The Gulf region is an interesting region from an industrial point of view. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have traditionally been a hotbed of Oil & Gas activity. However, there seems to be a real and genuine desire to move away from reliance on the sector as an export, and a refocus on the benefits that renewables, smart factories, smart cities and professional services can bring. Huge investments are happening in these areas in, for example, NEOM in Saudi Arabia, in Dubai in the UAE, in Qatar and in Oman.
Bahrain is no exception. Investment in infrastructure, and in attracting businesses and talent is abundant in the small country. They do so, in part, through the Bahrain Economic Development Board which is attracting global business to expand in the country through very attractive incentives. So much so that the inaugural Arab International Cybersecurity Summit happened in Bahrain.
After receiving an unexpected invite from the Bahraini Government to attend this prestigious event, we at Awen were honoured to accept, and we attended alongside other notable cyber security companies within the UK community in collaboration with the UK Department of International Trade.
Jamie (left) and Daniel (right) looking sharp on the final day of AICS
Both our Executive Chair, Daniel, and one of our tech team members, Jamie, attended and exhibited at the three day event alongside notable sponsors, supporters, and exhibitors. These include Gulf-based organisations such as Beyon and Tamkeen, as well as international organisations such as The SANS Institute, Amazon Web Services, and CISCO. Also joining Awen as representatives of the UK community were Arcanum, Barrier Networks and CyberPrism; all of whom are friends and partners with Awen, allowing us to provide a complete and united image of OT cyber security to attendees. Across the three days, we spoke and engaged directly with representatives from some of the biggest industrial companies across the Gulf Region. Attendees came from all over the region from a wide range of industries such as Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Pharmaceuticals.
In addition to exhibiting, Daniel was invited by Plexal to speak on a panel about “securing the critical sectors of finance and healthcare” alongside speakers from Nominet, the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs of Saudi Arabia and fellow British SME Lupovis. The panel was chaired by Plexal, with assistance from Al Jabr. In particular the panel discussed the need for strategy, and to get regulation right by using incentives and not just fines. Daniel made a closing point that as vendors we need to ensure that cyber security is not an obstruction, and is easy to use, otherwise it will be forever a struggle to make the changes required to achieve progressive security.
Daniel made a huge impact during his Panel on the second day
The event was supported by not only industry, but by both those with the highest authority, and those at the earliest of their career:
At the event was none other than His Highness Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor along with his entourage.
There were also students from high schools, colleges and universities brought to the event to learn and to be inspired about the latest and greatest within cyber security and digital technologies in general.
We were very pleased to have been invited to attend, exhibit and speak at AICS, and we hope to visit Bahrain again in the near future.
Awen Collective is reducing the risk of cyber attack within industrial sectors, not only in the UK and Europe, but globally, in places like the Gulf and South East Asia. We do that by developing innovative software solutions which give actionable intelligence on how to reduce risk via increasing visibility into Operational Technology (OT) using our Dot software solution, as well as industrial cyber security hygiene with our Profile software solution.
Awen is working closely with partners across the world. In the Gulf region we have now built a growing number of partners that cover Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC - so if you are from an industrial organisation, you can feel safe in the knowledge that these partners can give you on the ground support. Likewise, if you are a cyber security consultant or a managed security service provider, and would like to partner with Awen to extend your service offering, then we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to know more, or would just like to say hello, then please do contact us today.
