Security Response Centre: Tata Communications strengthens cyber defence in the Middle East

Tata Communications, a leading digital infrastructure provider, has unveiled an advanced cyber security response centre in Dubai. The facility was jointly inaugurated by His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama – UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and His Excellency Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE.

The cyber security response centre will provide 24/7 cyber security services 365 days a year, to help customers stay one step ahead of evolving cyber threats in the Middle East region. The Dubai launch marks Tata Communications’ fourth dedicated security centre, after Chennai, Pune and Singapore. As a global network provider with connectivity across 200+ countries and a global cloud service provider, Tata Communications is uniquely positioned to provide security across today’s borderless enterprise.

These Managed Security Services “enable tackling threats proactively by delivering security for the cloud and from the cloud to global enterprises throughout their digitisation journey; hunting for and responding to cyber-threats as they happen, and ensuring network and infrastructure security. Through the new cyber security response centre in Dubai, Tata Communications aims to offer enterprises and Government bodies in the UAE and other GCC countries across the region with cyber-attack protection that helps them meet in country regulation requirements as laid out by various security frameworks such as SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) and NESA (National Electronic Security Authority) to name a few.

Being a leading international hub and an attractive investment destination, the vast technological advancements happening in the region have contributed in attracting the world’s attention to the UAE. The continuing success of digitisation initiatives among the countries of the Middle East brings with it an added and growing exposure to the risk of cyberattacks. The region’s cyber security market is expected to nearly double in the next few years – from USD 11.38 BN in 2017 to USD 22.14 BN by 2022.

Tata Communications has the capabilities and the depth of experience coupled with an investment strategy to participate in that growth and to provide strong security infrastructure and services supported by cyber threat intelligence to customers.

HE Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence stated “The launch of Tata Communications cyber security response centre in Dubai is a strong indication of the growing market in digitization and data solutions in the UAE; it’s a reflection of the country’s vision in building an ecosystem that supports utilization of advanced technologies in favor of a safe and conducive business environment as well as providing a better experience for its residents. As data and operations become increasingly digitized in the UAE and the wider region, cybersecurity has become even more paramount now, and collaboration with global leaders in this area is one step forward to ensure a safe environment for everyone.” He added, “It’s great to see a global telecom player like Tata Communications share our vision by making the right investments and efforts to protect the interests of the government and businesses in the region.”

Commenting on the launch, Radwan Moussalli, Senior VP at Tata Communications for Middle East, Central Asia and Africa said: “The adoption of connected digital technologies and applications by consumers, enterprises, and governments is growing at a rapid pace in the Middle East. Therefore, the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy was launched with the aim to provide the UAE with the right tools and services to make it a leading region in terms of cyber security. In line with this significant vision, Tata Communications is providing the framework for the UAE to realise its goals. Our cyber security response centre in the UAE is an effort in the direction to help governments and large organisations in various vital sectors of the region in handling and mitigating cyber threats.”

Tata Communications’ cyber security offering covers the various layers of the information and data stack to ensure end to end security with increased visibility across systems and networks. This helps customers through their journey end to end – from design to deployment to management. With a growing team of more than 300 highly skilled security specialists, Tata Communications’ portfolio includes cloud-based security offerings to match and scale as per varying business demands. These also include support for global risk, compliance and privacy regulations.

Benoy CS, Director & Business Head, Digital Transformation Practice, MENASA, Frost & Sullivan said: “The Governments in the Middle East region have been investing significantly on cyber-security and so are major companies across oil & gas, energy, banking and information technology sectors. Customer awareness has increased multifold and enterprises have realized that they need a global provider that has the ability to assess security risk, leverage advanced security tools and techniques, and help in building a proactive security framework. Tata Communications has a comprehensive portfolio of cyber security services based on its multi-layered, integrated, secure and trusted security framework which offers a proactive and advanced range of solutions that increase visibility of risks and prevent attacks and breaches. The company has been instrumental in securing IT assets from major cyber-attacks. This new facility in Dubai will help provide comprehensive security support and enable enterprises in maintaining data protection that are in line with in country regulatory frameworks.”

Tata Communications has a comprehensive portfolio of cyber security services built on its multi-layered, integrated, secure and trusted security framework. The cyber security response centre forms the heart of the execution capability for this framework. The Dubai cyber security response centre facility showcases the core capabilities: a combination of processes, platforms, and governance, competencies and best-in-class technologies to combat ever-growing cyber threats. It is powered by a host of sophisticated tools and platforms including Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), cyber threat intelligence, cloud-based protection technologies like web-application firewalls and an attack prediction analytics platform, amongst others. All of this flows into a customer portal to present a comprehensive security posture dashboard view.

Tata Communications is investing in the security business to ensure that advanced technology, systems, tools, processes and talent are integrated into its Managed Security Services, so the company can play a vital role in fighting network threats and cyber-attacks on behalf of its existing and potential enterprise customers, globally.

The new cyber security response centre in Dubai is part of Tata Communications’ long-term commitment to offering global security services with local expertise.