Source: Andriy Popov via Alamy Stock Photo

Eight companies have become the first accredited cybersecurity service providers to be involved in the "Dubai Cyber Force" initiative. 

The companies include: Crowe Indonesia Teknologi, FORTBRIDGE, Grant Thornton Consulting CJSC, ITSEC Services Asia, LRQA Nettitude, Precursor Security, Ruptura InfoSecurity, and ValueMentor, according to CREST, an international nonprofit representing the global cybersecurity industry, which worked with Dubai's Electronic Security Center (DESC) to create the initiative.

Accreditation will allow those companies to register as cybersecurity service providers to the Dubai government, semi-government, and critical information infrastructure. The initiative was announced last March, with the Dubai Cyber Force functioning as an internationally recognized reference "to make Dubai the safest city in the digital space."

The program will initially focus on delivering penetration testing and incident response services. 

Amer Sharaf, CEO of the Cybersecurity Systems and Services Sector at the DESC, told Trade Arabia: "Aligned with Dubai's cybersecurity strategy, this initiative combines the latest global measures to comprehensively protect the cyber space with Dubai's specificities and its leadership in innovation and integration."