UAE, US companies partner to provide cyber ranges in Gulf

BEIRUT — United Arab Emirates firm Beacon Red and U.S.-based Quali announced an agreement to work together to deliver cyber training and testing environments to Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Beacon Red CEO Mauricio De Almeida told Defense News that the joint cybersecurity services will be available to all six nations in the bloc , which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

“Within each country, the system will provide cybersecurity and related services for governments, military and critical infrastructure projects, allowing each customer to choose the appropriate environment that best suits their individual needs,” he said.

With Quali’s cloud infrastructure automation platform and Beacon Red’s cybersecurity, training and intelligence portfolio, the companies said they can rapidly build complex environments that mix virtual and physical features. The businesses will design cyber range scenarios and secure environments to validate projects.

“We are already working with several interested clients on their specific use cases and shell development requirements,” De Almeida said.

He did not provide any financial details about the companies’ strategic relationship, calling the deal unquantifiable in its early stages. Both companies invested significantly in the partnership, he added. Beacon Red is part of the UAE-owned Edge Group military conglomerate.

“Partnering for knowledge-sharing and joint collaboration is a critical area of focus for both Beacon Red and Edge as we aim to strengthen our local sovereign defense capabilities.”

Quali and Beacon Red are past the prototype stage and have a final solution, called the Cyber Range on Wheels and Cyber Lab on Wheels, De Almeida said. The idea launched in February at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in UAE, and the companies are continuing to expand capabilities ahead of ISS World Middle East and Africa trade show in June in the country.

Customers can use the services to emulate production environments without disrupting or negatively impacting the actual environments, De Almeida said.

“This is extremely valuable for sensitive environments where you want to test the integration of new security solutions, conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, detonate malware, and test software upgrades in a safe but realistic environment. Based on recent supply chain and industrial control system attacks this solution can significantly help in defeating real threats.”

Agnes Helou was a Middle East correspondent for Defense News. Her interests include missile defense, cybersecurity, the interoperability of weapons systems and strategic issues in the Middle East and Gulf region.

贝鲁特——阿联酋公司 Beacon Red 和美国 Quali 宣布达成协议，将共同为海湾合作委员会国家提供网络安全培训和测试环境。

Beacon Red 首席执行官 Mauricio De Almeida 告诉《防务新闻》，联合网络安全服务将向该集团所有六个国家开放，其中包括沙特阿拉伯、科威特和卡塔尔。

他说：“在每个国家，该系统将为政府、军队和关键基础设施项目提供网络安全及相关服务，使每个客户都能选择最适合其个人需求的合适环境。”

借助Quali的云基础设施自动化平台和Beacon Red的网络安全、培训和情报产品组合，两家公司表示，他们可以快速构建融合虚拟和物理特性的复杂环境。这些企业将设计网络靶场场景和安全环境，以验证项目成果。

德阿尔梅达表示：“我们已经与几位感兴趣的客户合作，研究他们的具体用例和外壳开发要求。”

他没有透露两家公司战略合作关系的任何财务细节，称该交易尚处于早期阶段，难以量化。他还补充说，两家公司都对此次合作进行了大量投资。Beacon Red隶属于阿联酋控股的Edge集团，后者是一家军事企业集团。

“知识共享和联合协作是 Beacon Red 和 Edge 的重点关注领域，因为我们旨在加强我们当地的主权防御能力。”

德·阿尔梅达表示，Quali和Beacon Red已经完成了原型阶段，并推出了最终解决方案，分别名为“移动网络靶场”和“移动网络实验室”。该方案于今年2月在阿联酋举行的国际防务展览会暨会议上首次亮相，两家公司正在继续拓展其能力，以备战6月在阿联酋举行的ISS世界中东和非洲贸易展。

德阿尔梅达表示，客户可以使用这些服务来模拟生产环境，而不会中断或对实际环境造成负面影响。

“对于需要测试新安全解决方案集成、进行漏洞评估和渗透测试、引爆恶意软件以及在安全但真实的环境中测试软件升级的敏感环境而言，这极其宝贵。根据近期供应链和工业控制系统遭受的攻击，该解决方案可以显著帮助抵御真实威胁。”

阿格尼斯·赫卢曾任《防务新闻》中东记者。她的研究领域包括导弹防御、网络安全、武器系统互操作性以及中东和海湾地区的战略问题。