AEG Newsletter Second Quarter - 2018 | Issue #2
	“We always take the initiative to provide you with the best service”		Word from the CEO The past two years posed some serious security-related challenges for the financial community worldwide. After awareness was raised and proper measures were taken, we can say that 2018 is leading a more stable and secure environment for years to come. The two major measures being taken are compliance with SWIFT’s CSP controls and migration to release 7.2. AEG is proud to be serving solutions very efficiently and proactively that address the present-day concerns in the best ways that suit our clients and meet their needs. Despite the fact that the migration to SWIFTNet 7.2 is a major upgrade – including the operating system and SWIFT applications – we decided to provide the service free-of-charge for our clients with a valid System Care contract as we are always on the side of our clients. Moreover, during the past six months, we took a number of big key projects across the Middle East and Africa providing security hardening and CSP compliance through our newly released solution – the Vault – in its light and full versions. Meanwhile, we are strengthening our security department out of our proactive attitude through developing security products and partnering with security companies. Furthermore, we are applying lessons learned from our sophisticated Service Bureau experience to our customers’ environments. We can say we had two busy quarters and we are looking forward for more during the next two. Dr. Mohamed Sadek – CEO and General Manager Successful Migration at Barwa Bank Banks, during the past months, have been occupied in the process of preparing their hardware environments in order to be ready for the migration to SWIFT release 7.2. In fact, AEG is urging its clients to be ready as soon as possible in order for them to be able to meet the dead-line, that is November 2018, after which SWIFT will not be providing support for earlier releases. AEG has commenced migration processes at banks with ready infrastructures. The first of its clients to go live successfully with SWIFT 7.2 was Barwa Bank in Qatar. AEG Support Manager Mr. Fawzi Yassine, who was in charge of the undertaking, proudly stated that “despite the challenges faced during the process, the bank was ready to go live within the specified timeframe; effective as of May 6, 2018.” Barwa Bank management, in turn, have expressed their appreciation of AEG’s efforts put into this job and their satisfaction with prompt action and precision. Mr. Yassine continues, “AEG is ready to support and help all of its clients before, during and after migration. All of our support engineers are disposed to answer all enquiries and clear any ambiguities about the migration process and its requirements.” For further information and queries contact our Support Team
		In This Issue
		01. Successful Migration at Barwa Bank
		02. Qatar Roadshow & African Regional Conference 2018
		03. CSP: Reminder before end of 2018
		04. Quarter Highlights
	Barwa Bank – Qatar: The first bank to go live with SWIFT release 7.2
	AEG is present and keen to assist Qatari banks and provide all the technical support they need		AEG Qatar Roadshow AEG held a very successful roadshow in Doha, Qatar on May 8, 2018 discussing SWIFT’s Customer Security Program (CSP) and migration to SWIFTNet 7.2. The event opened with the CEO’s keynote, Dr. Mohamed Sadek, introducing AEG’s state-of-the-art services addressing the current concerns of the banking sector and the financial community in Qatar. The roadshow hosted representatives of over fifteen banks across Qatar with whom we had the chance to communicate issues of common interest and explore ways in which AEG can help Qatari banks develop their services and grow their business. Moreover, our team explained the various ways in which AEG is able to support Qatari banks with CSP compliance controls and with migration before end of 2018. African Regional Conference 2018 We were delighted to attend this year’s African Regional Conference which took place on June 20-22 in Kigali, Rwanda. This participation allowed us to meet and engage with various institutions from the financial community, as well as international corporations and technology partners. The conference highlighted future innovative technologies that concern the field of financial services, key trends and next generation payment systems, in addition to issues concerning financial crime, compliance, and ongoing challenges of reducing cybercrime risks. Being exposed to key challenges and opportunities facing the African financial industry allows us to further recognize our clients’ needs in the area and gain deeper perspectives on how to proactively develop our services in order to better serve the financial community in Africa and contribute to shaping the future of Africa’s financial services. CSP: Reminder Before End of 2018 As time is getting tighter and closer to the due date assigned by SWIFT for compliance with the Customer Security Controls Framework (CSCF), AEG is urging its clients to hurry in achieving compliance, not only to be compliant with SWIFT’s CSCF, but also to be truly protected. Head of Security at AEG Mr. Tarek El Harakeh described the purpose of the compliance process as “it is rather to protect your bank than to be merely forced to implement the controls. Being a big bank or a small bank is irrelevant when it comes to security; all banks might be targeted. We advise all banks to adopt continuous security hardening as part of their work habits.” Banks that have not started yet with applying SWIFT’s CSP controls are strongly advised to start as soon as possible as time is running out and compliance has now become key for good reputation within the financial community. For further queries about CSP contact your Country Manager
	Quarter Highlights New Contracts Signed ü AEG CSP Solution: Cyprus Development Bank – Cyprus ü SmartDR, SmartFT, SmartMonitor: Bank Audi S.A.L. – Lebanon ü AEG SmartFT Solution: Banque Commerciale du Congo – Democratic Republic of Congo ü AEG TransRep: GBP Financial Services Limited – Cyprus ü AEG TransRep: RAW Bank – Democratic Republic of Congo ü AEG Service Bureau Fully-Managed Service: MEAB – Lebanon and Iraq New Clients Joined AEG ü Al-Mustachar Bank – Iraq: SWIFT Service Bureau and System Care ü Asia Al Iraq Islamic Bank For Finance And Investment – Iraq:  SWIFT Service Bureau and System Care ü AM Bank S.A.L. – Lebanon: AEG Service Bureau Fully-Managed Service, FileAct and Trans-Rep ü Lebanese Swiss Bank – Lebanon: AEG SB Connectivity, FileAct, and Trans-Rep SIP Status ü SIP 2018 compliant Events ü AEG Roadshow in Qatar ü African Regional Conference Activity ü Performed migration to SWIFTNet 7.2 at a number of banks ü Performed Gap Assessment at over 20 banks
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