Cyber incident response for UAE businesses: triage, contain, recover, document.
When a cyber incident happens, the first 60 minutes determine recovery cost. Our incident response engagement provides 24/7 on-call IR engineers, tested playbooks for ransomware/BEC/data breach, forensic preservation discipline, regulator-notification template, and recovery support. Retainer model for ongoing readiness or emergency engagement on active incidents.
- 5minIR engineer engaged
- 24/7On-call coverage
- RetainerOr emergency
- TestedPlaybooks
Eight IR capabilities under one engagement.
24/7 IR hotline access
Dedicated IR phone number. On-call engineer engaged within five minutes of call. No bouncing through helpdesk queues; direct to incident-trained engineer.
Tested IR playbooks
Written runbooks per incident type: ransomware, BEC, data breach, insider threat, account compromise, DDoS. Reviewed quarterly, validated through tabletop exercises.
Triage and containment
First-hour priorities: scope assessment, system isolation, account credential reset, forensic preservation start. Containment actions to stop spread while preserving evidence.
Forensic preservation and investigation
Disk imaging, memory capture, log preservation following industry chain-of-custody discipline. Findings documented for potential law-enforcement engagement or regulator inspection.
Regulator notification support
PDPL 72-hour notification, DFSA outsourcing-incident notification, DHA breach notification, NESA incident reporting. Notification packs drafted in real-time; you remain the legal author, we provide the substance.
Recovery and restoration
Recovery from immutable backups, system rebuild guidance, compromised-credential rotation, post-incident hardening. Coordinated to minimise business disruption.
Communication plan support
Staff comms, customer comms, supplier comms, board comms. Templates for each audience, tone calibrated for the incident severity, legal review coordinated with your counsel.
Quarterly tabletop exercises
Simulated incident walked through end-to-end with leadership. Tests the playbook, validates communication chain, finds gaps in the response process before a real incident exposes them.
Four reasons IT leaders engage GR for incident response.
Triaged real incidents, not just paper plans
We have responded to ransomware incidents at UAE trading firms, BEC at healthcare providers, data breach at fintech firms. The playbooks come from real engagements. The engineers have run them under pressure.
5-minute engagement, 24/7
IR hotline answered within five minutes by an on-call engineer. Triage starts immediately, not after a helpdesk-ticket queue. Time-to-containment is the metric that matters most in IR; we minimise it.
Retainer or emergency
Retainer engagement provides drill cadence and pre-positioned playbooks for ongoing readiness. Emergency engagement available on active incidents (higher emergency rate, no advance preparation). Most clients move from emergency to retainer after the first incident.
Coordinated with legal, comms, and regulator
IR is multi-stakeholder. We coordinate with your legal counsel, communications team, and the relevant regulator (PDPL Data Office, DFSA, DHA, NESA) so the response is integrated rather than fragmented.
Six incident types with tested playbooks.
Ransomware
Active encryption, ransom demand, lateral-movement containment, backup-led recovery.
BEC and CEO fraud
Wire-transfer fraud, executive impersonation, supplier-account takeover. Time-critical if funds in motion.
Data breach
Sensitive data exfiltrated or exposed. PDPL/DFSA/DHA notification timing. Customer-comms strategy.
Insider threat
Employee or contractor misuse. Discovery, containment, evidence preservation for HR/legal action.
Account compromise
Credentials stolen, account taken over, downstream actions. Containment, rotation, forensics.
DDoS and availability attacks
Service availability disrupted. Coordinated with ISP and Cloudflare/CDN provider for mitigation.
Three IR engagement models.
| Feature | IR retainer (GR) | Emergency-only IR | No IR engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
Pre-incident playbook | Yes, tested | No | No |
Engagement time to engineer | 5 minutes | 4-24 hours | Self |
Quarterly tabletop drill | |||
Annual full simulation | |||
Regulator notification support | Best effort | Self | |
Forensic discipline | Built in | Best effort | Variable |
Cost during quiet periods | Retainer fee | Zero | Zero |
Cost during incident | Bundled | Highest | Disaster cost |
Retainer setup and incident response cadence.
- 1
Retainer setup
2-4 weeks
Workshop with security and operations leads. Map current environment, agree playbook scope, set up IR hotline access, designate IR contacts on your side.
- 2
Playbook customisation
2-3 weeks
Customise generic playbooks to your environment: which systems are crown jewels, which regulators apply, which staff to contact at 3am, which suppliers to notify.
- 3
First tabletop exercise
1 day
Live tabletop with leadership: a simulated ransomware or BEC scenario walked through end-to-end. Playbook tested, communication chain validated, gaps identified.
- 4
Quarterly drill cadence
Continuous
Quarterly tabletop exercise, annual full simulation, monthly threat-intelligence brief, playbook updates as your environment evolves.
“We had been considering an IR retainer for two years and kept deferring. We got hit with a BEC in early 2026: an attacker impersonated our CFO and triggered a partial wire transfer before the bank flagged it. We engaged GR on emergency that same hour. They got the wire frozen, identified the source mailbox compromise, and coordinated with our bank, our auditor, and the DFSA within 48 hours. We have been on a retainer since. The peace of mind from quarterly tabletops is the part we underestimated.”
What buyers ask before engaging.
Services that pair with IR.
Book an IR retainer consultation or call for active incident response.
Active incident: call our IR hotline immediately for emergency engagement. Pre-incident: book a retainer consultation to set up customised playbooks, drill cadence, and 24/7 IR access.
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