“CyberKnight Partners with Industrial Defender to Fortify MENA’s Critical Infrastructure”

I remember sitting with a group of founders over coffee in Amman, and the topic turned quickly—perhaps inevitably—to cyberattacks. It’s a pain point that pops up again and again, especially as more organisations across the MENA region leap further into digitisation. With operational technology (OT) and IT merging at a rate of knots, sectors like energy and manufacturing are suddenly facing problems they hadn’t even dreamt of a decade ago. Just recently, figures emerged revealing that ransomware incidents targeting OT have spiked by a whopping 2.75 times. That’s not just a one-off blip; it’s a real wake-up call for everyone with a stake in the region’s vital infrastructure.

This evolving cyber landscape is exactly why cybersecurity specialists are joining forces to keep pace. Hot off the press, CyberKnight has just inked a partnership with Industrial Defender to take on the ever-growing challenges head-on, especially across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META). If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in Arageek’s work supporting startups, it’s that robust partnerships like these can often be the difference between a minor disruption and a complete disaster.

Now, for those who don’t live and breathe cybersecurity lingo, OT refers to the hardware and software that controls industrial operations—think power grids, factories, and the like. SCADA and ICS? Those are the nerdy acronyms for supervisory and industrial control systems, basically the digital brains that run the show. The trouble is, as these systems become smarter, they’ve also become juicier targets for cybercriminals—a bit of a faff for those managing it all day-to-day.

Industrial Defender has earned its stripes over almost twenty years specialising in this field. Their latest platform release comes with a risk dashboard that doesn’t just look the part but actually helps operators sort out priorities fast. No more endless guesswork—this tool gives you the kind of intelligence and scoring that even the most seasoned CISO would tip their hat to. Plus, there’s an updated policy library to help companies tweak things so they line up neatly with standards like Saudi Arabia’s OTCC and the global IEC 62443 framework.

The timing is spot on. Local businesses are feeling the weight of strict new regulations and there’s this not-so-little issue of more and more vulnerabilities cropping up. On the flip side, CyberKnight brings strong market chops to the table across the region, working hand in hand with Industrial Defender’s best-in-class technology. According to Dr. Amr Elsayed, who runs CyberKnight’s OT business unit, this partnership is set to reduce incident response times, sharpen risk management and keep operations ticking when the heat is on. As he put it, the alliance “marks a strategic leap for critical sectors with the most effective OT security” available.

Jay Williams, CEO of Industrial Defender, echoed the enthusiasm, highlighting how blending local know-how with technical innovation would help customers protect their most critical operations and build up their resilience—not just for today’s threats but whatever tomorrow brings as well.

For those who like keeping tabs on industry trophies, Industrial Defender recently bagged three wins at the 2025 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, bringing a bit of extra shine to their name. But it’s not just about the silverware; it’s about giving companies the confidence and tools to keep their data (and their power plants!) safe. Personally, I reckon any move that helps industrial firms in the region dodge costly downtime and keep a step ahead of attackers is a win, even if I’m not a fan of the jargon they throw around.

At Arageek, boosting startup resilience in the face of fast-changing digital threats is right up our street. And believe it or not, these partnerships really do create ripple effects—giving smaller players confidence and occasionally even cutting through the red tape that holds innovation back. Sure, there’s still plenty to do; but in a world where fortunes can change at the click of a dodgy email, having the right friends on speed dial seems, well… pretty wise, doesn’t it?

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