Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Gulf Business Machines (GBM), a leading end-to-end digital solutions provider, will deploy a next-generation firewall by Palo Alto Networks, a leader in cybersecurity solutions, across all schools under GEMS Education, one of the largest private school networks in the GCC. The project will significantly enhance the security of the digital learning environment, enabling improved threat detection, real-time protection, and compliance with educational regulations.

Amidst rising cyberthreats on the education sector in the GCC, the implementation of the firewall will help ensure secure internet access, especially for students, and provide protection against advanced persistent threats (APT), where an intruder establishes a presence on a network to mine private data. Operating on zero-trust principles the firewall monitors and filters network traffic, preventing virus infiltration, blocking unauthorised access and upholding data privacy.

The technology offers multiple benefits, including enhanced user identity protection, control over application use, encrypted traffic security without privacy compromise, advanced threat protection, and automated threat intelligence sharing. Meanwhile, centralised management will boost operational efficiency for all GEMS schools. This supports the goal of fostering a secure and optimized learning environment, aligning with the UAE’s vision for a sustainable, knowledge-driven future.

Suresh Bathrachalam, Senior Vice President and Head of Technology at GEMS Education, said, “With the ever-increasing frequency and complexity of cyberthreats, the importance of cybersecurity in educational settings is growing exponentially. At GEMS Education, we are deeply committed to safeguarding the data and privacy of our students and employees. Therefore, we work to ensure continued compliance of our information technology and systems with the highest cybersecurity standards. The deployment of Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewall, executed by GBM, is the latest step in our efforts to secure our entire ecosystem.”

Ossama El Samadoni, General Manager of GBM Dubai, said, “In today’s hyperconnected world, adversaries are more organised, using sophisticated playbooks to breach cyberdefences. In this rapidly evolving threat landscape, organisations must be able to proactively identify vulnerabilities and provide a quick, strategic response when incidents occur. At GBM, we help our customers integrate the latest solutions that empower them to transform their security posture. This is the first major education sector win for us, and we look forward to leveraging Palo Alto Networks’ cutting-edge technology to protect GEMS schools from rising cyberthreats.” 

Hadi Zakhem, Cyber Security Leader for Emerging Markets at Palo Alto Networks, said, “Palo Alto Networks serves as a strategic partner dedicated to keeping organisations safe from cybercrime. As a leader in enterprise network firewalls, we provide our best-in-class products to all types of entities, regardless of size or complexity. With a unified network security architecture and the ability to leverage deep learning in real time, our firewall will enable GEMS Education to see and secure everything while continuously evolving its cybersecurity approach.”

Offering the perfect balance of security, speed, and versatility, Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewalls provide advanced protection for physical and virtual public and private cloud networks. Their integrated capabilities safeguard internal assets as well as the outside world, so users can connect to data and applications anywhere.