The cybersecurity provider Haboob, owned by SAFCSP (Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones), announced that it has signed an agreement with Google Cloud to use CyberShield, a service provided by Google.
But first, let’s get to what CyberShield is and why it is good for the Saudi Kingdom to use it. From the Google Cloud prospectus, we see that:
,,Chronicle CyberShield enables governments to build an enhanced cyber threat intelligence capability; protect web-facing infrastructure from cyber attacks; monitor and detect indicators of compromise, malware, and intrusions; and rapidly respond to cyber attacks to limit widespread impacts. In addition, it enables governments to raise threat and situational awareness, build cybersecurity skills and capabilities, and facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration to raise the bar for security at a national level.”
CyberShield has 3 core components:
CyberShield provides governments with the resources to combat cyber threats, greatly accelerate investigations and information sharing, and proactively and quickly initiate a unified response to persistent and evolving threats.
The collaboration is also crucial as it addresses the demand for cloud services in the Kingdom and fits into the Saudi Government’s Vision 2030 plan for Digital Transformation. As government agencies and businesses evolve digitally, threats from cyberspace will emerge, making it essential to be adequately protected and prepared against cyber threats.
Running on Google Cloud infrastructure, Chronicle CyberShield can process large amounts of data and perform analysis in seconds. This is a key factor when it comes to protecting one of the world’s largest economies and dealing with different data sources from different organisations and industries.
Under the agreement, Haboob will have access to a range of services from Mandiant, a leader in cybersecurity and part of Google Cloud.
The CEO of Haboob Eng. Saleh Alhaqbani said that they intend to provide their services to a wide range of government and private sector clients, reflecting a high level of confidence in their ability to meet the needs of the cybersecurity sector. This collaboration is another big step forward for the Kingdom, which is working with US cybersecurity providers. Saudi energy company Aramco previously announced its intention to enhance the security of Saudi operational technology (OT) environments as part of its agreement with Dragos.
The partnership also opens up a new region for Google Cloud, which is estimated to add $109 billion to the UK’s gross domestic product between 2024 and 2030. It will also help create around 150,000 new jobs and serve small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.
Tarek Khalil, Google Cloud director in MENA, told Arab News: “We’ve announced today that we’ve trained so far in the past year 19,000 people in the Kingdom.”
Overall, collaboration helps make government safer and more efficient and helps the Saudi Government to achieve its Vision 2030 plan for Digital Transformation. In addition to achieving government goals, it also provides a good opportunity for workers by creating new jobs and contributes greatly to the growth of the country’s GDP.
Sources:
https://www.darkreading.com/dr-global/saudi-arabia-arms-public-sector-with-google-cloud-services