Cybersecurity firms SentinelOne, Sophos expand UAE benches amid cyber threat surge

Two cybersecurity firms tapped regional heads for their UAE offices as rising cyber threats and AI-driven attacks keep demand for regional security talent elevated.

Up first: California-based, AI-powered SentinelOne appointed former Microsoft UAE executive Girard Moussa (LinkedIn) as area vice president for sales across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META), where he will oversee regional sales strategy across enterprise and public-sector markets, ITP.net reports. Moussa previously held senior roles at Google Cloud, SAP, Cisco, and Splunk.

Meanwhile, UK-based Sophos named Dubai-based Hussain Salman (LinkedIn) as enterprise services director for the Gulf region to lead delivery across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, according to a press release. Salman previously held roles at Dell Technologies and Secureworks.

The logic is all about the threat backdrop: SentinelOne said organizations can no longer rely on traditional security models as AI increases threat sophistication, while Sophos said the Middle East has entered a “new strategic era” for cybersecurity requiring more proactive, intelligence-led defences.

They’re not wrong: The hires land as cyberattacks targeting the UAE have climbed to as many as 700k incidents a day since the regional conflict began, according to UAE Cyber Security Council Chairman Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, amid a wave of phishing, malware, and infrastructure-focused attacks.