Help AG partners with Proofpoint to deliver cybersecurity for Middle East enterprises
James Thorpe
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While cybersecurity awareness and spending in the Middle East continue to increase, human behaviour remains the weakest link in enterprise security strategies. Recognising this, Help AG and Proofpoint have entered into partnership to deliver people-centric cybersecurity solutions covering key user-focused threat vectors including email, social media and mobile devices. The new agreement with Proofpoint advances Help AG’s strategy of broadening its cybersecurity managed services offering to include the protection of people, however and wherever they work.
In its recent Human Factor Report, Proofpoint identified that more than 99% of cyberattacks rely on human interaction to work — making individual users a critical line of defence. “Attacks have pivoted from the network to endpoints because social engineering attacks are not only easier to execute, but also more successful, making them highly profitable. The rapidly changing dynamics of the Middle East workforce – with more employees working remotely and on-the-go than ever before – introduces a new set of security complexities and risks. However, this mobility is key to the modern workforce’s ability to excel. That’s why at Help AG, we’re partnering with Proofpoint to adapt cybersecurity to new business requirements, giving organisations the ability to empower their employees without sacrificing protection,” explained Stephan Berner, CEO at Help AG.
This emphasis on securing businesses without imposing restrictions is reflected in the flexibility of Proofpoint’s deployment models. The vendor’s solutions offer the same level of protection in both cloud and on-premise environments. As a result, Middle East businesses currently in the critical transition phase can realise their cloud ambitions without introducing risks in the interim. The vendor’s global intelligence platform spans email, social and mobile and collects and analyses more than 100 billion data points a day from more than 100 million email boxes, 200 million social-media accounts and 7 million mobile apps.
Furthermore, to help its customers protect their people, data and brand, Proofpoint has established technology alliances with security vendors which are also long-standing Help AG partners. This gives Help AG the ability to build on its customer relationships by extending on and enhancing their existing investments to deliver truly integrated end-to-end protection.
As part of its go-to-market strategy with Proofpoint, Help AG will also focus on the company’s security awareness offering. Berner explained that ‘effective security awareness training turns an organisation’s end users into a strong last line of defence against cyber-attacks’. To engage users and keep security top-of-mind, Proofpoint offers a growing, continuously updated library of interactive cybersecurity training modules, videos, posters, images and articles — all with consistent, actionable messaging suitable for global organisations. Help AG has a proven track record as the region’s trusted security advisor and by teaming with Proofpoint on advancing regional security awareness, the company is set to strengthen its position.
“Threat actors are increasingly targeting people, not infrastructure, and the move to the cloud is changing protection needs. Thus, it’s vital that organisations, not just in the Middle East, but globally, recognise the human factor threat,” said Emile Abou Saleh, Regional Director, Middle East and Africa at Proofpoint. “Proofpoint integrates a people-centric view into its security platform to offer tailored, first-class protection to address the challenges enterprises are facing today in a fast-evolving threat landscape. Proofpoint is committed to its channel strategy and recognise that working with a key, trusted partner such as Help AG will boost our growing presence in the region and advance security awareness within Middle East organisations.”