Global leader in industrial cybersecurity enters UAE market

TXOne Networks, a leader in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) security is proud to announce its first foray in the region, offering end-to-end solutions that ensure reliability and safety of industrial operations.

The company made the announcement at the recently-concluded Gitex Global 2023 - dubbed as the world's largest technology and startup exhibition that brought together in Dubai more than 6,000 exhibitors and 180,000 tech executives from 180 countries, as well as over 800 government entities from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region in the fields of technology, digital economy and artificial intelligence.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr. Terence Liu, CEO of TXOne Networks, said they decided to set up their base in the UAE as they expand their corporate network across the GCC and the wider MENA region.

Dr. Liu said their key focus is to provide leading manufacturers and industries in the region, particularly in the oil and gas (O&G) and energy sectors, with critical infrastructure “to develop practical, operations-friendly approaches to cyber security.”

Making a difference

Dr. Liu also made a clear distinction of what they are offering. He said: "We are focused on operational technology (OT), which is aimed at addressing security vulnerabilities in industrial settings.”

"When we talk about cybersecurity, what comes into mind is informational technology (IT) - which is about anti malware solutions. But there is a key difference between IT and OT: Whereas IT is about an organisation's front-end informational activities (like communications, including sending emails); OT, on the other hand, is focused on the company’s back-end production (meaning, the machines)," Dr Liu further explained.

He added IT is about the latest digital technologies whilst OT is about working solutions for machines that mostly work on legacy technology (such as Windows OS, Windows 2000 and other earlier operating systems). Industrial control systems, robotics, control and data acquisition, and other programmable controls are examples of part of OT.

No disruptions

In a nutshell, Dr. Liu pointed out TXOne Networks solutions are about ensuring that there is no disruption in the production while applying security measures.

He noted: "When we talk about large-scale machines, only few people have access to them. But sometimes people also make mistakes in evaluating cyber-security threats or maybe because the solution is not tailored to the problem. That's how our technology, or OT security in particular, comes into play."

OT is an emerging branch in cybersecurity. According to experts, cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures are increasing and cybersecurity must keep pace.

Integrated solutions

Dr. Liu said the challenge for large-scale companies is to ensure continuous operations. With this objective, Dr Liu talked about the OT Zero Trust framework.

The OT Zero Trust framework is an asset-centric approach to protect critical assets through their entire lifecycle, streamline management, reduce security overhead, and resolve challenges without impacting the operation.

"Over the last 20 years, cybersecurity market grew by about 60 times, and that is why there are so many players in cybersecurity industry. OT cybersecurity, is an emerging technology, and only very few know how to do it properly," Dr. Liu pointed out.

"This is why we are glad that we are enter the MEAN market and we see the UAE as our perfect hub as we explore for opportunities in the KSA, Qatar and Egypt," he added.

Dr. Liu also talked about how TXOne Networks grew. He said: "We started in 2019. We are considered young, but we have grown tremendously very fast. From fewer than 100 people in our first year of operations, we have more than 400 employees across the world. We have major sales force in the Americas, Europe and Asia," he added.

With their entry in the region, Dr. Liu is confident that they will make a mark in "safeguarding businesses and their operations to ensure further growth and economic development."