ALKHOBAR, 18 November 2003 — Ongoing threats, both internal and external, make investment in IT security a priority. IDC estimates that investment in security and business continuity in the GCC will grow by almost 30 percent per year to $162 million by 2007. IDC expects worldwide spending on security and business continuity to grow twice as fast as IT spending over the next several years, reaching more than $116 billion by 2007.
This investment is in part a reaction to the escalation not only in the frequency of network security attacks but also to the complexity and virulence of these attacks. According to Mario Grossman, managing director, Advanced German Technology (AGT), the overall rate of network attacks on companies has increased by 19 percent this year. The rapid increase in the prevalence of blended threats, such as the recent Slammer and Blaster attacks, which combined malicious code and vulnerabilities to launch a cyber attack, were up by 20 percent in 2003. Grossman considers the worldwide IT security threat escalation as both an opportunity and a challenge.
“AGT as a security supplier has the responsibility of bringing the best available weapons to the battle against viruses, intrusion and manipulation. The solutions from our European partners that we integrate for the Middle East market are on the cutting edge of security applications. If we can raise the level of maturity in systems’ protection in this market, we will have contributed to the financial, economic and defensive well-being of its people,” said Grossman.
After the attacks on the US on Sept. 11, 2001, the issue of security received increasing attention. While the attacks in the US were physical, it was quickly recognized that cyber attacks could wreak even greater havoc, and be potentially more life threatening. Unfortunately, when some organizations in the Middle East attempted to obtain the latest security technologies from US-based security firms, they found that their purchases were blocked by US export regulations. In addition, some organizations that were already using US security technologies decided that the time had come to diversify their security suppliers as one way to enhance their level of network protection.
AGT Middle East was founded in February 2002 with its headquarters located in Manama, Bahrain. The business idea of AGT was and is to provide and enable the transfer of advanced German and European security technology and know-how to various international markets through its partners. After the set-up period in Bahrain, AGT Germany was founded in June 2002, located in Berlin, close to all the latest technology developments and advances in Europe.
The management of AGT has an Eastern and Western focus as well. Grossman is a graduate of the University of Berlin and worked as an economic consultant for many internationally operating companies and institutions. In 1999, Grossman became chief sales officer for a hardware manufacturing enterprise. It was then that he extended his business activities into South America, Africa, China and the Middle East countries. Having identified the market gap in the field of IT security, he felt that it was a logical step for him to specialize in this area. Today, Grossman is both MD of AGT and Lamon International, an AGT partner company.
Managing Director Anas Chbib joins Grossman at AGT’s helm. A graduate of the University of Damascus and the University of Cologne, Chbib has worked with companies such as Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and Lufthansa Consulting. For the Institution for Trade in Industry and Government, he established a network of alliances throughout Europe and the Middle East.
“It was during my studies that I had the vision of linking advanced German technology to Middle East customers,” explained Chbib. “This is a goal which I am now realizing through AGT. I want to emphasize that at AGT we exist to devote our time and effort to transferring state-of-the-art technology from Germany and Europe to our clients worldwide with a prime focus on clients in the Middle East countries.” AGT has entered the Saudi market and is at the stage of certifying and training their first Saudi partners.
“We have chosen our Saudi partners based on their experience and good standing in the market,” Grossman stated. “We are only interested in companies well-known to have an emphasis on enterprise security. Even though we will be training their technicians, we want our local partners to already have a good understanding of network security at the enterprise level. Frankly, we don’t want to deal with nobodies. That would not help us with the introduction of these excellent German products and solutions to high-level decision-makers. I’m sure everyone is aware that at the government and enterprise level, security firms must go through lengthy pre-qualification procedures based in part on their market record. Our plan is to build on our local partners’ well-established reputations.”
AGT is also establishing a local partner network because the company believes that IT security requires local support. AGT plans to bring the knowledge and the products, but wants partners to be ready and able to handle the local support. AGT partners are independents, meaning that they can offer products and solutions from a variety of sources, but AGT hope to convince them of the superior quality of the products and solutions coming from Germany.
Grossman made it clear that AGT is constantly searching for the best products and solutions in the German market. The company is continuously comparing new offerings to ones already in its portfolio. AGT is independent from any manufacturer and works with about thirty partner companies in Germany. Consequently, if they discover that an AGT partner company is really not the best anymore, they can choose one with better technology.
“We try to always deliver state-of-the-art technology,” said Grossman. “We are concentrating on supplying premier class security in the governmental sector, telecoms and the financial sector. That is our main focus. Small and medium sized businesses do need IT security, but we believe that in any market the impetus for strengthening network security overall comes from the three sectors I mentioned. So that is where we want to push hard for improvement.”
“We sympathize with the security challenges large organizations are having to cope with,” added Chbib. “Making it even tougher is that the rise of computers and the Internet has lifted this battle into a completely new sphere. Today, companies are confronted with a much faster speed of information transportation, a wider scope of instruments to manipulate and seemingly unforeseeable possibilities — all with the end potential to do harm.”
Both Grossman and Chbib will be using AGT’s resources in the coming year to intensify the focus of considering physical and cyber security as a total package. They believe AGT can add value in the Saudi market because the company is offering well-tested products and solutions at the high-end where the need is particularly critical.
“Large organizations must select security solutions very carefully. We have found that some products and solutions just don’t deliver what they promise and many of those products and solutions are being marketed in Saudi Arabia,” said Grossman. “It is very important that independent confirmation and consultation rather than marketing promises are at the basis of any selection.”
“We have analyzed this market,” Grossman continued, “and are moving forward in a very deliberate manner. We can do audits and testing and we recommend that companies start from this point before they look at any products or solutions. We can also do complete security concepts — this includes writing out the policies and training the people in security issues. It will not help if you have the best security products for your network but employees are still taping their passwords under their keyboards. There are managers who have the most secure login systems, but they leave their computers on and unlocked when they go out to lunch. Anyone can come by during that time and copy whatever they please. We believe that for security to be effective people have to learn not just operational requirements, but actual knowledge about security concepts must be transferred.”
Discussing the problems with obtaining advanced security products in the Middle East, as some Western countries have created export restrictions, Grossman commented that at the moment there were no export restrictions for the Saudi market for the products and solutions AGT represents. This is even though some of these products were originally developed for the German military. He mentioned that “export restrictions are always a question of politics and we cannot influence politics.” The company does have one product where it is necessary to get a special export license in every case and AGT has seen that sometimes this individual approval isn’t granted. However, currently for the Saudi market there is no general exclusion in regards to German security products.
“We are making a long term commitment to the Middle East and our partners in Germany are part of that commitment,” said Grossman. “We plan to train our Middle East partners in best practices and provide them with case studies from Europe, which they can share with prospective clients. We also plan to have national roadshows with a focus on security awareness. Although some work has been done in this area, there is still much more to be done. I believe we are up to the challenge and have the necessary resources. Once we educate the market and they clearly understand the issues, then the time will come for us to profit.”
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