Fortinet and Aramco Sign MoU on Industrial Cybersecurity in Saudi Arabia
The memorandum covers operational technology, cybersecurity research, cloud deployment in the Kingdom and training programmes for local talent.
Nadia Mansour Nadia Mansour covers fintech across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted -- digital banking, payments licences and the startups building around them. nadia@anecdoted.com
Fortinet and Aramco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at supporting secure and resilient industrial systems in Saudi Arabia. The agreement sets out the areas the two organisations intend to explore together, with operational technology at the centre of the work.
Operational technology, or OT, refers to the systems that run industrial plants and equipment. It is treated as a distinct field in the MoU, separate from the general cybersecurity work that guards corporate networks.
Saudi Arabia's industrial economy rests heavily on the plants and equipment those systems control. Securing them has become a shared concern for operators and technology vendors, since a failure or an intrusion at a facility has consequences that reach past any single company's network.
Where cooperation is planned
The document lists several possible areas of joint work:
- Localisation and cybersecurity talent development.
- Research and development, including the sharing of knowledge, best practices and technologies to meet new challenges.
- Adapting cybersecurity solutions to the particular needs of industrial sectors.
- Assessing whether Fortinet Cloud services could be deployed in Saudi Arabia.
- Training through bootcamps, workshops and other targeted programmes, alongside access to Fortinet platforms for education and training.
The two companies also intend to keep discussing cybersecurity threats and best practices as the arrangement develops.
Research, cloud and local skills
On research, the emphasis falls on exchange. Knowledge, best practices and technologies would move in both directions under the agreement, with the stated aim of responding to challenges that are still emerging in industrial environments.
Cloud is handled as a separate question. Rather than committing to a deployment, the MoU says the two sides will assess whether Fortinet Cloud services can be run in the Kingdom.
Skills work takes several forms in the document. Bootcamps, workshops and other targeted training programmes are named as possibilities, as is access to Fortinet's platforms for education and training. Localisation of cybersecurity capability, and the development of talent to staff it, appear as goals in their own right.
The companies' positions
Joe Sarno, Executive Vice President of International Sales at Fortinet, said the company looks forward to exploring how its cybersecurity expertise can help build more secure and resilient industrial environments in Saudi Arabia, while contributing to the growth of local cybersecurity skills and capabilities.
Abdul Aziz S. Al Shafi, Vice President of Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer at Aramco, said the collaboration aims to support innovation in cybersecurity solutions while expanding local expertise in the field.
The MoU is a statement of intent rather than a set of commitments. It identifies subjects for study and joint work — OT defences, research, where cloud services sit, training — and leaves the detail to be settled by the two parties.
