Muscat, June 13, 2023: Omantel, the leading provider of integrated telecommunication services in the Sultanate of Oman, hosted the UK Oman Digital hub pilot programme to allow Omantel Innovation Labs startups access to deep-dive sessions on cyber security awareness, providing tips on how to protect against supply chain risks, how to develop a cyber security ‘culture’ and on how to test new solutions quickly and securely.

The five-week pilot programme, supported by the UK Oman Digital Hub, was delivered by innovation company Plexal and Al Jabr to startups at Omantel Innovation Labs, a key player within the local startup ecosystem.

The programme also included peer to peer collaboration on security challenges, mentoring sessions with cyber experts, knowledge sharing by founders of startups and action plans on securing a business.

The programme, which began in February 2023 at the Omantel Innovation Labs, comprised multiple workshops conducted by experts including Amjad Beainy, co-founder and CTO at Octopus CyberSecurity and Maitham Al Lawati, CEO of PowerDMARC as well as speakers from the United Kingdom, including Stacey Lidgate, Director of Business Development at Cysiam and Trevor Graham, CEO and co-founder of Ampliphae.

The deep dive sessions were part of a wider programme called ‘Cyber Oman’, sponsored by the British Embassy Muscat, which has the goal of supporting the development of a cyber resilient ecosystem and a community with strong cyber security skills.

HH Al Sayyida Ghada Al Said, Senior Manager Omantel Innovation Labs, said: “It was a pleasure to work with the UK Oman Digital Hub to allow our startups to have this level of access to expert cyber security advice and insights. Cybersecurity is a critical area of any technology startup and our startups greatly benefitted from this experience. We’re eager to continue working with Cyber Oman to spread this knowledge within our local tech startup ecosystem.”

Jessica Hern, Senior Programme Manager at the British Embassy in Muscat for the FCDO: “We are delighted to work with Omantel Innovations Labs on the first pilot of the Cyber Oman ‘Secure’ progamme, which aims to enhance Omani startups’ cyber security knowledge and give them the skills to ensure their infrastructure is able to respond to cyber threats. We look forward to continuing our work with our partners like Omantel to build on the foundation that was laid during the first deep dive sessions. ”

Omantel is the Sultanate’s first and leading integrated telecommunications services provider, enabling the digital society to flourish, allowing new ways of doing business and delivering a world of information, news, and entertainment. While striving to ensure an optimum customer satisfaction, Omantel plays a key social role to provide the required support and assistant to all sectors amongst the Omani society.