In this exclusive interaction with The Catalyst, Mohammed Al-Moneer, Sr. Regional Director, Middle East, Africa & Turkey at Infoblox, shares insights on the unique cyber challenges faced by organizations in META, the importance of integrated security strategies, and how enterprises can balance innovation with robust risk mitigation.
What unique challenges do organizations in META face compared to global markets when it comes to cyber threats?
The META region is scaling digital services at record speed – sovereign cloud, superapps, fintech rails, smart cities. That pace expands the attack surface faster than many teams can map it. Threat actors exploit this with infrastructure level campaigns like brand lookalikes, malvertising and C2 that blend into normal web traffic. The most effective counter is preemptive control at the DNS layer and a living asset map from DDI data, so you see what’s connecting, to what, and why – before it reaches your endpoints.
Why is it essential for companies to adopt a holistic approach rather than treating each technology in isolation?
Attackers don’t respect org charts – Phishing, malware delivery, lateral movement, and data exfiltration are one campaign, not four. If NetOps, SecOps and CloudOps run on different data, response will lag. A unified DDI platform gives teams the same, real-time truth across DNS, DHCP and IPAM, while Protective DNS provides preemptive blocking and clean telemetry for faster investigations. That’s how you cut incidents, shrink mean time to respond (MTTR), and prove risk reduced – not just tickets closed.
FinTech are often seen as cybersecurity trailblazers. Despite perceived maturity, why this industry is still vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats?
FinTech moves at the speed of customer experience—open APIs, partners, realtime payments. That velocity creates dependency chains where a single compromised domain can pivot into fraud at scale. Adversaries now use AI powered social engineering plus agile web infrastructures, so by the time you find “patient zero,” the campaign has already shifted. DNS-first controls help detect and block attacker campaign infrastructure earlier, while SOC-ready DNS telemetry lets analysts prioritize what truly matters.
As the FinTech domain in MENA is on a growth mode and increase in investments in cyber resilience is visible, where should these investments be focused to achieve maximum impact?
Three priorities deliver outsized returns:
- Protective DNS coverage for every user and workload – On-prem, cloud, and remote – to stop threats before impact.
- Unified, authoritative DDI + visibility to maintain a real-time asset inventory across hybrid and multi-cloud; you can’t protect what you can’t see.
- Measurement by design: instrument “protection before impact” metrics, not only post incident KPIs, so boards see risk avoided, not just remediated.
How can vendors, enterprises, and regulators work together to create a resilient and secure digital ecosystem?
Resilience is a team sport. Vendors must deliver actionable intelligence and interoperable solutions; enterprises need to operationalize that signal – think DNS policies, segmentation, and real-time asset visibility. Regulators can accelerate progress by setting clear baselines like Protective DNS and enabling safe threat intel sharing. When these three align, we move from reactive firefighting to preemptive security that actually reduces risk across the ecosystem.
How can enterprises ensure that technology adoption enhances both business performance and security posture?
Start with visibility and measurement. Every new service should plug into a unified data layer – IP, DNS, DHCP – so security and performance share the same truth. Pilot in detection mode, then enforce once the data proves value. Track three KPIs: coverage (traffic under DNS policy), asset certainty (devices mapped), and time to investigate. If those trend positive, you’re improving resilience without slowing the business.
As digital transformation accelerates across the META region, organizations face increasingly complex and sophisticated cyber threats that demand more than isolated security measures. A proactive, unified approach that integrates visibility, preemptive controls, and continuous measurement across all critical network layers enables enterprises to stay ahead of attackers while maintaining operational efficiency. By combining advanced technologies with strategic collaboration between vendors, regulators, and internal teams, businesses can strengthen resilience, reduce risk, and ensure that technology adoption drives both performance and security. This holistic approach not only safeguards critical assets but also fosters trust, enabling organizations to innovate confidently in an increasingly connected and fast-moving digital landscape.
All Content Rights Reserved by The Catalyst.
