AI and Cyber Defense in Alliance
Interview with Dr. Ali Mabrouk, Founder and CEO of SAMA PARTNERS Business Solutions GmbH
Cyberattacks hit every company today – especially in the times of generative AI. Those who want to secure competition, compliance, and sovereignty need security that integrates both technology and artificial intelligence. This is exactly what SAMA PARTNERS from Mannheim specializes in: The team led by founder Dr. Ali Mabrouk combines cybersecurity, AI governance, and 24/7 operations to provide industry-specific solutions, from SMEs to critical infrastructure.
Security is no longer just a technical issue, but a business-critical investment. SAMA PARTNERS Business Solutions, based in Mannheim, positions itself at this interface: The company develops security strategies that engage both executives and IT teams, especially in SMEs and Hidden Champions. Founder and CEO Dr. Ali Mabrouk, a PhD engineer and strategy consultant, emphasizes: "Security must be viewed like any other investment - with clear metrics for risk, cost, and benefit." This approach enables strategic rather than purely cost-oriented consideration of cyber protection.
AI as Opportunity and Risk
Artificial intelligence makes this approach indispensable. AI offers enormous potential for efficiency and automation but also poses new risks: data manipulation, misuse for hacking, or systematic deceptions. SAMA PARTNERS therefore combines AI security and ethical AI governance in one approach. It involves not only the technical safeguarding of data and models but also guidelines, audits, and compliance with laws. The experts actively participate in European working groups to advance standards and legal frameworks – because issues of security and sovereignty cannot be resolved at the corporate level, they are part of European sovereignty.
Industry-specific Solutions
SAMA PARTNERS focuses on industry-specific Security Operations. In collaboration with Munich Airport, the company implements CybAirSOC®, a sector-specific SOC for aviation. The goal of the EU project: real-time monitoring, incident response, and particularly structured data and incident sharing among airports in Europe. This sectoral approach takes into account the particular threats faced by each industry – in aviation, they are very different from those in the energy or pharmaceutical sectors. This underscores that 'One-Size-Fits-All' solutions in cybersecurity reach their limits and customized concepts are needed.
Proactive Threat Analysis
Besides operational defense, the company focuses on proactive intelligence. With its own product, ThreatBay®, SAMA PARTNERS provides customers with a powerful Cyber Threat Intelligence tool. It collects and analyzes threat data from various sources – from the Darknet, commercial feeds, to open internet sources – and prepares this for different levels: executives receive risk and situation reports, while administrators receive specific, actionable warnings. AI-supported models help predict attack waves early and create margins for action. Thus, ThreatBay® particularly supports SMEs and the often-threatened Hidden Champions to protect their assets specifically and use security as a competitive advantage.