MUSCAT -- BankDhofar has entered into an agreement with the Information Technology Authority (ITA) to use the authority's mobile PKI service for the banks Internet banking services. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the fifth annual Comex conference held recently at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. Present during the signing ceremony from BankDhofar were Acting CEO Abdul Hakeem Omar al Ojaili and AGM Chief Information and Transformation Officer Dr Tariq Taha, and from the ITA CEO Dr Salim Sultan al Ruzaiqi along with other representatives from the ITA and BankDhofar.
The introduction of mobile PKI will give BankDhofar customers an added measure of security, particularly if they are frequent users of the bank's Internet banking facility. "We are happy to have the backing of the ITA's security support for our online banking services. This partnership has been forged to exhibit BankDhofar's commitment to ensuring our customers feel safe and secure when using our e-channels to complete their transactions," said Dr Tariq Taha, AGM CITO of BankDhofar. "It underscores BankDhofar's promise to adopting superior security measures as we expand our online banking solutions. We are proud and honoured to be the first bank to offer a service based on the PKI infrastructure offered by the ITA," added Marwan Mohammed al Zadjali, Head of eBanking at BankDhofar.
Mobile PKI features the usage of high-security infrastructure endorsed by the Central Bank of Oman and supported by the ITA and mobile service providers in Oman. The feature is equivalent to a physical signature, where upon activation customers receive a special PKI enabled SIM card that allows them to perform secure login and transaction authentication across mobile networks. BankDhofar will start implementing this service initially through its Internet banking portal; customers will need to begin the process by logging into the bank's website and later authenticating their login securely through their registered mobile devices. The PKI is activated by the designated service provider once the costumer chooses the Security Mode on his device under 'Profiles'.
© Oman Daily Observer 2014
