Emcredit, the UAE’s first government-backed credit bureau, said it has retained its ISO 27001 certification for the second consecutive year following a detailed audit conducted recently by TUV Nord Middle East.

This is the world’s highest accreditation for information protection and security, endorsing the quality of processes followed by Emcredit in compiling and disseminating credit information reports.

“Data privacy is of utmost importance in our operations. This recent reaffirmation of our data security rankings is a clear indication of the robustness of our systems and processes, enhancing the confidence of our members,” said Ali Ibrahim, managing director, Emcredit.

“Since first receiving the ISO 27001 certification in December 2008, Emcredit has consistently maintained highest standards of security in collecting and providing credit information reports to our members and will continue to do so in future,” he pointed out.

Ibrahim said a vast amount of credit and personal information from financial institutions and government departments was transferred to Emcredit’s systems and updated on a real-time basis.

A growing number of clients and members are accessing this information online and in real time to support their business decisions.

Even as the company expands its information coverage and reporting solutions to different sectors of the economy, information security will continue to remain central to Emcredit’s operational efficiency and professionalism, he added.

ISO/IEC 27001, part of the growing ISO/IEC 27000 series of standards, is an information security management system (ISMS) standard published in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The ISO27k standards provide generally accepted good practice guidance on Information Security Management Systems designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information content and systems.-TradeArabia News Service