Global Cyber Events held in UAE and Qatar become the launchpad for cyber firms eying ME markets
Past suggests that UAE and Qatar give opportunities to foreign firms in form of tech events such as Milipol and GISEC and ISS (The Intelligence Support Systems World Middle East and Africa). All these events become a launch pad for budding cyber companies to expand their markets in the Middle East.
Recently, former UAE telecom personnel Reem Lababidi helped French cyber firms to flock to the Emirates (Middle East), where offensive and defensive cyber capabilities are on priority.
Reem Lababidi, the head of Industrial Management & Training Institute (IMTI) and former sales agent for the UAE’s publicly owned telecoms company Etisalat, is bringing in French Cyber firms into the Middle East for serving the cyber ambitions of the United Arab Emirates, as well as ten US firms. The clients of Reem Lababidi consist of France-based CybelAngel (The data leak detection firm), Yogosha (The bug bounty firm), Cyberwatch (The exploit management firm), and Systran (The automated translation specialist, whose systems are used by the Directorate-General for External Security DGSE).
IMTI is a French firm that helps state-sponsored cyber conglomerates like Sekoia. The company made its first prospective mission to Dubai in the GISEC cybersecurity fair in March and Vade secure (a cybersecurity firm founded by Georges Lotigier, a founder of the French venture capital firm Cyber Impact, is also interested, to break into Arab markets,
During the GISEC cybersecurity exhibition in Dubai which was held on 21–23 March, the French threat Intelligence firm Sekoia (headed by Freddy Milesi) held talks with two Frenchmen Marc Kassis and Jean- Charles Vasseur’s who also operates InoGates, a Dubai consulting firm. The conglomerate InoGates provide opportunities for foreign cyber firms to connect with the Middle East.
With the expanded network of local partners in both the nations i.e., France and UAE (Middle East), Lababidi has been able to provide aid to numerous French cyber startups to create relations with the representatives of UAE cyber firms like Etisalat (shady Huawei partner), Abu Dhabi based Help AG. Interestingly, defamed National security advisor Tahnoon bin-Zayed al-Nahyan is also getting benefits from the firms of his country that includes the new Emirati cyber offensive firm CPX (Previously known as Digital 14) and hybrid warfare specialist Beacon Red (a part of the cyber defensive firm Edge Group).
CPX, a new cyber offensive avatar of Digital 14 has contributed to Dark matter’s operations with the help of their established vulnerabilities laboratory xen1thlabs is gradually releasing its cyber intelligence engineers. The new firm CPX (created by Mohamed Hamad al-Kuwaiti) is approaching UAE semi-public company Digital14 with offensive privileges, while Digital14 continues to operate defensive tasks.
Whereas, Edge Group (launched at the end of 2019) headed by Faisal Al Bannai (Former CEO of DarkMatter) included most of Darkmatter’s cyber-offensive experts in its group. The solution to hybrid cyber warfare lies in the convergence of innovations from the commercial world and the military industry. Established with a core mandate to disrupt an antiquated industry generally stifled by red tape, Edge is set to bring products to market faster and at the more cost-effective price point.
Apart from UAE, French defense conglomerates also serving to other Middle Eastern nations like Qatar. On the sideline of Milipol Qatar (the internal security and civil defense trade fair), French cyber & civil defense conglomerates cosied up to the movers and shakers mounting the development of Qatar’s domestic defense industry including cyber and civil.
The Milipol Qatar event was organized on 24–26 May 2022; with a visit of Gérald Darmanin (French Minister of the interior) total of 20 French cyber & civil defense conglomerates participated in the trade fair. The main goal behind the participation of French firms was to position themselves for anti-drone contracts for the upcoming FIFA World cup in Qatar nation and hitch themselves to the development of Qatar’s local defense industry.
The chain of recent developments indicate that events and mediators have become a common mode for Middle East giants and budding cyber firms around the globe to deal in controversial cyber projects that later have the potential to give the firms a strong hold in the region.
