In the depths of Middle Eastern deserts, landscapes are rarely permanent.

Winds reshape the dunes daily, altering topography, forming new ridges, valleys and shapes. The region’s critical infrastructure faces a similar reality in cybersecurity. Just as defenses are built, the environment shifts, exposing new cracks and vulnerabilities. Even as you read this, the size and shape of threats are changing in real time. It is a terrain that never stands still, and neither can our defenses.

In the Middle East - a region fueled by innovation and ambitious mega projects - this constant movement poses an urgent question: from utilities to manufacturing plants to refineries, how do we secure the infrastructure that underpins economies, societies and daily life against ever evolving threats?

The shifting threat landscape

The UAE Cybersecurity Council estimates more than 200,000 attacks occur every day, with sectors such as energy, utilities and transport bearing the brunt. Ransomware dominates, making up more than half of all incidents, threatening to cause data breaches, operational downtime, and costly recovery efforts.

The August 2024 Halliburton breach was an important reminder that these threats are very real. IT shutdowns, customer disconnections and an estimated $35 million in losses proved that even the most established operators can be destabilized. For a region where oil, gas and power are part of the economic lifeblood, the stakes are even higher.

A hidden fault line - IT and OT

The integration of IT and OT systems has driven huge efficiency gains but also created shifting ground where attackers thrive. What starts as a small compromise in corporate IT can quickly cascade into operational networks that keep power on and water plants functioning. With the rise of industrial IoT, these attack paths are multiplying, and the risks to public safety and economic stability are growing.

At Senkron, our work with critical infrastructure leaders highlights the importance of bridging IT and OT security - applying standards such as IEC 62443, NIS2 and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework as living strategies that can adapt to evolving risks.

Anticipating the next shift

Cyber defense simply cannot be reactive. Attackers are using AI to map vulnerabilities and launch precision intrusions, while industries themselves are adopting AI for efficiency, sometimes without realizing the hidden risks it introduces.

Much like anticipating how the desert winds will reshape the landscape, security leaders need foresight. That means spotting anomalies before they spread, predicting intrusions before they take hold, and ensuring that what seems like solid ground today does not become tomorrow’s weakness.

Resilience in motion

While the prospect of threats never standing still may feel daunting, the Middle East is arguably in one of the best positions to tackle it as here, innovation doesn’t stand still either. We are living in a world that is more exposed, yet more equipped to deal with this than ever. And as leaders, we must protect critical infrastructure with the agility to adapt as the sands shift.

At Senkron, we believe resilience is not built once. It’s built continuously, rising and reforming as the threat environment changes. And that’s exactly how we’ve developed our cybersecurity service, CyberPact. Designed specifically for critical infrastructure, it is tailored to the individual realities of our customers. We provide 24/7 OT monitoring and advanced vulnerability and threat detection, all while ensuring you remain compliant.

Continue the conversation with our experts about preparing for tomorrow’s threats today.