Saudi Arabia Supercharges Cybersecurity Skills with Tuwaiq Academy Partnership

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 15-05-2026

4 min

LogRhythm | Exabeam and Tuwaiq Academy will train over 40,000 cybersecurity students.

Nine universities join, aligning with Vision 2030’s Human Capability Development goals.

The aim is tackling an “ever-evolving threat landscape” with job-ready skills and certifications.

Tuwaiq becomes the region’s first authorised training centre, boosting local capacity.

Top graduates gain job pathways, supporting Saudi Arabia’s mission-critical digital transformation.

Saudi Arabia is doubling down on cybersecurity skills, and a new partnership between LogRhythm | Exabeam and Tuwaiq Academy is set to bring that push straight into university classrooms and bootcamps across the Kingdom.

The collaboration, launched during the Tuwaiq Tech Club Ceremony in Riyadh, aims to equip more than 40,000 students with practical cybersecurity training and professional certifications. It ties into the Human Capability Development Program under Vision 2030, which has become a bit of a north star for many tech initiatives in the country.

Under the agreement, nine major universities, including King Saud University and the University of Jeddah, will take part. LogRhythm | Exabeam will supply the training content, instructors and exam vouchers, while Tuwaiq Academy will handle the on-the-ground delivery, marketing and facilities. In simple terms: global cybersecurity expertise meets local execution.

Mazen Adnan Dohaji, Senior Vice President and General Manager at LogRhythm | Exabeam, said the partnership supports the Kingdom’s ambition to strengthen its cybersecurity ecosystem in line with Vision 2030. He pointed to an “ever-evolving threat landscape”, from advanced external attacks to AI-driven insider risks, arguing that skilled human oversight remains essential to building a threat-ready defence posture.

That human element is key. We often hear about automation and AI doing the heavy lifting, but when it comes to defending national infrastructure, there’s no shortcut. I’ve seen across the region, and especially through initiatives we follow at Arageek, how hungry young Saudis are for real-world, job-ready tech skills. Certifications that are spot on with market needs can open serious doors.

The initiative also builds on LogRhythm | Exabeam’s growing footprint in Saudi Arabia. The company recently launched a dedicated Google Cloud region in the Kingdom and opened a regional office in Riyadh. Revenue, it says, rose by 21% from 2024 to 2025, a sign that demand for cybersecurity solutions is hardly slowing down.

Sultan Alanazi, Country Director for Saudi Arabia at LogRhythm | Exabeam, noted that the Kingdom continues to invest heavily in skills, innovation and infrastructure to position itself as a global digital leader. He emphasised the importance of giving security professionals practical, real-world expertise to support the country’s broader transformation goals.

For Tuwaiq Academy, the partnership adds another heavyweight name to a roster that already includes more than 60 global tech firms such as Meta, Google, NVIDIA, Amazon and Huawei. The academy will become the first authorised LogRhythm | Exabeam training centre in the Middle East to offer professional certifications. Selected candidates will also be trained and certified as instructors, helping build local training capacity over the long term.

And there’s a clear employment angle. Outstanding graduates will gain access to potential job opportunities through the LogRhythm | Exabeam partner network, creating more direct pathways into the workforce. Tuwaiq says that since its launch, it has graduated over 35,000 students, with more than 80% of bootcamp participants securing jobs within three months through its Employment Program. Those figures are, frankly, hard to ignore.

Abdulaziz Alhammadi, CEO of Tuwaiq Academy, highlighted that empowering national talent with advanced technical skills is central to Saudi Arabia’s digital future. As demand for cybersecurity expertise grows, he said, the partnership will give learners access to industry-recognised knowledge, hands-on experience and clearer routes into high-value careers.

On the flip side, training 40,000-plus students is no small task, execution will be everything. But if done right, this could be one of those quiet moves that definatley shapes the next wave of Saudi cyber professionals.

For a country racing to secure its digital transformation, building homegrown expertise is not just nice to have. It’s mission critical. And from where many of us in the regional startup ecosystem stand, this looks like a serious step in the right direction.

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