ITA foils more than 900mn cyber attacks in one year

Muscat: Oman’s Information Technology Authority (ITA) thwarted more than 900 million cyber attacks on government networks in 2018, thanks to a vigilant team of specialists and strong measures taken by the administration to protect key websites.
The ITA’s annual report for 2018 states that 901,569,883 attacks on government networks were thwarted by the Oman National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (OCERT).
A total of 1,726,990,120 malicious attempts on Oman’s private space were prevented. Highlighting Oman’s need to develop strong and secure digital infrastructure, the report added that 93.8 per cent of all cyber threats were handled within five working days of first being reported.
The ITA’s online monitoring teams were able to discover 872 forms of spyware, and 4,051 examples of viruses and malware.
Furthermore, 205 security investigation cases were opened and closed and 5,212 IP addresses scanned for vulnerabilities.
432,978 incidents were discovered and handled and 71,472 real cybersecurity attacks were thwarted. In addition, 203 malware infections through OCERT intelligence gathering system were also neutralised. Shedding light on how the ITA and OCERT cells operated to maintain constant vigilance against cyber attackers, Dr Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of the Information Technology Authority, said “We, at ITA, believe that building the Digital Oman Society and eGovernment can be achieved only through the collaborative work of the various government and private entities.”
He added, “These organisations are well aware that the utilisation of emerging technologies in all their transactions, services and systems has become a pressing necessity. Achieving quality and efficiency in electronic services delivery is the key for success and advancement.”