Proofpoint enhances UAE commitment as cybersecurity demands evolve

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Proofpoint, a global leader in human and agent cybersecurity, reaffirmed its commitment to the United Arab Emirates at Proofpoint Protect Dubai 2026, held under the theme “Cybersecurity for the Agentic Workspace.”

The event brought together cybersecurity leaders and industry experts to explore the evolving threat landscape and innovations designed to help organisations protect their people, data, and AI-driven operations.

The rapid adoption of AI is reshaping cybersecurity priorities across the UAE. According to Proofpoint’s 2026 AI and Human Risk Landscape report, 80% of organisations surveyed in the UAE are piloting or rolling out autonomous AI agents. At the same time, Proofpoint’s 2026 Voice of the CISO study found that 73% of UAE CISOs consider generative AI a security risk, up 19 percentage points from last year, while 75% are concerned about customer data leaking through public generative AI tools.

These findings highlight the growing need for organisations to balance AI innovation with stronger security and data protection.

At Proofpoint Protect Dubai 2026, Proofpoint highlighted innovations first announced at Protect San Diego, including its Agentic Data and AI Security system, designed to secure AI and sensitive data as one connected risk, and its Agentic Collaboration Security system, which uses intent-based detection to identify sophisticated threats across email, collaboration tools, and the browser. Together, these innovations reflect Proofpoint’s approach to securing people, data, and AI in the agentic workspace.

“The UAE remains a strategic market for Proofpoint, and our continued growth reflects the increasing demand for advanced cybersecurity solutions across the region, particularly as risks are evolving in the agentic era,” said Emile Abou Saleh, Vice President, Emerging Markets at Proofpoint. “By investing in local infrastructure, expanding our team, and strengthening our partner ecosystem, we are helping organisations address today’s security challenges while preparing for the opportunities and risks of the agentic workspace.”

Building on its continued investment in the UAE, including the launch of its Dubai data centre in 2025, Proofpoint has experienced sustained regional growth as organisations seek to strengthen their defences against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, modernise legacy security solutions, and securely adopt AI. The company has expanded its regional team and partner ecosystem to meet growing customer demand, while seeing increasing demand for its data loss prevention (DLP)

solutions following the opening of its local data centre. Proofpoint’s continued investment and growth across the UAE and Saudi Arabia includes: Proofpoint is trusted by 73% of the UAE- and Saudi Arabia-based companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000 (up from 50% in 2025) and protects more than 2,300,000 employees across the Middle East (up from 1,200,000 in 2025).

Proofpoint has experienced a threefold increase in certified partner engineers, supporting an expanding regional channel network and growing customer demands.