Sophos continues cybersecurity innovation in the Egyptian market

Sophos is an international company specialising in security software and hardware. The company is a leader in the field of cybersecurity, developing products that prevent and combat a variety of cyber-attacks.

Daily News Egypt interviewed Sophos’ vice president for the Middle East and Africa, Harish Chib, to discuss the IT and cybersecurity sector and the company’s business in Egypt.



What is your vision for the Egyptian market in terms of investment opportunities and challenges?

The Egyptian government recently launched a new cybersecurity division to protect its ministries and institutions from cyber-attacks. At a time when malicious cyber-activity is growing in Africa, this development bodes well for Egypt, particularly because Egypt is among the most affected African countries and is reported to have one of the largest networks of active malicious IP addresses on the continent. Moreover, mobile networks in Egypt have evolved by leaps and bounds in the past few years, especially as mobile usage rates continue to increase rapidly. These trends are shaping up a mature information and communications technology (ICT) scenario and the country is poised to tackle cybersecurity as a macro-level concern.



Given our experience in the Middle East and Africa, Egypt undoubtedly remains an important market. We are observing more businesses in the country coming to treat IT and network security as a critical part of the equation for achieving sustainable ICT practices. The ICT industry is poised to play a central role in driving the growth of the Egyptian economy in the coming years. To achieve this, the government has mapped out a plan for development with a number of key aims, such as improving the quality and readiness of internet infrastructure and cybersecurity. Given this momentum, we will continue to invest in our regional channel and reseller network, while rolling out unique cybersecurity solutions for enterprises across the country.