Dr. Ahmad Al-Kholify, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), sponsored yesterday, Sunday, 4 Jumada Al-Awal 1439 AH corresponding to January 21, 2018 AD, the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the SECURE 17 program. It was launched by SAMA with the aim of graduating national cadres qualified in the field of cybersecurity for the financial and banking sector and to build qualified cadres in the field of cybersecurity.
19 students participated in the SECURE 17 program, who underwent intensive training that lasted for more than six months between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The program focuses on three main axes, including information security governance and architecture, forensic investigations and incident response, and advanced penetration testing. It should be noted that the parties demanding graduates from this program includes the SAMA, the Ministry of Finance, the General Authority for Zakat and Income, the General Authority for Statistics, Saudi Customs and the banking sector.
In a speech at the graduation ceremony, Al-Kholifey said, "SAMA has paid great attention to the development, durability and stability of the financial sector, as all components of this sector have witnessed strong growth and the past twenty-five years have witnessed an increase in electronic banking channels as the institution has managed to provide an advanced secure systems. It is connecting all banks, automated teller machines, points of sale and related parties into one network in a safe and effective manner, which contributed to pushing forward the progress in the technical systems of banks and making that period a remarkable quarter of a century in the history of the Saudi economic march.
Al-Kholifey stressed that with the increase in security threats results from the increase in reliance on technology. This id including mobile phones and Internet networks to carry out banking and commercial operations. SAMA realizes the importance of cybersecurity risks and their impact on the stability of the financial sector. Therefore, SAMA has conducted a comprehensive evaluation on banks to assess the effectiveness of controls and the level of Cybersecurity, including response plans in the event of security incidents.
It should be noted that SAMA has recently developed a cybersecurity strategy for the banking sector, as the strategy aims to continuously develop the cybersecurity of the institution and the banking sector in accordance with the best international practices and standards. The Corporation also reviewed all previous regulations related to electronic security and developed a comprehensive framework for cybersecurity, as this framework aims to enable the banking sector to identify security risks and deal with them effectively.
Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Fraih, Deputy Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary, also delivered a speech in which he welcomed all attendees and thanked everyone who participated in the preparation of this program, which he described as the ambitious. It reflects the importance attached by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and all parties related to cybersecurity and the successive developments and participation that take place. Information security has great importance for the stability of the financial sector. Al-Fraih also emphasized that cybersecurity and technology innovations have a great impact on banking activity, as this changing financial environment has imposed new challenges on banks and policy-makers / supervisory authorities, as it has become imperative for them to manage information security risks in accordance with best practices and international standards.
Al-Fraih added that central banks and supervisory authorities are facing new challenges in banking supervision as well as in designing and implementing strategies and regulatory frameworks related to cybersecurity. The growing demand for electronic banking and the increasing degree of complexity of banking products and services require continued adaptation of the regulatory framework and effective supervisory supervision. Therefore, SAMA has made cybersecurity one of its top priorities and has focused on the training, prevention and protection aspect, in addition to screening procedures and continuous risk assessment. This approach has raised the status of the Kingdom and its financial system to a large degree of commitment to the requirements and standards of cybersecurity.
In this context, Dr. Al-Kholifey affirmed that SAMA is always seeking to reach the highest levels of commitment and effectiveness in the field of cybersecurity, which entails taking all means and procedures in investing in the human element, refine its skills and gain new experiences, as the institution sent a number of employees to obtain A master's degree in information security in the best international universities.
At the end of the ceremony, the Governor of SAMA handed over the certificates to the graduates of the Cyber Security Program SECURE 17 at the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, in the presence of a number of officials in the institution and the success partners of this initiative from the government sectors and some banks.