Thales has announced the launch of a cybersecurity hub in Dubai, which will serve its customers across the Middle East.
Focusing on a primarily consultancy-led approach, the hub will provide services including legal and technical audits, cyber ‘health checks’, vulnerability investigations, ICS/SCADA-specific risk assessment, cyber training and simulation, and threat intelligence. The hub will also partner with local start-ups and leading academics, to ensure that region-specific issues, regulation and more are taken into account.
“GCC countries, and in particular the UAE, are at the heart of digital transformation,” said Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice-President, International Development at Thales. “As the value chain becomes increasingly digitised, the risk of cyberattacks is also on the rise. The stakes are high and cybersecurity is the critical component in the equation; it must be built into applications to protect businesses and critical infrastructure from the very beginning of the process.”
GCC countries, and in particular the UAE, are at the heart of digital transformation.
– Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice-President, International Development, Thales
He added: “Through our Cyber Hub, we will work with our customers to bolster their organisations against vulnerabilities and deliver world-class digital transformation safely and securely.”
Given the rapid pace of development and digital adoption in the Middle East, and particularly the UAE, one area Thales highlighted is the importance of securing innovation. The company highlights its investment of over €1 billion in the past three years in areas such as IoT, big data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
In a statement on the subject, Thales said: “Recent reports suggest that the Middle East is especially prone to large-scale cyberattacks, making security in the region a major priority. Across 2017 alone the number of incidents in the region has doubled, meaning the threat of cyber-attacks on businesses there is at an all-time high.”
The company went on to say: “Most importantly, as businesses continue to extend big data, cloud and mobility, and Internet of Things (IoT) across the entire value chain, from industrial equipment and processes to consumer devices, such attacks are not only growing in number, but also in sophistication. A more proactive and robust approach must be taken to secure critical data and futureproof businesses for success.”
