[ISN] Q-CERT to be based at Qatar Science & Technology Park

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Wed Sep 20 2006 - 22:46:37 PDT


http://www.ameinfo.com/96926.html

September 21, 2006
Qatar

Q-CERT announced today that it has chosen Qatar Science & Technology 
Park as the permanent home for its center of excellence in information 
security.

Q-CERT is the Qatari national computer security team, working with 
partners throughout the nation and the Gulf region to establish strong 
standards and practices for computer and network security, and to build 
a community of experts that addresses the risks associated with computer 
use, such as viruses, identity theft and computer fraud.

Q-CERT was founded by ictQATAR, the nation's IT and communications 
authority, in partnership with the CERT program at the Software 
Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Hessa al-Jaber, ictQATAR Secretary-General, notes that 'ictQATAR is 
dedicated to improving the quality of life for all people in Qatar by 
spearheading multiple initiatives in eHealth, eGovernment, and 
eEducation. However, all these initiatives require a foundation of 
reliable and secure computer systems. We envision Q-CERT playing a 
leading role by collaborating with local and regional institutions to 
enhance their current and future IT infrastructure; and help us raise 
awareness about the importance of cyber security at the grass-roots 
level.'

The Q-CERT program formally launched operations in December of 2005.  
The program currently operates from the premises of ictQATAR, in central 
Doha, and will relocate to the Qatar Science & Technology Park in late 
2007, where a staff of 34 will establish a 1500 square meter facility.

Qatar Science & Technology Park was chosen as the permanent home for 
Q-CERT because of its state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, adjacency to 
renowned international universities, and services which support 
technology development and commercialisation.

'We believe that the QSTP site provides an ideal location, with a good 
balance of educational resources and research & development 
opportunities' according to Mr. Archie Andrews, the Technical Director 
of Q-CERT 'and the creative use of space and people-friendly design will 
make it a very pleasant and professional place to conduct our 
activities'.

Dr. Rashid Al-Ali, the Program Director for Q-CERT, states that 'we have 
a lot of work here in Doha, with the growing number and increasing 
severity of security incidents that affect Qatar and the broader Gulf 
region. The QSTP facilities will provide us with modern training centers 
to help build skills and technical capacity with our partners, and labs 
to conduct incident response and related cyber forensics activities.'

HE Dr Abdulla Al Kubaisi, Chairman of Qatar Science & Technology Park, 
commented 'Q-CERT is a valuable project for Qatar because it not only 
performs a vital role in computer security, but it also transfers 
technology and skills to the local community. We warmly welcome Q-CERT 
to Qatar Science & Technology Park, and it is positive to see a cluster 
of IT companies and projects forming here.'


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