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PJSC Positive Group, the parent company of Russian cybersecurity group Positive Technologies, has signed a distribution agreement with Mideast Communication Systems (MCS), a Cairo-based provider of cybersecurity solutions in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.
The partnership will focus on sharing cybersecurity expertise and jointly promoting products and services in the region “for result-driven cybersecurity,” Positive Group said.
The MCS CEO, Tarek Shabaka, has said that “MCS has been in cybersecurity for 18 years, and today our strategic plan is centered on implementing cutting-edge solutions, supporting Egypt’s digital transformation, and expanding in the region, I’m confident that our partnership with Positive Technologies, a leading developer of advanced cybersecurity solutions and services, will help us significantly contribute to building a high level of cyber resilience among companies and organizations in the MENA region.”
Positive Technologies’ MENA regional director, Ilya Leonov said “Our collaboration with MCS will stretch beyond Egypt and include other countries in Middle East and Africa. Priority will be given to industrial safety, DevSecOps, red team services, and ATM security assessment.”
Positive Group did not disclose any specific plans, forecasts or expectations for its work in Egypt and other countries in the region. However, the company noted that the number of cyberattacks in the Middle East tripled year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. In Africa, over 70% of all cyberattacks in the last year targeted the public, finance, industry and telecom sectors, and Egypt accounts for 13% of attacks on African countries, which is second only to South Africa with 22%.
Positive Technologies deputy CEO Maxim Filippov said at a meeting with investors in May that revenue from sales on foreign markets is expected to total ₽500 million (US$5 million) in 2024, but could reach as much as ₽1 billion (US$10 million).
The company has previously faced a lack of local expertise, a lack of partners who could carry out high quality design and implementation on target markets. Positive Technologies said earlier that it planned to increase the share of foreign sales to 10% of revenue in the medium term.
Positive Group closed 2023 with IFRS revenue up 61% to ₽22.2 billion (US$220 million). Deliveries (transfer of rights to use licensed products to clients or signed contracts for cybersecurity services) grew by 76% to ₽25.5 billion (US$256 million). Positive Group’s shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange.
The JV between Positive Technologies and MCS is another good example of the new wave of Russian corporates investing overseas and of BRICS member collaborations.
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