Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) launched on Wednesday the National Portal for Cyber Security Services (HASEEN) to develop and manage cyber services, support communication mechanisms for national beneficiaries, and overall raise the level of cybersecurity in the Kingdom.

Eng. Majed bin Mohammed Al-Mazyed, Governor of NCA, began his speech at the ceremony by noting the great efforts made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince whose continuous support won Saudi Arabia the second place in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI).

Al-Mazyed stressed that cybersecurity has become an essential component to protect the vital interests of the Kingdom, its assets and infrastructure. The communications and information Technology (ICT) sector is characterized by rapid development in the methods and complexity of attacks, which requires countries to be in a state of constant readiness and flexibility to neutralize any cyber risk.

He also pointed out that the HASEEN portal comes as part of the Authority's efforts in enhancing cybersecurity at the national level, organizing national cybersecurity budgets and the development of local content in the ICT sector. Therefore, the regulations issued by NCA are in accordance with the best international practices.

HASEEN will serve as a unified portal that any national authority can use to enhance their resilience against cyber threats, achieve spending efficiency, and raise their capabilities in discovering and addressing gaps and weaknesses. By the end of 2022, the portal will have the capacity to offer services to more than 400 national entities.

NCA explained that HASEEN was developed by the authority’s technical branch, the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE). The portal now is in its first phase and consists of four platforms, including "Information Sharing, Compliance Management, checking files and links, and E-mail Authentication".

The Information-Sharing Platform enables real-time investigative information on local and global threats which helps entities take proactive action. While, the Compliance Management Platform is used to measure the level of compliance from national authorities regarding the cybersecurity requirements and controls issued by the NCA authority.

The E-mail Authentication Platform immunizes and authenticates e-mail domain names of national entities to protect them from spoofing and unauthorized use. The files and links checking platform provides secure analysis of files and links in an isolated environment and detects malicious software to limit cyber intrusions.

NCA is specialized in stimulating the growth of cybersecurity in the Kingdom and encouraging innovation and investment in the field, as well as licensing individuals and non-governmental entities to engage in cybersecurity-related activities and operations that are determined by the authority.