CASE STUDY compliance with the best practices that are released by VMware , or even by the other compliance providers like CIS . We saw that it ’ s extremely simple to configure and the results were very fruitful . We even expanded that scope to go to the operating system as well , so it ’ s not only covering the virtualisation layer , but we also started analysing our operating systems with Runecast .

How important is having a robust and resilient cybersecurity posture for an organisation like Oman Airports and how do you prioritise this ?

I manage four main areas starting with the data centre , to ensure that the network is available across the airport in the wireless ; the communication part of it from the telephony , the radio which is very important at the airport , as well and managing four data centres and two server rooms across four airports .

The second area is airport security . We take care of the 1000 + CCTVs across the airports , access control devices , X-ray machines , video analytics from the intelligence part of the airport , the operating systems and the core layer of it , which is the Active Directory , mailing services , the basic securities at the server level and the underlying infrastructure which is on the virtualisation , the storage , the backup , the physical service as well . So that ’ s the entire portal which I handle . I have around 60 people in my team with five dedicated reporting to me .

Can you outline some of the cybersecurity trends you ’ re seeing across the Middle East region and how this impacts your strategic approach ?

With COVID-19 we ’ ve seen a lot of cybersecurity attacks in the region and across the globe . The threat actors are having a lot of time to play . I ’ ve seen multiple attacks within the region or even the country , the majority of which are ransomware attacks .

What ( security ) challenges were you looking to address ahead of your work with Runecast and what attracted you to this particular vendor ?

We chose Runecast mainly initially looking at the virtualisation layer that we have and ensuring

It ’ s one of the top priorities . COVID-19 meant that senior management has given cybersecurity a lot of attention . They really support us in terms of budgets just to make sure that the security is a top priority . Before even implementing any IT project , it needs to go through a complete security assessment and the posture assessment of that application before launching it to production and again , Runecast helps us a lot with that by the compliance division to the vulnerabilities as well , which are there .

How do you ensure Oman Airports ’ Digital Transformation goals align with the organisation ’ s ultimate business objectives ?

Digital Transformation is in fact part of our strategy house that we have – it ’ s like a pillar , which runs across all the rest of our strategy ’ s main bullet points . We are going through a big Digital Transformation here at Oman Airports and this requires a lot of IT elements .

What long-term capabilities / advantages do you expect Runecast will provide you with ?

In terms of long-term advantages , I would expect the automation to be further increased . It ’ s also about detection and response so maybe more integrations with the firewall of the ESXi itself or even the network firewall because Runecast detects the logs that you have on the ESXi . It analyses them and immediately reports any abnormalities . If we take that to the next level , by automating it and enabling the network firewall integrations , that ’ d be amazing to have .

What do you think the cybersecurity landscape will look like in 12 months ’ time and where will Oman Airports be best placed to adapt ?

The cybersecurity risks I would say are increasing day by day as is the demand for cybersecurity engineers . So , at Oman Airports , cybersecurity is one of the top

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