Cyber Security

PARTNER

Cyber security built for Saudi regulatory and threat reality

Cyber security in Saudi Arabia is no longer an IT problem with a board PowerPoint. It’s a regulatory obligation under NCA Essential Cybersecurity Controls, a contractual requirement from clients and partners, and increasingly a board-level personal liability for directors. Meanwhile the threat profile has shifted: ransomware operators target KSA mid-market, supply-chain compromises hit through third-party software, and cloud misconfigurations expose data nobody knew was reachable.

Unifiedway delivers cyber security services that match the actual threat and regulatory environment Saudi organisations operate in. We work as your security partner across assessment, implementation, and ongoing operations — whether you need a one-time NCA ECC compliance assessment, a managed detection-and-response service, or a CISO-as-a-service arrangement to mature your security programme.

Why Saudi organisations need a structured security partner

The NCA Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC-1) apply to most government and critical-sector organisations and are increasingly required in commercial supplier contracts. SAMA’s Cyber Security Framework applies to all financial institutions in the Kingdom. Both demand evidence — control documentation, risk registers, incident response procedures, third-party risk management, and regular testing.

Beyond compliance, the actual threat picture in KSA mirrors the global one with regional emphasis: financially motivated ransomware (often via phishing or RDP exposure), business email compromise targeting CFO-CEO relationships, and increasingly AI-assisted social engineering in Arabic. Mid-market organisations are hit because they don’t have a 24/7 SOC, can’t justify a full security team, and rely on antivirus and a firewall that haven’t been reviewed in years.

What’s included in our cyber security services

Security assessments and gap analysis

NCA ECC and SAMA CSF compliance assessments, ISO 27001 readiness, and bespoke security maturity reviews against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Each assessment produces a documented control inventory, gap report, and prioritised remediation roadmap.

Penetration testing and vulnerability assessment

External and internal network pentests, web application testing, mobile app testing, wireless assessments, and social engineering exercises. Testing is performed by certified ethical hackers (OSCP, CEH) and reports are delivered to standards your auditors accept.

Endpoint protection and EDR deployment

Kaspersky, Sophos, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, or CrowdStrike — chosen based on your environment, budget, and existing licensing. Includes policy design, rollout, alert tuning, and integration with your incident response process.

Email security and anti-phishing

Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast, or Proofpoint deployments with sandboxing, impersonation protection, attachment detonation, and URL rewriting. Plus security awareness training to address the human layer.

Network security

Next-generation firewall deployments (Fortinet, Palo Alto, Cisco), segmentation design, IDS/IPS tuning, secure remote access (Zero Trust Network Access where appropriate), and VPN-to-ZTNA migration.

Cloud security posture management

Microsoft Defender for Cloud, AWS Security Hub, or vendor-neutral CSPM tooling configured to your cloud estate. We tune the noise out and surface only the misconfigurations that matter, with remediation playbooks.

Identity and access management

Conditional access, MFA rollout (including the political battle with executives who don’t want it), privileged access management, and identity governance — usually built around Microsoft Entra ID for Saudi clients on M365.

Incident response retainer

Pre-negotiated terms so when an incident happens you don’t spend 24 hours arguing about commercial terms. Includes IR plan development, tabletop exercises, and on-call hours for active investigation.

Managed detection and response (MDR)

24/7 monitoring of your security telemetry — endpoint, network, cloud, and identity — by our SOC analysts. Triage, investigation, and either response actions or escalation to your team based on the playbooks we agree.

Security awareness training

Phishing simulations, role-based training in Arabic and English, executive security briefings, and reportable metrics for the board pack.

How we deliver

1. Scoping call — short conversation to understand your industry, regulatory exposure, current security posture, and budget reality.
2. Maturity assessment — typically 2–4 weeks depending on scope. Output: NCA ECC / SAMA CSF / ISO 27001 mapping plus a risk register.
3. Roadmap — prioritised by risk reduction per Riyal spent. We are explicit about what to do in 90 days, 12 months, and 24 months.
4. Implementation — quick wins first (MFA, EDR rollout, email security tuning), then structural projects (segmentation, IAM, MDR).
5. Operations and continuous improvement — managed services if you want them, or knowledge transfer to your team if you’d rather run it internally.
6. Reassessment — annually at minimum, and after any significant change to your environment.

Industries we serve

• Financial services — SAMA-aligned security programmes for banks, exchange houses, fintech, and insurance.
• Government and semi-government — NCA ECC compliance and incident response for regulated entities.
• Healthcare — patient data protection, MOH alignment, and ransomware-resilient infrastructure.
• Hospitality — PCI-DSS for card processing, guest data protection, and PMS/POS security.
• Manufacturing and OT — IT/OT segmentation, ICS/SCADA security, and operational resilience.
• Professional services — client confidentiality, secure remote work, and email-borne fraud prevention.

Why Unifiedway

Our cyber security team holds CISSP, CEH, OSCP, ISO 27001 LA, and CompTIA Security+ certifications, with vendor specialisations across Kaspersky, Sophos, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Cisco, and Microsoft Security. We are physically present in the Kingdom — assessment work happens onsite where it should, not over screen-sharing with someone in another time zone. Our reports speak the language of Saudi auditors and regulators, not generic cybersecurity boilerplate. And critically, we don’t sell scare. The roadmap reflects real risk in your environment, not the most expensive product we can resell.

Frequently asked questions

How is NCA ECC different from ISO 27001?

NCA ECC is mandatory for in-scope KSA organisations and is enforced by the regulator. ISO 27001 is an internationally recognised certification that’s voluntary but increasingly required in supplier contracts. The control families overlap significantly — we can map your existing ISO controls to ECC requirements during the assessment.

Do you handle live incidents?

Yes. We offer pre-negotiated incident response retainers that activate within agreed response times. For organisations without a retainer we offer emergency response on a project basis, but retained clients always get priority.

What’s the difference between MDR and a SOC?

A SOC is the internal team and toolset; MDR is an outsourced 24/7 service that includes the analysts, the tooling, and the response capability. For most Saudi mid-market organisations, building an internal 24/7 SOC isn’t economically viable — MDR delivers the same outcome at a fraction of the cost.

How long does a security assessment take?

A focused NCA ECC compliance assessment is typically 3–4 weeks. A full security maturity review with penetration testing runs 6–10 weeks depending on environment size.

Will you sign an NDA?

Always — before any technical discussion that touches your environment.

What does cyber security cost?

Assessments are fixed-fee. Implementation depends on scope. Managed services are per-endpoint or per-user monthly. Free scoping call to size the right starting point.

Take the next step

Most Saudi organisations need a clear picture of where they actually stand before committing to a multi-year security programme. Book a free 30-minute call and we’ll suggest the right starting point — assessment, quick-win project, or managed service. Pair cyber security with IT consulting, unified communications, or cloud computing services for a coherent transformation programme.