Operlity gives UAE federal government entities and critical national infrastructure operators a structured platform to implement, manage, and demonstrate compliance with the UAE Information Assurance Standards — issued by the UAE Cybersecurity Council (the successor to NESA) — continuously and examination-ready.
The Information Assurance Standards (IAS) is the UAE's mandatory cybersecurity framework, originally issued in 2014 by the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA). NESA was dissolved in 2020 and its mandate was transferred to the UAE Cybersecurity Council, which now owns and maintains the IAS. The framework applies to federal government entities and critical national infrastructure operators across the Emirates and establishes a comprehensive set of information assurance controls organized across multiple domains — covering governance, risk management, asset management, human resources security, physical security, communications and operations management, access control, incident management, business continuity, and compliance.
The IAS is aligned to international best practices including ISO 27001 and NIST, adapted to the specific regulatory and national security context of the UAE. Organizations subject to the IAS are expected to implement all applicable controls, conduct regular self-assessments, and demonstrate continuous improvement in their information assurance posture across review cycles led by the UAE Cybersecurity Council.
the IAS cover a broad set of controls across governance, technical, operational, and physical domains — requiring structured implementation tracking and evidence management across the entire organization.
Organizations subject to the IAS frequently also need to meet ISO 27001, UAE PDPL, and sector-specific cybersecurity requirements — duplicating compliance effort without a platform that maps controls across frameworks.
The IAS imposes specific requirements on how organizations govern their technology vendors, managed service providers, and supply chain partners — a significant undertaking for organizations with extensive vendor ecosystems.
The IAS requires documented, tested business continuity and disaster recovery programs — with evidence of drills, recovery procedures, and incident response capabilities.
The IAS expects information assurance controls to be operating continuously, not just at assessment time — requiring ongoing monitoring, evidence collection, and control operation.
IAS review cycles require structured evidence, documented policies, and demonstrated control implementation — organizations must maintain examination-ready documentation at all times.
| IAS Domain | Operlity Capability |
|---|---|
| Information Security Governance | Policy lifecycle management, role and responsibility assignment, and governance program management |
| Risk Management | Enterprise and cyber risk register, risk assessment workflows, and treatment plan tracking |
| Asset Management | Enterprise catalog — information asset inventory, classification, and ownership |
| Human Resources Security | Policy acknowledgement tracking, onboarding and offboarding workflows |
| Physical & Environmental Security | Physical infrastructure catalog and physical control implementation tracking |
| Communications & Operations Management | Operational risk management and control implementation tracking |
| Access Control | Identity management — access governance, privileged identity management, and access reviews |
| Incident Management | Incident register, crisis management workflows, and breach notification tracking |
| Business Continuity Management | BC/DR planning, BIA, drill management, and resilience testing |
| Third Party & Supply Chain | Third party risk management with vendor due diligence, assessments, and contract oversight |
| Compliance | Multi-framework compliance tracking with real-time posture scoring and gap identification |
Scope the Information Assurance Standards against your organization and conduct a structured gap assessment across all domains — establishing your baseline compliance posture and prioritizing remediation efforts.
Conduct a structured, IAS-aligned information security risk assessment — identifying and evaluating risks to your information assets and defining treatment plans that meet the IAS's risk management domain requirements.
Implement all applicable IAS controls with structured tracking, ownership assignment, and evidence collection — maintaining a continuous record of implementation progress across all framework domains.
Audit your vendor and supply chain ecosystem — documenting information assurance due diligence, conducting third party risk assessments, and managing contractual security obligations aligned to IAS requirements.
Create and maintain all information assurance policies required by the IAS — with documented approval workflows, annual review cycles, and workforce acknowledgement tracking across the organization.
Monitor your IAS compliance posture continuously — tracking control status, managing incidents, maintaining evidence, and preparing for IAS review cycles as a structured, ongoing program rather than a reactive exercise.