Sultanate’s cyber security ranks one of the best in region

Oman’s cyber security ranks one of the best in the region with a number of advantages compared with some other countries and is on the right path, says Almendo Graziano, Cyber Expert from Cyprus.

Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the three-day national cyber security drill organised by the Information Technology Authority (ITA), represented by the OCERT, at Kempinski Hotel, Almendo Graziano, who presented a paper based on studies, said that Oman is playing a big role in the regional cyber security space.

“Oman is playing a leading role, as the country is home to the Arab regional cyber security centre which is of excellence for cyber security for all Arab countries, but also in organising events like national drills to bring awareness and build cyber capacities,” he said.

“What the Government of Oman is doing is in the right direction, and it’s a great step towards building cyber capabilities,” he added.

CEO of Silensec based in Cyprus is in Muscat to be a part of the national drill initiative.

“In order to keep cyber threats at bay, we need to join forces across all sectors to prepare to react, and we have developed a number of scenarios of attacks at the national drill. All the participants are exposed to these scenarios and simulations and they need to act as if it was real. For this, we have developed cyber range that helps organisations to be cyber resilient,” he said.

He added that for a country to build and develop cyber capabilities and to increase the workforce which deals with cyber security and digital transformation, there must be an adoption of technology and change in the way things are done.

“We are transitioning in terms of training and capacity building which has been done in the traditional way of training.”