Tech News
Securing the Digital Frontier: Rubrik’s Vision for Middle East Cybersecurity
Exclusive Interview with Robert Standing, Regional Vice President, Middle East, Africa & Eastern Europe at Rubrik
Q. With AI being a central theme at GITEX 2024, how does Rubrik integrate AI capabilities into its Security Cloud to enhance data protection and threat detection?
At Rubrik, we’ve recognized that AI is not just a buzzword but a powerful tool for enhancing data protection and cyber resilience. Our Rubrik Security Cloud leverages AI to provide advanced threat detection and data recovery solutions. Specifically, our machine learning algorithms analyze backup snapshots for abnormalities, which helps us detect unusual activity and potential threats before they become serious incidents. We recently introduced Ruby, our generative AI companion for Rubrik Security Cloud, which is designed to accelerate cyber detection, recovery, and resilience.
Traditionally, IT or security operations professionals spend countless hours and much back-and-forth with internal teams to complete these investigations. Ruby aims to streamline this process with a guided and conversational workflow, significantly reducing the time needed to resolve issues. Leveraging Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI and our machine learning-based Data Threat Engine, Ruby assists users in detecting, investigating, and remediating cyber incidents more quickly and effectively. This capability is crucial in today’s environment, where AI-powered attack tools such as FraudGPT and WormGPT are emerging within the cybercrime underground, potentially resulting in more advanced ransomware attacks.
By providing comprehensive AI-driven cybersecurity solutions, we enhance organizational resilience while simultaneously contributing to the broader AI economy.

Q. With the rapid adoption of cloud solutions in the Middle East, how does Rubrik ensure seamless data protection across hybrid and multi-cloud environments?
The adoption of cloud solutions in the Middle East is on the rise, and it’s important for organizations to have strong protection across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Rubrik has been leading the way in providing seamless data protection, no matter the infrastructure. Our platform is designed with flexibility in mind, supporting SaaS, cloud-native, and on-premise deployments, making cloud a top priority.
At Rubrik, we’re committed to enhancing the protection and recovery of sensitive information through our cloud architecture and AI-powered solutions, especially as cyber threats continue to evolve. Our machine learning algorithms constantly analyze backup snapshots for any unusual activity, helping us spot potential threats before they grow into serious issues. We also utilize AI to enable quick recovery from attacks, so organizations can easily search for specific data points and restore them efficiently.
This integrated approach empowers businesses to safeguard their data across different environments without sacrificing control or security. By ensuring comprehensive data protection, we assist enterprises in staying resilient while they embrace their cloud transformation journeys. This is especially vital in the Middle East, where countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are showing a strong commitment to cloud, AI technology, and digital transformation.
Q. What are Rubrik’s strategic priorities for the MENA region, and how do you see the cybersecurity landscape evolving in the coming years?
In the MENA region, our strategic priority is to enhance data security while empowering enterprises to build resilience against evolving cyber threats. As countries in the region are rapidly embracing digital transformation, we recognize that this growth also brings increased cyber risks. Our focus is on delivering AI-powered cybersecurity tools that effectively combat threats such as ransomware and data breaches. We anticipate that as more organizations in the region adopt cloud technologies, the demand for robust, AI-driven solutions will surge. Our commitment to the region includes investing in local talent and partnerships to tailor our offerings to the unique challenges faced by businesses in this market. We aim to be a long-term partner in their journey toward enhanced security and operational resilience.
Q. What insights can you share about the current cybersecurity landscape based on your observations at GITEX, particularly regarding emerging threats and trends?
GITEX 2024 has highlighted a significant shift in the cybersecurity landscape, particularly with AI’s dual role in facilitating attacks and enhancing defenses. The increase of AI-driven cybercrime tools enables cybercriminals to execute increasingly sophisticated attacks, which presents a major challenge for security teams. At the same time, we’ve observed that organizations are prioritizing resilience alongside traditional security measures. This means not only focusing on preventing attacks but also ensuring they can recover quickly when incidents occur. At Rubrik, our solutions are designed to support this shift by emphasizing rapid detection and recovery capabilities, allowing businesses to minimize downtime and maintain continuity even amid cyber threats.
Q. GITEX emphasizes smart cities and digital infrastructure. How is Rubrik aligning its solutions to meet the secure and scalable data demands of these initiatives?
As smart cities continue to grow, especially in the Middle East, they’re generating a massive amount of data that needs to be both secure and easily accessible. There is great opportunity in how our solutions can support these initiatives.
We focus on zero trust principles to secure all types of data—whether it’s from enterprise systems, cloud applications, or SaaS platforms. This means we can help government agencies and smart city developers ensure that their data remains protected from cyber threats.
One of the key benefits we offer is our ability to safeguard sensitive government data. We provide air-gapped, immutable backups which helps ensure recovery from ransomware and other malicious attacks. This way, cities can maintain their operations even in the face of cyber challenges. We also understand that speed is critical when it comes to recovery. Our platform continuously monitors for emerging threats, allowing us to quickly identify and address potential issues before they escalate. If something does happen, our solutions enable rapid restoration of affected applications or files, helping cities get back on track without missing a beat.
For example, the City of Las Vegas uses our technology to protect their smart city data while automating their IT operations. This not only enhances their efficiency but also improves the services they provide to citizens.
Overall, we’re committed to supporting the growth of smart cities by providing secure, scalable solutions that meet the highest standards of data protection. It’s all about ensuring these initiatives can thrive while keeping their data safe and accessible.
Tech News
Submer to Address the Infrastructure Challenges Behind Sovereign AI at DCD Connect | MENA 2026
Submer, a full-stack AI and HPC data centre infrastructure provider, will join industry leaders at DCD Connect | MENA 2026, taking place October 26–27 at Grand Hyatt Dubai, to discuss the infrastructure strategies needed to advance sovereign AI across the region.
As governments and organisations across the Middle East accelerate their sovereign AI and cloud strategies, the challenge extends beyond keeping data within national borders. They must also build the high-performance computing infrastructure needed to support increasingly complex AI workloads while meeting regulatory requirements, scaling efficiently and maintaining commercial viability.
Submer will contribute to this discussion through its participation in the panel debate “Building Sovereign AI: Enabling Innovation Through Scalable Compute,” on October 26, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. The session will explore the infrastructure requirements of sovereign cloud environments, the trade-offs between fully localised and hybrid infrastructure models, and how the region can develop a sovereign-ready compute backbone without compromising flexibility, performance or return on investment.

Bahaa Al Janabi, Technical and Solution Lead for Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Submer, will join fellow industry experts to examine how infrastructure decisions can shape the region’s ability to turn its AI ambitions into scalable, commercially viable deployments.
“Sovereign AI is not simply about where data resides. It is about having the infrastructure to run advanced AI workloads at scale while meeting national requirements and making the economics work. The choices organisations make today will shape their ability to innovate, scale and compete. We look forward to discussing how the right infrastructure strategies can help turn the region’s sovereign AI ambitions into reality,” said Bahaa Al Janabi.
Submer representatives will also be available throughout the event to meet with customers, partners and industry stakeholders and discuss the evolving AI infrastructure landscape across the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.
Tech News
Thermax showcases advanced desalination and water recovery technologies to strengthen UAE’s industrial water security at WETEX 2026
Thermax Limited showcased its advanced seawater desalination and industrial water recovery technologies at the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition 2026 (WETEX), held from October 20 to 22 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Through its digital showcase, the company highlighted solutions designed to help industries secure reliable water supplies, improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Thermax’s participation came as Dubai continues to strengthen its desalination infrastructure to meet growing water requirements. According to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) Financial Annual Report, desalinated water production increased by 5.51 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reaching a record 37.57 billion imperial gallons. By June 2026, Dubai’s installed desalination capacity had reached 555 million imperial gallons per day, with seawater reverse osmosis accounting for 23 per cent of the total. These developments highlight the growing importance of efficient and reliable water infrastructure in supporting the UAE’s evolving water requirements.
At the event, Thermax highlighted its desalination solutions that help industries meet their water needs while easing pressure on freshwater resources. The systems use energy-efficient membrane technology to remove salts from seawater and produce water suitable for industrial use, with designs tailored to each customer’s water quality and operating requirements.
Through its digital showcase, Thermax also highlighted portable and containerised desalination systems that bring key equipment together in compact units. This reduces installation work on site, supports faster deployment and allows treatment capacity to grow with demand.
Ashish Bhandari, Managing Director & CEO, Thermax Limited, said: “Water security shapes where industries invest and how competitively they operate. Businesses need dependable supply at a cost they can sustain. That means planning water and energy together, with investment decisions guided by performance throughout a plant’s life.”
Beyond desalination, Thermax also showcased Advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology that recovers additional usable water from the concentrated stream left after treatment. By concentrating the remaining brine, the technology reduces the load on downstream evaporation systems and supports more efficient industrial wastewater management. When combined with suitable additional treatment and crystallisation processes, it can also support salt recovery, creating opportunities to recover valuable resources from wastewater and promote circular water management.
Thermax also showcased industrial water treatment, wastewater recycling and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solutions that help industries treat and reuse wastewater for suitable applications while reducing freshwater dependence. Complementing these solutions, Thermax’s EDGE Live digital platform supports plant performance through real-time monitoring, AI-driven analytics and predictive diagnostics, helping industrial operators identify potential issues early, optimise maintenance and improve operational reliability.
These solutions align with the objectives of the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, which targets 95 per cent reuse of treated water by 2036. Through its regional office in Dubai, Thermax is focused on exploring various opportunities across the UAE’s industrial desalination, water treatment and wastewater recycling sectors, particularly within water-intensive industries such as oil and gas, chemicals, metals, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals.
Thermax has been active across the Middle East and North Africa region since 1993, with more than 1,000 installations across its regional energy and environment portfolio, serving over 30 industries.
Tech Features
TrendAI™Expands Vision One with New Security Capabilities for AI Agents and Application Development
TrendAI™, the global AI security leader and enterprise business unit of Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), has announced new capabilities for TrendAI Vision One™. These include the private preview of Autonomous Vulnerability Discovery and expanded support for Claude’s Compliance API, which now covers Claude Code and Cowork sessions. Together, these services help enterprises identify exploitable vulnerabilities in source code before attackers do, investigate how AI agents operate, and maintain oversight as AI adoption scales.
The need for this oversight is growing rapidly across the region. According to research conducted by The Harris Poll for Dataiku, 62% of UAE chief information officers believe their organisation have more than 50 AI agents running in production, yet only 18% have a fully unified view of agents across platforms, data environments, and business applications. At the same time, AI is accelerating both how quickly code is written and how quickly attackers can identify flaws. Security teams therefore need to keep pace with AI adoption without losing visibility into what is happening across their environments.
The new capabilities extend TrendAI Vision One™ across both software development and AI agent activity. TrendAI Vision One™ Autonomous Vulnerability Discovery is powered by AESIR, TrendAI’s agentic exploit-remediation engine, which identifies and validates vulnerabilities, including zero-days. It also verifies fixes in customer source code. The engine uses purpose-built, multi-model AI architecture that relies primarily on Anthropic models and has outperformed single-model and agentic system scores on the CyberGym Leaderboard. Every finding is validated by experts from the TrendAI™ Zero-Day Initiative™ (ZDI), the world’s largest vendor-agnostic bug bounty programme. The Autonomous Vulnerability Discovery is deployed and operated on Amazon Bedrock from Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling the full workflow to run within the customer’s AWS environment
In parallel, the expanded Claude Compliance API integration brings Claude Code and Cowork session records from Claude Enterprise into TrendAI Vision One™. These records include prompts, responses, and tool calls, each tied to a verified user. It enables security teams to investigate AI activity in context, correlate it with endpoint, identity, cloud and network signals, and build custom detections for relevant agent behaviour.
Commenting on the announcement, Salah Suleiman, Managing Director, South Gulf, TrendAI™, said, “AI is changing both how software is built and how work gets done across the enterprise. Code is being written faster than ever, while AI agents are increasingly able to access systems, call tools and act on behalf of users. As organisations across the UAE and the wider region scale AI at pace, their security teams need to identify vulnerabilities early while maintaining clear visibility into what AI systems are doing and whether their actions align with organisational policies. With these additions to TrendAI Vision One™, we are helping organisations move faster with AI while maintaining the context, oversight and control needed to do so securely.”
TrendAI Vision One™ also continues to ingest activity logs from Claude Enterprise, covering user logins, administrative actions and configuration changes, as well as from Claude Platform, covering administrative, system and resource events. Autonomous Vulnerability Discovery is now available in private preview to select enterprise customers running on AWS, while Claude’s Compliance API integration in TrendAI Vision One™ is available to TrendAI Vision One™ customers using Claude Enterprise.
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