Jordan Times
Sunday, June 20, 2004
e-Gov't programme initiates Security Assessment Project
AMMAN (JT) — As part of its mandate to ensure the government leverages technology to effectively contribute to its modernisation, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) has begun a Security Assessment Project that will review and evaluate the security situation of the current operations of the Secure Government Network (SGN).The SGN is one of the programme's most important infrastructure projects, and currently services the Prime Ministry, the ministries of planning, finance, ICT, and industry and trade, as well as the Greater Amman Municipality, according to a MoICT statement released yesterday.
Operational since March 2003, the SGN currently delivers quality e-mail and communications solutions across the six participating entities, which is projected to include an additional 12 entities in the near future.
Following initial success of the SGN, an upgrade process is currently being implemented by the e-Government programme.
The project is designed to make recommendations for this modernisation, and will involve an evaluation of the current status of internal, external, physical and logical security of the SGN, the statement said.
A contract was signed between the MoICT and a joint venture between Intrah and Computer Associates for the assessment's implementation. The project aims to raise the standards of existing security policies and procedures for the overall programme, as well as define and scope concepts for further security projects and implementations.
“The Security Assessment Project is crucial to the success of the e-Government programme”, Mahmoud Khasawneh, CIO and director of e-Government, said.
“Addressing such critical security issues will raise the level of trust and user confidence in using e-services and broadening the e-services portfolio to citizens, government and businesses, thereby promoting and achieving the wider objectives of the programme,” he added.
Hasan Hourani, e-Government chief technology officer, said “the project aims at creating a culture of security and eliminating vulnerabilities in critical systems, infrastructures and networks, and in the general use of IT within government.”
“The project represents a major step towards facilitating secure and reliable e-Government services and e-business within the public and private sectors and within the wider community,” he added.
The main objectives of this assessment include evaluating existing security policies and processes for the purpose of identifying any weaknesses, threats and vulnerabilities in the current operational entities within the SGN architecture and recommending ways to address these.
The assessment will identify and scope “quick wins” that can be implemented to enhance the current level of security, the statement said.
Additionally, it will provide medium- and long-term strategic recommendations and requirements as well as an implementation strategy for the overall improvement of the current level of security utilising industry standards to bridge existing gaps.
Furthermore, the assessment will assess and articulate the risks associated with the current network/systems and security design and provide risk assessment, prioritisation and mitigation details. The assessment will also identify and scope different options for a comprehensive Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity strategy.