Honeywell unveils cybersecurity centre of excellence at Dubai headquarters

US engineering giant Honeywell has announced the launch of its first industrial cybersecurity centre of excellence, located at its Middle East headquarters in Dubai.

Honeywell will use the centre to expand its footprint in the Middle Eastern cybersecurity market, whilst also supporting regional government initiatives such as the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy that looks to strengthen cyber defences throughout digital transformation initiatives.

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“This centre of excellence is the first of its kind dedicated to developing world-class industrial cyber security expertise for our customers in the region,” said Jeff Zindel, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security.

“It provides a safe, real-world environment to learn in, allowing us to innovate and augment industrial cyber security skills. The centre is also a critical part of Honeywell’s network of global Cyber Security COEs dedicated to improving industrial cyber security for critical infrastructure, information technology and operational technology (IT/OT) convergence and digital transformation.”

The centre includes distributed control systems, physical plant processes and the latest cybersecurity software and solutions, capable of creating simulation cyber-attacks.

As a result, the facilities and technology available at the centre will be used to test and reveal network vulnerabilities, in addition to training its customers and providing in depth customer consultations on cybercrime.

“As threats to industrial control environments become more sophisticated, it will be crucial to train the workforce of the industry for effective cyber security implementation,” said Safdar Akhtar, business development director of Industrial Cyber Security for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Honeywell Process Solutions.

“At the centre, we are able to demonstrate cyber security solutions and controls in attack scenarios to show which of them are most effective at combatting various attacks.”