TheCyberKnightFlash

Secure feedH1 2026Live

From the COO's Desk

A record-breaking first half built on discipline, not a single quarter's win.

As H1 2026 closes, CyberKnight delivered one of the strongest performances in its history despite geopolitical uncertainty and a fast-evolving threat landscape.

Looking to H2, our focus is clear: deepen vendor partnerships, expand channel enablement, strengthen operations, invest in talent and solidify our position as the region's distribution partner of choice.

Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder and COO of CyberKnight

Vivek Gupta

Co-Founder & COO

“Sustainable partner success is built on the quality of partnerships not the size of the channel. Our scale has come from investing in Strategic Partners and enabling them to succeed. When the ecosystem operates as one team with one goal, executive alignment, continuous enablement, and transparent communication are achieved.”
01

$100M+

Revenue bookings up 61% YoY

02

+25%

Invoice volume growth

03

$87K

Average invoice value

04

+15%

Transacting vendors growth

05

195

New resellers up 26%

06

430

New end customers regionwide

Vendor Intelligence

What moved the market in H1 2026.

Nine launches and recognitions shaping AI security, digital trust, AppSec and the post-quantum transition.

Netskope cybersecurity technology visualNETSKOPE
01Netskope

AI Command Center

AI Security

Netskope One SASE now helps enterprises discover, assess and secure sanctioned and shadow AI tools, models and agents—connecting AI activity with users, data and policy.

Read the story
CrowdStrike cybersecurity technology visualCROWDSTRIKE
02CrowdStrike

AI Security at the Endpoint

Endpoint

New Falcon capabilities bring visibility and governance to autonomous AI agents across devices, desktop AI applications, SaaS and cloud workloads.

Read the story
Harness cybersecurity technology visualHARNESS
03Harness

A Leader in the 2026 Gartner MQ

DevSecOps

Harness is recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for DevSecOps Platforms for the third consecutive year, positioned furthest for Completeness of Vision.

Read the story
Group-IB cybersecurity technology visualGROUP-IB
04Group-IB

Recognized for IR Retainer Services

Incident Response

Named a Representative Vendor in Gartner's Market Guide, backed by 1,600+ investigations across 60+ countries and 11 Digital Crime Resistance Centers.

Read the story
Hexnode cybersecurity technology visualHEXNODE
05Hexnode

Hexnode IdP Launch

Identity

A native identity provider unifies authentication, SSO and device compliance under one control plane, blocking access from non-compliant devices.

Read the story
Forescout cybersecurity technology visualFORESCOUT
06Forescout

PQC Readiness Dashboards

Post-Quantum

New dashboards reveal quantum-exposure risk across IT, OT, IoT and IoMT, addressing an environment in which nearly 90% of SSH servers remain quantum-unsafe.

Read the story
Keyfactor cybersecurity technology visualKEYFACTOR
07Keyfactor

Trust Control Plane

Digital Trust

A unified system for machine identities and cryptographic assets gives teams continuous visibility, automation and governance as AI and post-quantum pressures converge.

Read the story
Invicti cybersecurity technology visualINVICTI
08Invicti

All-in-One AppSec Platform

AppSec

AppSec Core brings DAST, SAST, SCA, container, secrets and IaC scanning together so lean teams can focus on real, exploitable runtime risk.

Read the story
Advenica cybersecurity technology visualADVENICA
09Advenica

Data Diode Achieves EAL4+

Critical Infrastructure

Advenica's Data Diode DD1G achieved Common Criteria EAL4+ certification, one of the highest internationally recognized assurance levels for IT security products.

Read the story

Customer Success Story

Outcomes, not just deployments.

Wins across the region  from data classification and governance to enterprise infrastructure monitoring.

Fortra logo

Fortra — Data Classification Suite

Strengthening data security, classification and governance.

Fortra data classification and governance framework showing classification tiers, policy enforcement, Microsoft integration, and the identify, classify, label, and enforce workflow

Engagement narrative

A large organization needed to strengthen the way sensitive information was identified, classified and protected across its environment. Limited data visibility, inconsistent classification practices, evolving compliance requirements and the risk of accidental data leakage created the need for a scalable and structured approach.

Solution stack

  • 01Automated classification
  • 02Email & document labelling
  • 03Metadata tagging
  • 04Microsoft integration
SolarWinds logo

SolarWinds — Government Entity, Qatar

A competitive PoC win that became a services opportunity.

SolarWinds monitoring infographic showing existing IT environment, technical workshops and PoC, deep visibility and scalable coverage, and outcomes of validated PoC, product win and professional services

Engagement narrative

A government entity in Qatar needed to enhance infrastructure monitoring beyond its existing in-house solution. Limited visibility, scalability requirements and evolving operational demands created the need for a modern, enterprise-grade platform. Following technical workshops and a successful PoC, the customer selected SolarWinds and CyberKnight's Professional Services for implementation.

Solution stack

  • 01Infrastructure monitoring
  • 02Technical workshops
  • 03Proof of concept
  • 04Professional services
Netskope logo

Netskope — Banking Sector, KSA

A strategic win in one of the region's leading banking markets.

Netskope cloud security infographic showing banking cloud environment, CASB and secure web gateway, secure cloud transformation, and outcomes of cloud visibility, data protection, digital transformation and regulatory compliance

Engagement narrative

CyberKnight secured a Netskope deal with a leading bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, strengthening its cloud security posture as part of the region's ongoing digital transformation.

Solution stack

  • 01Cloud security
  • 02CASB
  • 03SWG
  • 04Data protection
Proofpoint logo

Two Strategic Wins, One Account — Banking Sector, West Africa

A single account, two closed deals, one relationship-led strategy.

Proofpoint two-solution security strategy infographic for a West Africa banking account showing adaptive email DLP, app hardening, relationship-led engagement, and outcomes of email DLP, app hardening, relationship-led partnership, and account expansion

Engagement narrative

One strategic banking account in West Africa delivered two closed wins, Proofpoint Adaptive Email DLP and Digital.ai App Hardening, driven by deep relationships across the customer's technical and executive teams.

Solution stack

  • 01Email DLP
  • 02App Hardening
  • 03Account expansion
  • 04Relationship-led

Channel Update

The channel is growing with us.

New partner tiers, enablement programs, awards and top-performing resellers across the region.

195

New resellers, up 26%

430

New end customers, region wide

+15%

Growth in transacting vendors

CyberKnight, Proofpoint and Tekdeliver teams at a partner enablement session
Partner enablement — Tekdeliver & Proofpoint
Partners attending the CyberKnight and Hexnode partner onboarding event
Hexnode partner event — onboarding & quiz round
CyberKnight team gathered at the Zero Trust Security office wall
In-office partner workshop — Data Security BU
CyberKnight team receiving the Operational Hero recognition from Sirar by stc
Sirar by stc awards CyberKnight the “Operational Hero” recognition

01Across H1, our partner ecosystem saw strong momentum with a series of engaging activities designed to inform, connect, and energize. We hosted three days of Horizon3.ai partner enablement, bringing partners together for hands-on learning, collaboration, and deeper product alignment.

02We also organized a partner-focused Hexnode event in Riyadh, a lively Dubai Topgolf gathering, and an in-office partner workshop for our Data Security BU, featuring Netskope, Netwrix, GTB, Xage, Cyware, Ardent Privacy, and FASOO.

03In addition, multiple partner-focused webinars were held throughout the half-year, helping keep our ecosystem informed, empowered, and ready to grow. It's been a fantastic mix of enablement, engagement, and fun  and a strong reflection of the momentum we're building together.

Technical Leadership

From the engineers and architects.

Deep dives and point-of-view pieces from CyberKnight's technical team.

Kaviarasan Asokan, Senior Security Consultant at CyberKnight

[Vendor / Cribl]

Kaviarasan Asokan

Senior Security Consultant

[Part 4 / 8 — Regulatory Data]

Abiding Regulatory Data Requirements

In Riding the Regulatory Wave, Kaviarasan Ak explores how organizations can adapt their data pipeline and security architecture to meet evolving regulatory requirements. The blog follows a real-world scenario involving a government project, where network traffic needs to be carefully segmented and monitored to support compliance while maintaining operational efficiency.

The article highlights a practical approach to routing Fortigate logs through Cribl Stream, ensuring that only the relevant traffic is sent to the regulator's syslog server while other data continues to support internal security and analytics use cases. It's a strong example of how thoughtful data handling can help organizations stay agile, compliant, and ready for changing requirements.

The blog also emphasizes the importance of agility in today's compliance landscape. As regulatory demands continue to evolve, organizations need flexible data pipelines that can adapt quickly without disrupting security operations or internal visibility. By balancing compliance requirements with broader monitoring and analytics needs, the article shows how teams can build a more resilient and responsive infrastructure.

Read the full article →
Mina Ghaly, Technical Manager at CyberKnight

[Web Security]

Mina Ghaly

Technical Manager

[Browser Isolation]

Bypassing Content Filter with Browser Isolation

In Bypassing Content Filter with Browser Isolation, the author looks at how browser isolation changes the way organizations think about web security and content filtering. The piece explores the gap between what traditional filters block and what can still pass through in an isolated browsing environment, highlighting why layered defense remains so important.

The article also discusses how browser isolation can be both a protective control and, in some cases, an area that attackers or users may try to work around. By examining these bypass techniques, the blog reinforces the need for security teams to continuously test assumptions, review policy coverage, and understand where visibility gaps may exist.

Overall, it's a practical read for security professionals looking to stay ahead of evolving web threats and control evasion tactics. It serves as a useful reminder that effective protection depends not just on deploying the right tools, but also on understanding how those tools behave in real-world scenarios.

Read the full article →

Industry Digest

Editor's note

The half year the perimeter quietly gave way.

The first half of 2026 delivered the largest OT security deal ever recorded, a firewall-credential harvest spanning 194 countries, and ransomware revenue climbing another 39%. The through-line for our partners is speed: AI is compressing the distance between disclosure and exploitation from years into months.

We've distilled the signal that matters for the channel, the deals reshaping the market, the governance shift underway, and the technologies to bring into every customer conversation.

$529M

Ransomware revenue, Q1 2026 up 39% YoY · Rapid7

86,644

FortiGate credentials compromised across 194 countries

87%

of leaders call AI the fastest-growing cyber risk · WEF

Top threats

Critical

FortiBleed hits half the world's Fortinet edge

86,644 admin & VPN credentials were harvested via a 45-GPU cluster targeting weak legacy hashes. CISA and NCSC issued emergency advisories recommending organizations rotate credentials now.

Supply chain

Tata Electronics breach spills 630 GB

World Leaks published 204,341 files reportedly referencing Apple, Tesla, and employee records. Operations were unaffected, and the response was activated immediately.

Economics

Ransomware economy runs like a franchise

$529M in Q1, up 39% YoY. Qilin alone reportedly earned approximately $193M, while access brokers increasingly sell pre-compromised entry as a commodity.

Illustration of a fractured security shield deflecting a stream of red data across industrial and cloud infrastructure
Perimeter under pressure / OT & cloud convergence

Market intel

$4.1B

Largest OT deal ever recorded

Accenture acquires Dragos, runZero & NetRise

A combined "xOT" platform (approximately $208M ARR, +53% YoY) and a direct response to ServiceNow's $7.75B Armis deal. The OT security market is projected to grow from $27B today to $59B by 2031, a clear signal of where channel demand is heading.

Insight from the CK desk

AI governance has become a security control.

88% of organisations already run AI in a business function, and enterprise AI spend will reach $407B in 2026. Yet 97% of firms breached at the model layer lacked proper AI access controls and 60% of those incidents led to compromised data. Adoption is outpacing oversight. At CyberKnight, we frame Zero Trust as a core component of responsible AI adoption, not a bolt-on afterthought.

Three pillars

01. Innovation

AI that creates measurable value.

02. Governance

Policy, oversight, accountability.

03. Security

Control data & autonomous behaviour.

Emerging technologies

AI-driven autonomous defense+84% stealers
Agentic AI in the SOCNew surface
Passwordless & passkeys1B+ accounts
Zero Trust architecture#1 CISO priority
Supply chain & OT/IIoT4× in 5 yrs
Post-quantum cryptographyPlan now

Regional Spotlight

On the move, across the region.

If the first half of 2026 had a theme song, it would need a passport.

06

Roundtables

14

Webinars

12

Events & tradeshows

01

It started with conversation.

Six roundtables brought partners and customers together for candid, in-room discussions from Horizon3.ai opening the year in January to June sessions with ExaGrid, Hexnode, Gigamon and Forescout.

02

Then came the volume.

Fourteen webinars kept the region talking about AI security, zero trust and threat intelligence, with Nozomi Networks in Africa, Cribl, Fortra, SolarWinds, Cyware and Invicti taking the virtual stage.

03

And then, the road.

Twelve events carried the team from GITEX Africa to the ITWeb Security Summit in Johannesburg, CAISEC in Cairo and SIT Africa in Marrakech—proof of accelerating momentum across the continent.

04

A rhythm beyond business.

Ten Suhoor and Iftar gatherings brought CyberKnight to the table across Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, KSA, Egypt, Oman and Iraq. Because showing up in this region has always meant more than business.

CyberKnight team at the GISEC stand
Events & tradeshows
CyberKnight football tournament with vendor partners
Community & sport
Customers at a CyberKnight roundtable in KSA
Roundtables
CyberKnight and Cyware teams at a partner event in Africa
Partner events
Entrust identity-centric security session with customers
Executive briefings
CyberKnight, Cloud Consultancy, Xage and TXOne teams at the OT cybersecurity zero trust event
OT security summit — Oman

New Vendor — Rezilens

We're pleased to welcome Rezilens as a newly onboarded vendor.

Rezilens provides governance, risk and compliance, cybersecurity assurance, and AI-powered risk management solutions that help organizations strengthen their security and resilience.

Their platform, DiGRC, brings together risk management, compliance tracking, audit workflows, and cybersecurity oversight in one place. This partnership adds valuable expertise to our ecosystem and supports our continued focus on delivering stronger cybersecurity outcomes.

CyberKnight and Rezilens leadership teams at the partnership onboarding
See you at GISEC Global, Hall 9 Booth A170, 16 to 18 September 2026 in Dubai