CQR (Absolute Solution for Cybersecurity Co.), Saudi Arabia’s first company specializing in operational technology (OT) cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, has signed a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with sirar by stc, establishing a framework for collaboration to deliver specialized cybersecurity solutions and services for operational technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments across the Kingdom.
The agreement brings together CQR’s Saudi-developed technologies and specialized industrial cybersecurity expertise with sirar by stc’s managed cybersecurity capabilities to develop an integrated model that helps organizations protect their critical assets and operations while addressing the growing cyber risks facing industrial and operational environments.
At the heart of the collaboration is FENNEC, CQR’s platform designed and developed in Saudi Arabia specifically to protect critical infrastructure and complex industrial environments. The platform provides comprehensive, up-to-date visibility into critical assets, together with process-aware security monitoring, continuous compliance and dynamic risk intelligence, enabling organizations to develop a more accurate understanding of cyber risks that could affect safety, production and business continuity.
The agreement also supports the shared ambition of CQR and sirar by stc to establish a sovereign, AI-enabled OT and IoT Cybersecurity Monitoring and Assurance Center, bringing together CQR’s technical and industrial expertise with sirar by stc’s managed cybersecurity capabilities. The proposed center is intended to strengthen local capabilities in protecting operational environments and critical infrastructure across the Kingdom.
Commenting on the agreement, Naser Al-Dossary, CEO of CQR, said: “Cyber sovereignty begins with owning the technology, knowledge and capabilities required to protect our most critical environments. With this in mind, we designed and developed FENNEC in Saudi Arabia to meet the specialized requirements of industrial and operational environments. We believe that local technology development and localization are fundamental to strengthening national capabilities and building a more independent and sustainable cybersecurity ecosystem, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. Through our collaboration with sirar by stc, we look forward to extending the impact of these capabilities, enabling organizations to better understand and manage cyber risk, and strengthening the protection of their critical infrastructure and operations.”
Al-Dossary added that FENNEC leverages artificial intelligence to support specialist analysts in interpreting security alerts, prioritizing risks, guiding investigations and assessing potential operational impacts, while ensuring that decisions that could affect production remain subject to expert human oversight.
He also noted that the platform enables organizations to classify assets according to their criticality, operational function and potential impact on safety, production and business continuity. By linking security alerts to asset and process context, FENNEC helps cybersecurity teams prioritize response actions based on actual operational impact.
For his part, Yaser Al-Swailem, CEO of sirar by stc, said: “This agreement represents an important step toward strengthening Saudi Arabia’s sovereign cybersecurity capabilities. By combining sirar by stc’s managed cybersecurity capabilities with CQR’s Saudi-developed technologies and specialized industrial expertise, we aim to provide organizations with an integrated and scalable model for protecting their critical OT and IoT environments.”
The potential scope of collaboration, to be agreed separately, may include a range of specialized services, including OT and IoT cybersecurity maturity assessments, regulatory gap analysis, critical asset identification, secure architecture design, FENNEC deployment and technology integration, as well as managed security monitoring, threat hunting, incident response, continuous compliance, risk assessment, training and knowledge transfer.
FENNEC is also compatible with the Kingdom’s move toward dedicated 450 MHz industrial communications networks and is designed to discover, monitor and secure OT, IoT and IIoT assets operating across these networks, as well as associated industrial smart radio devices.
As part of the future direction of the collaboration, the two parties also plan to establish an OT and IoT Hardware, Firmware and Connected-Device Security Assessment Lab. The proposed facility would conduct specialized assessments of industrial equipment, embedded systems and connected devices in a controlled environment, with the findings supporting FENNEC’s monitoring, compliance and risk management capabilities.
Source: Saudi Gazette