Doha: National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has announced that Doha is due to host the International Common Criteria Conference (ICCC), during the period Nov.4 to 6, 2024, with the participation of government experts and professionals in the international common criteria community. The convention will be preceded by NCSA-sponsored meetings of the common criteria (CC) during the period Oct.29 to Nov.3, 2024. Held for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the conference is intended to connect the CC community, the regulatory committees for common criteria, as well as organizations and members of the global criteria agreement, alongside policy makers. ICCC is an opportunity for professional engagement among those who embark on developing and evaluating specifications and issuing certifications related to auditing and assessing IT security for systems and services. Also, it will discuss policies and the application of CC, professional laboratories for system evaluation, IT security, as wel l as its development, and assessment. The event covers topics related to the development of the use of CC, meeting stakeholder requirements, applications of CC in new areas, updates on national plans and international technical communities, as well as new developments in cybersecurity certifications. The conference is a pioneer event for the community of professionals participating in CC, as is the broadest in terms of the security and protection of IT products. Qatar obtained accreditation for issuing information security certificates for electronic devices and software in 2023, making it the first country in MENA to receive such accreditation. Additionally, this certification is globally recognized and granted by the committee responsible for the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) members. Noteworthy, CC are a set of international guidelines and specifications that define a framework for evaluating and certifying IT security. These standards ensure that IT products meet the standard security requirements necessary for software, hardware, or technology systems utilized by government agencies or specific sectors. Source: Qatar News Agency