DEWA inaugurates cyber security innovation lab as smart tech proliferates

DEWA inaugurates cyber security innovation lab as smart tech proliferates
Image courtesy DEWA

DEWA has inaugurated its Cyber Security Innovation Lab, the Waee Cybersecurity Centre and Identity Intelligence Centre, to build cyber resilience in an increasingly digital energy transition.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), in collaboration with Moro Hub (Data Hub Integrated Solutions LLC), a subsidiary of Digital DEWA, the digital arm of DEWA, announced the inauguration yesterday.

As part of the utilities’ efforts to build a safe, solid and reliable digital environment, the lab aims to enhance integrated protection for stakeholders against cybersecurity risks and ensure secure access to DEWA’s cyberspace.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA, highlighted that this step comes in line with the organisation’s efforts to prepare for the challenges that smart technology brings.

The Cybersecurity Innovation Lab was designed to enable and streamline DEWA’s digital transformation through research, exploration, innovation, design and testing of cybersecurity controls and deployment in its environment.

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The lab aims to save time and cost and increase DEWA’s return on investment in information and cybersecurity.

The Waee Cybersecurity Centre provides a virtual environment to run technical training and exercises with scenarios and tools to simulate cybersecurity attacks and defence mechanisms.

Al Tayer stated how the lab has been inaugurated “to keep pace with the latest technologies for protecting smart networks and smart city infrastructure… DEWA strives to manage potential risks that threaten information security by following an effective corporate policy for information security.

The lab is the latest in utility’s approach to cybersecurity for its digital functions, which is based on four pillars, according to Marwan Bin Haidar, executive vice president of innovation and the future at DEWA. “Digital DEWA is based on four pillars: Launching advanced solar power technologies; deploying a renewable energy grid with innovative energy storage technologies; expanding integrated AI solutions; and providing digital services that serve smart, sustainable cities while ensuring their security and continuity in the cyber digital space.