ParamountAssure calls for stronger OT security to protect essential services at CYSEC UAE 2026

ParamountAssure, a UAE-headquartered cybersecurity company, will highlight operational technology (OT) security at CYSEC UAE 2026 on 22 October 2026 at Rosewood Abu Dhabi on Al Maryah Island. The company will focus on securing the physical operations behind essential services as the UAE advances digital transformation and the technology and productivity priorities of UAE Centennial 2071.

Earlier in 2026, the UAE Cybersecurity Council reported 90,000 to 200,000 daily breach attempts against UAE infrastructure. Against this wider threat backdrop, Paramount will highlight risks to OT, the hardware and software that monitor or control physical equipment and processes across energy, utilities, manufacturing and transport. While information technology (IT) security commonly protects information and business applications, OT security also addresses potential physical consequences. Disruption could interrupt services, damage equipment, or create safety risks.

A cyber incident in an OT environment could alter equipment instructions or distort the readings operators rely on. For example, manipulated tank-level readings at a refinery could cause a pump to overfill a tank, and if safety systems were also compromised, that could lead to a spill or fire. Severe disruption at a major refinery could affect national fuel supplies and ripple into international energy markets.

Premchand Kurup, CEO of ParamountAssure, said: “Industrial modernisation is bringing business networks and operational systems closer together, making cybersecurity a shared responsibility across IT and operational teams. At CYSEC UAE 2026, ParamountAssure aims to help leaders understand how risks can move between these environments and make OT security part of infrastructure investment and operating decisions. As the UAE advances its digital development, protecting the systems behind essential services must remain central to building the dependable infrastructure that supports national progress.”

The UAE Cybersecurity Council’s work on cyber defence and critical infrastructure protection underlines the need to include security in industrial investment. Connectivity and remote access can expose industrial systems when inadequately secured. Paramount helps organisations protect and manage security across IT and OT environments, including their connections. Reflecting the event’s theme, Cyber Leadership: Powering the Vision of a Smart and Secure Nation, Paramount will emphasise that digital progress depends on protecting the systems behind physical services.

Divya Raj, Business Unit Head – Critical Infrastructure Security (OT & IoT), ParamountAssure, will join the panel on ‘Protecting the Backbone: OT, ICS and Critical National Infrastructure Security’. She will discuss evolving cybersecurity challenges in essential industrial environments that form the operational core of the UAE’s Vision 2071 economy, such as energy, water, ports, and utilities, and how to protect these systems against today’s threat landscape.

Divya Raj, Business Unit Head – Critical Infrastructure Security (OT & IoT), ParamountAssure, said: “Effective OT security starts with understanding how the process operates and what happens if a system is interrupted or behaves unexpectedly. A change intended to improve security must be assessed for its effect on reliability and safety. Security teams need to work with the people running the equipment, so protection and response decisions reflect the operational conditions.”

Attendees can meet ParamountAssure’s experts at their stand to discuss protecting their IT and OT environments and managing risks where these systems connect. For further information, visit www.paramountassure.com.