• Members and leaders of incident handling teams
• System administrators and security personnel
• Ethical hackers/penetration testers who want to understand the concepts underlying their testing regimen

The certification was awarded due to QIB’s possession of and compliance with high technical standards of information security, operations and security procedures, especially related to websites and the use of software.

The ISO 27001 is the first certification received by QIB, which places them on par with leading international banks in the space of security and protection for electronic banking and is just the start of an aggressive strategy to carry out technology implementations across the entire information infrastructure.

The CEO of QIB Salah Jaidah said that the ISO certification ensures that the development of QIB’s banking techniques and constant upgradation of information technology, which is the backbone of the bank’s services and administration, becomes tis strategic priority. “Throughout the past three years, QIB has implemented state-of-the-art technology upgrades that has transformed the bank’s IT platform into one that offers the latest generation of e-banking services, enhanced features, upgraded global networking and high-performance connectivity among branches,” he said.

The Assistant General Manager of  Operations and IT group Hammad Al Zamli said the ISO 27001 certification is the result of establishing the Information Systems and Technology Center in 2008, which is equipped with all high-end technical specifications such as operating systems, surveillance systems, security and protection systems. All this provides high performance and capabilities with non-stop, continuous operations.

“QIB has provided the centre with all the necessary equipment to protect the bank’s information systems, data base and network, in addition to preventing hackers from attacking and breaching the emails. This was done in collaboration with specialised international companies that operate in this sector,” he said.

The receiving of the ISO 27001 certification came after a detailed risk assessment conducted by Paramount Computer Systems Doha Qatar, QIB’s strategic security partner and consultant.

Paramount used several advanced tests including ‘hacking procedures’ and ‘electronic breaching attempts’ to ensure that all the bank’s systems and procedures relating to information security and data protection were operating at the highest standards and efficiency. It studied the ways employees accessed various sites and systems at the main technology centre and the reserve centre and developed and enhanced policies and procedures.  Following this, the German Certification company TUV did a detailed assessment and auditing of QIB’s Information Security Management Systems.

This certification is associated with the usage of information security related to electronic banking. QIB will at a later stage expand this process to cover the entire Information Technology Center. The CEO of Paramount Computer Systems Premchand Kurup said the ISO 27001 certification assures QIB’s customers, associates and stakeholders that it now owns very high-end technical systems and an excellent IT environment that provides the highest level of banking information security as well as enhanced banking services especially in the E-banking sector.

“We are happy and proud to have been consultants to QIB for the ISO certification project and thank the management for their confidence in our services and expertise,” he said.

Paramount participated as a Bronze sponsor in the recently held I-SAFE conference in Dubai, hosted by the  ISACA UAE chapter. It was a 3 day event , with a one day  COBIT workshop and a two day conference. Our CEO, Mr. Premchand Kurup was one of the distinguished speakers at the conference.

Security integrator Paramount Computer Systems has enlarged its footprint in the Gulf market by opening a branch office in Muscat, Oman.

The move brings the number of offices Paramount operates in the GCC to six, with two in the UAE and one each in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

CEO Premchand Kurup claims that the integrator has been able to secure "some significant wins" by supporting Omani clients from Dubai, but admits the time has now come for it to show how serious it is about the market.

"We realised that our kitchen needs to be close to the dining table of our customers - a fundamental pre-requisite for a customer-centric company and hence the decision to open an office in Muscat," he explained. "The new office is testimony to our commitment to our customers who reposed their confidence in us even when we did not have ground support".

Paramount, which provides technology from vendors such as Juniper, McAfee, Blue Coat and TippingPoint, employs 80 people in the region and will initially start with a team of three in Oman.

Kurup insists Paramount is "bullish" about its growth prospects in the country and expects to secure more business with a three-pronged strategy centred on people, processes and technology.

"This will be a strong differentiator in the market," he said. "We seek leadership position here through our excellent mix of technology, knowledge, experienced and certified workforce, and quality partnerships. Our technical capabilities are field-proven. For instance, identity and access management is a crying need today and Paramount is the only company that can claim to have more than 10 successful implementations in the region."

Paramount Computer Systems has been lauded for its efforts during the past year by vendor partner Barracuda Networks, which crowned the company ‘Best Partner-Emerging Markets' at its recent EMEA Partner Conference.

 Paul Thackeray, VP and managing director EMEA at Barracuda, said Paramount had contributed greatly to helping it penetrate the Middle East region through some impressive customer wins, notably in "key markets" such as the UAE and Qatar.

 Dubai-based Paramount is one of the few Barracuda partners in the region that is certified in the implementation of Barracuda web application firewalls, which require a high degree of technical expertise and understanding of customer requirements.

Premchand Kurup, CEO at Paramount Computer Systems, claims the award acknowledges the investments the company has made in its business.

 "It is a testament to our high levels of technical expertise, service and support in delivering high quality security solutions to clients in this region," he said. "Winning this award has motivated our team to strive even harder to achieve the highest possible standards of performance and business excellence."

 Paramount operates offices in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, and has certifications from vendors such as RSA, Juniper, Cisco, Microsoft and Trend Micro.

Paramount, the leading regional provider of products and services for securing the Information Assets of Enterprises in the Middle East, has floated a new business division for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Process Control security and have signed a partnership agreement with Industrial Defender, the global leader in Cyber Risk Protection.

Paramount, one of the leading regional providers of products and services for securing the Information Assets of Enterprises in the Middle East, has joined hands with vendor Trend Micro and provided Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs with a robust anti-virus IT security solution.

Security integrator Paramount has bolstered its top tier of management by appointing industry veteran G. Ramaswamy as its chief operating officer.

Ramaswamy boasts more than two decades of IT market experience, spanning technical support, sales, channel management and business development roles.

As COO, he will be responsible for all day-to-day operational matters, including strategy co-ordination and execution, resource management, operational quality and efficiency management.

Prior to hooking up with Paramount, Ramaswamy worked with several large IT suppliers. He initially started out at Indian IT services outfit Wipro before moving across to PC vendor Compaq. He then joined Sun Microsystems, managing the storage vendor’s iForce Partner Programme in India.