Enterprises Strengthen Cybersecurity As AI Adoption Accelerates

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) As the UAE accelerates its digital transformation and expands the use of artificial intelligence across banking, financial services and other critical sectors, securing AI-driven systems is becoming an increasingly important consideration for businesses.

From malicious prompts designed to manipulate AI systems to vulnerabilities in models and autonomous agents connected to enterprise tools, the growing use of AI is introducing new security challenges alongside opportunities for innovation, according to the industry executives.

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“As AI becomes embedded in business processes, new attack vectors emerge across models, applications, integrations and autonomous agents,” said Manish Mimani, founder and chief executive of Protectt.“A bank might have a chatbot answering customer questions, a voicebot handling enquiries or an AI agent supporting onboarding. Each introduces risks, from malicious prompts to vulnerabilities in the underlying model.”

The challenge extends beyond the AI model itself to the applications and external systems it interacts with. As businesses deploy AI agents capable of performing tasks and accessing enterprise tools, securing these connections is becoming increasingly important.

“We red-team chatbots and voicebots to test how they respond to manipulation. We scan models to identify vulnerabilities and backdoors and recommend how to mitigate what we find,” Mimani said, adding that safeguards are also needed to monitor inputs and outputs and protect applications while they are

Protectt's majority-stake investment in AIShield, the AI security venture incubated at Bosch Global Software Technologies, will expand its capabilities to protect businesses as they adopt artificial intelligence. The deal brings together Protectt's mobile application security platform and AIShield's technology for assessing and protecting AI systems, extending its offering to banks and other regulated businesses.

AIShield will operate as an independent company with Protectt as its majority shareholder. The investment combines newly issued shares with a purchase of shares from existing investors, with fresh capital supporting research and development, international expansion and sovereign AI security capabilities. For businesses deploying AI, the combined offering spans security assessments and red teaming through to runtime protection and safety guardrails.

The issue is particularly relevant to banking and financial services, where AI adoption intersects with sensitive customer information and critical operations. Mimani said enterprises need to consider both protecting AI systems and using AI to strengthen security testing.

These challenges are also shaping the development of AIShield, a dedicated AI security business intended to combine Protectt's cybersecurity expertise with Bosch's AI security research, technology and intellectual property. Protectt plans to take a majority stake in the separate AIShield entity, according to Mimani.

The proposed business will focus on identifying vulnerabilities in AI models and applications, testing their resilience and protecting them during operation. Banking and financial services, automotive, manufacturing and government are among its priority sectors.

“The investment brings together two areas of expertise. Protectt has strong experience working with global banks and financial institutions. Bosch has developed AI security research, technology and intellectual property through its innovation ecosystem. We want to combine those capabilities in a dedicated AI security business,” Mimani said.

He described the UAE as a strategic market for Protectt, citing the country's digital transformation and growing adoption of AI across financial services and other critical sectors. The company aims to deepen its regional presence through research and development, strategic partnerships and closer collaboration with the UAE's technology ecosystem.

“The UAE is a strategic market in Protectt's global expansion, given its rapid digital transformation and growing adoption of AI across banking, financial services and other critical sectors,” he

Protectt also plans to expand into 15 additional countries over the next six months, while developing AIShield into a broader AI security business.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated into business operations, embedding security throughout its lifecycle will be essential to managing risks while supporting continued digital innovation.

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