Abu Dhabi [UAE], may 7: The UAE Cybersecurity Council (CSC) and Rilian have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing cybersecurity resilience across Operational Technology (OT) environments within critical infrastructure and industrial sectors in the Emirates. The collaboration aligns with national efforts to strengthen the security of industrial control systems and other OT environments, with a focus on improving visibility, enhancing threat detection, and supporting the protection of critical assets across different sectors.
This groundbreaking new public-private collaboration moves beyond a traditional partnership to include the establishment of a joint Innovation and Excellence Centre (CoE) in Abu Dhabi. The center is intended to support innovation in OT cybersecurity, promote knowledge sharing, and contribute to the advancement of emerging technologies. It is also expected to play a role in supporting the broader startup ecosystem, including collaboration opportunities and the publication of insights and research in relevant cybersecurity domains.
Together through the Center of Excellence, the CSC and Rilian will establish four pillars of research, including productisation/IP development; national cyber academy for talent development; development and implementation of a national maturity dashboard; fostering of an ecosystem for startups and innovation.
This collaboration builds upon the company's existing work with the CSC to secure the country's critical infrastructure by leveraging advanced technologies from prominent partners both within the UAE and globally. As part of a 2025 agreement, the UAE's National Security Operations Center (NSOC) is working with Rilian to implement the company's agentic security orchestration platform, Caspian, for the purpose of integrating, operating, and automating cybersecurity and defense solutions across the nation's OT environments.
The new Centre will focus broadly on strengthening the security of industrial systems, supporting awareness and capability development, and encouraging collaboration across relevant stakeholders. It is also expected to contribute to ongoing efforts to address evolving cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure.
As digital transformation continues to expand across industrial sectors, OT environments are becoming increasingly interconnected and exposed to cybersecurity risks. Through this collaboration, both parties aim to support organisations in enhancing their ability to detect and respond to threats targeting cyber-physical systems.
Dr. Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government, said, "The UAE under the direction of its leadership is committed to a vision of technological innovation that not only enhances our people's lives through a robust and growing economy, but also ensures our sovereign capacity to defend the critical infrastructure that underpins and ensures the resiliency of our society, regardless of the threats and risks of our time. This partnership is grounded in the essential mission of the CSC's Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and will realise our vision of a safe and prosperous future for the UAE and our allies."
Christian Schnedler, CEO and Co-Founder of Rilian, said, "Rilian is pleased to work with the CSC's Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence to ensure the UAE and critical infrastructure providers globally can access and operationalise the most advanced security capabilities through the power of agentic AI - all with the speed, trust, and compliance their missions demand."
Source: Emirates News Agency
