Abu dhabi: 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.
According to Emirates News Agency, 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, emphasized the nation's commitment to technological innovation that enhances economic growth and ensures the defense of critical infrastructure. Christian Schnedler, CEO and Co-Founder of Rilian, expressed the company's dedication to operationalizing advanced security capabilities through agentic AI to meet the demands of security missions globally.
