Finance Ministry sites, portals ‘secure’

RIYADH: The Ministry of Finance has increased security protection for its websites and online portals by putting in place stricter security measures.
The ministry announced it has succeeded in enhancing protection of its website to combat hacking and to facilitate access for users in line with global measures.
Khaled Al-Ghathr, a professor of information security at King Saud University, said development of security measures of government websites and national companies is essential, especially as these websites are often susceptible to hacking and leaking of confidential data and personal information.
Information crimes researcher Mohammed Al-Sareeie said the Ministry of Finance’s move to boost protection of its site and database is a positive step that will help protect its basic infrastructure and data.
The move also aims to promote more information security awareness, he said, and called for the development of a specialized body in information security to monitor and search for weak spots in such complex systems that are vulnerable to hackers.
The ministry’s website offers an array of services, ranging from following up on requests submitted to the ministry, and monitoring of payment orders, requests concerning jobs, annual returns and employment documents.
The website includes a digital library, including a database of documents and media that allows individuals to access regulations, contracts, projects, videos and photos. Another section related to tenders also includes information about bidders and applicants.
The new open data portal, through a private data platform, allows browsing and downloading of published data in various formats, as well as information about the Kingdom’s actual revenues and expenditures, budgets, cost of living indicators, GDP, economic activity organized by sector and prices.