As the appointed ((Q)TSP) Supervisory Body, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) plays an essential role in the implementation of the national trust services framework in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
TDRA has the following main responsibilities:
TDRA is in charge of implementation of the following three main processes:
The provisions of the UAE Laws, the establishment of requirements for Qualified TSPs/Qualified TS and for TSP/TS (here after collectively referred to as (Q)TSP/(Q)TS), which are leveraging on international best practices and standards, their licensing & supervision regime, the trusted lists of (Q)TSP/(Q)TS are as many building blocks of a complete pyramid of trust as a virtual representation of the UAE trust model for (Q)TSP/(Q)TS illustrated in the next Figure.
The most visible part of this pyramid is the “UAE Trust Logo”, which each QTSP (and only QTSP, not TSP) may, on a voluntary basis, use to brand and promote the quality and trustworthiness of the QTS it provides. It is key to note that such a mark is not just another quality logo without any trust foundation. The UAE Laws explicitly set up a consistent set of quality/security requirements and obligations for QTSP/QTS aiming to enhance the trust of consumers, enterprises, and public entities in the digitalized market and to promote the use of QTS and related products, boosting the digitalization of the UAE society.
Through pre-authorisation (ex ante) and post-authorisation (ex post) licensing and supervisory activities, the UAE Laws build a supervisory regime upon those quality/security requirements and obligations for (Q)TSP/(Q)TS. This regime aims to ensure that, from genesis up to termination, the (Q)TSPs and the (Q)TSs they provide do meet the requirements laid down in the Laws.