H.E. Mohamed Al Ghanim, TRA Board Member & Director General. “The aeCERT will also provide a central trusted point of contact for cyber security incident reporting in the UAE and will establish a national center to disseminate information about threats, vulnerabilities and cyber security incidents,” Mr. Al Ghanim added,

In this respect, Mr. Mohammed Gheyath, Director of Technical Affairs at the TRA, stated: “The TRA technical team will work closely with the Symantec consultancy in setting up of the hardware, software and applications, along with the processes of setting the performance of the functions of the aeCERT.”

In her turn, Eng. Fatma Bazargan, TRA Network and Security Engineer, stated: “The functions include the establishment of the proper procedures and processes in how to conduct proper contacts and contracts with the parties of different sectors that will benefit from the aeCERT services, such as banking, financial, telecom, education, and government entities.”

The TRA has always been in the lead of establishing such initiatives, following up with the fact that the UAE has become one of the most critical business hubs in the region. Thus, the need arises to safeguard the critical information and communication technology infrastructure residing under the government, business, and education sectors.