Redefining resilience
Depa Group is a leading interior solutions provider, delivering projects in the hospitality, commercial, residential, marine yachts, and aircraft sectors across selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. Headquartered in the UAE, the Group has executed several iconic projects in the region, including Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa, Atlantis the Palm, and the Flame Towers in Baku.
Ali Kathkada, Group CIO of Depa Group, who was instrumental in setting up the Group’s IT department in early 2007, explains the company’s cybersecurity journey over the years: “We started with basic measures such as firewalls, network monitoring tools, and antivirus. At the time, security and IT in general were not receiving much attention in industries like ours. IT was seen as a cost center.”
As the threat landscape evolved, so did Depa’s approach. The organization transitioned to more sophisticated solutions, such as intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and security information and event management (SIEM) tools. This evolution, coupled with regular security audits and compliance checks, ensured robust protection and adherence to industry standards.
“Now, we have very comprehensive security policies in place. We have a business continuity and disaster recovery strategy, and incident response plans. Being a publicly listed company has brought a lot of cybersecurity maturity for us. We have many regulatory compliance requirements, so cybersecurity is not optional for us. We also get audited by the Big Four on even the basic things such as change management, incident management, ticketing systems, etc. All of that requires us to build a very mature security environment.”
Ali says that when the company started in 2007, everyone in the region had to build everything themselves because there was no ecosystem of suppliers and vendors who could provide quality services and understood the concept of strategic partnership. “So whether it was labor, catering, or transportation, we used to handle all of that in-house. Similarly, we had an extensive team of security personnel who monitored everything and sent reports to the head of IT. Over time, we realized we had lost our focus. We are a construction company, not an IT company, and we shouldn’t stray from our core purpose. Instead of maintaining a large team of IT experts, we recognized that many companies could do the job better than us. We began partnering with specialized vendors who have more dedicated resources, better-trained personnel, and higher quality services than we could afford to manage in-house,” he says.
A case in point is Depa’s partnership with Secureworks for MDR services. “We have been lucky we have not had any breaches until now, but that doesn’t mean we will not have one tomorrow. This is why we don’t cut corners when it comes to security investments. We have top-brand firewalls everywhere, even at small construction site offices. We educate our employees through regular awareness campaigns. We chose Secureworks as our cybersecurity partner because they provide comprehensive threat intelligence, which is crucial for proactive defense.”
Ali emphasizes the importance of continuous monitoring and incident response in Depa’s cybersecurity strategy. The company chose Secureworks for managed security services after a stringent evaluation process, primarily due to their ability to provide round-the-clock protection and leverage advanced analytics for threat detection and response. This proactive approach to security, coupled with the ability to share customized executive reports and logs with the C-suite and executives, ensures everyone is aware of the importance of cybersecurity.
Customer care was another factor that tipped the scale in favor of Secureworks. According to Ali, “With a proven track record in managing complex security environments, Secureworks brings extensive local expertise to the table. Their international team pays close attention to our region, meets with us frequently, and listens to our feedback. And that’s something you rarely find in other vendors, and it is very important to us.”
Ali offers advice to his peers and organizations looking to enhance their cybersecurity posture: “To effectively safeguard against cyber threats, understand your organization’s unique risk landscape and identify critical assets; invest in advanced threat intelligence to stay ahead of cyber threats; and partner with experienced providers who have a proven track record and deep expertise.”
He adds that it is equally important to implement continuous monitoring to ensure 24/7 detection and real-time response to incidents, and to focus on employee training and awareness programs to ensure staff is well-trained in recognizing and responding to cyber threats. “You must also conduct regular third-party independent audits and updates to keep systems and policies current with the latest security practices and compliance requirements,” he concludes.
