Information Security Monitoring

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the monitoring of the information security status in the universities is conducted continuously through the planning and deployment of appropriate monitoring methods that align with the risks and the sensitivity and importance of the information systems. 

This policy applies to all members of UTAS-Sur, whether on a temporary or permanent basis as well as any third parties working with or contracted by the university, it covers all environments where the university’s information systems are operated.  

Information Systems and Educational Technologies Center.

‏Assistant Vice Chancellor for UTAS – Sur.

Any violation of this policy by all members or third parties (suppliers, contractors, business partners, etc.) will be subject to disciplinary and legal actions in accordance with the laws of the Sultanate of Oman, including regulations related to cybersecurity, university’s policies, labor laws, and electronic transactions. 

Risk-Based Information Security Monitoring:   

• Information Systems and Educational Technologies Center is responsible for planning monitoring activities using information security monitoring and assessment procedures.   

• Information security monitoring for the university’s information systems must be planned and implemented based on the sensitivity, importance, and risk classification of the systems, according to the security classification levels assigned to those systems (high, medium, low).   

• The monitoring plan must identify the key stakeholders, processes, and technical practices that need to be monitored for each system or group of systems, as specified in the security policy for that system or systems, and in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements and best practices.   

• Information Systems and Educational Technologies Center. And the risk management community in UTAS-Sur are responsible for monitoring the information security of the university’s information systems based on their assigned responsibilities related to security monitoring. 

 Management of Updates and Security Patches: 

• System administrators must ensure that all security patches and updates for all information systems are identified, obtained, and applied promptly in accordance with the update and patch management procedures.   

 

 Logging and Monitoring of System Events: 

The university must ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place in its information systems to log security events as required by the monitoring plans for those systems, including but not limited to:   

• Logs of successful and failed system login attempts. 

• Logs of successful and failed attempts to access data and other resources. 

• Changes to system settings. 

• Use of privileges. 

• Files accessed and the type of access. 

• Network addresses and protocols used. 

• Intrusion detection/prevention system logs. 

• Firewall logs. 

• System error logs. 

• Data backup and recovery logs.   

 

Management Reports: 

An adequate number of management reports must be generated monthly and at specified times and then submitted to the Information Systems and Educational Technologies Center or the relevant department for review of the university’s information security status on an ongoing basis.   

 

This policy shall take effect from the approval date.