Gulf Air Partners with Shifra to Boost E-mail Security with State-of-the-Art Tech from Proofpoint

Value-added distributor equips international carrier with next-gen secure e-mail gateway after Intel Security (McAfee) retires its e-mail products

Shifra, a leading value-added distributor of next generation solutions in information security, identity protection and enterprise mobility in the Middle East, today announced that it has equipped the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air with e-mail security solutions from Proofpoint. The cyber security firm has been a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateway for seven consecutive years now – one of the many reasons why Intel Security (McAfee) named Proofpoint its recommended transition partner, after retiring its e-mail products.

“Information is one of the most critical assets for Gulf Air and cyber security is one of the airline’s IT Department’s most important considerations. E-mail service is one of the areas that opens us up to external threats and it is therefore important to be armed with the right secure e-mail gateway, complemented by up-to-date, advanced threat intelligence and protection features. Proofpoint proved accurate, precise and compatible with Gulf Air’s operating environment,” says Dr Jassim Haji, Director of Information Technology at Gulf Air.

“More than 90 percent of targeted attacks use e-mails as an entry point. Applying appropriate safeguards defends enterprise networks from cyber attacks that threaten mission-critical, sensitive and confidential information from getting into a hacker’s hands,” explains Mohammad Ismail, VP of Sales at Shifra.

Incidentally, cyber attacks have heavily underpinned the Middle East’s shift to virtualization, cloud services and mobility. In fact, a recent report found businesses in the Middle East are more likely to suffer from cyber attacks when compared to their global counterparts: the regional average for cyber attacks on businesses stands at 85%, compared to a global average of 79%.

Proofpoint Email Protection stops malware and non-malware threats such as impostor e-mail – also known as business email compromise, or BEC – and it provides granular filtering to control bulk ‘graymail’ and other unwanted e-mail. Meanwhile, business continuity capabilities keep e-mail communications flowing, even if the e-mail server fails.

Ismail adds: “As advanced threats scale up in frequency and sophistication, it has never been more important to secure your organisation’s e-mail, which by far ranks the number one threat vector. Proofpoint uniquely combines a top-notch e-mail gateway solution with the industry’s leading targeted attack protection technology, catching and stopping threats hours or even days before traditional defenses. We at Shifra count it a crucial part of our offerings, and are delighted to supply the solution to Gulf Air.”