Ezzeldin Hussein explains how SentinelOne is protecting not just digital assets but also AI itself — bringing speed, intelligence, and resilience to enterprise security.
At GITEX Global 2025, where the world’s most advanced technologies converged to showcase innovation in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, SentinelOne made a powerful statement — redefining what it means to be an autonomous cybersecurity platform.
In an exclusive interaction with Enterprise IT World MEA, Ezzeldin Hussein, Regional Senior Director, Solution Engineering at SentinelOne, shared how the company is steering the next wave of AI-driven defense — from securing digital infrastructure to safeguarding AI itself.
The New Frontier: Securing AI, Not Just Using It
When asked about SentinelOne’s strategic priorities, Hussein began with a telling anecdote.
“Before I came to GITEX, my manager asked me how many times I said AI today — I said maybe a thousand,” he laughed. “That’s because you can’t talk about cybersecurity today without talking about AI.”
But Hussein quickly pointed out that the conversation has shifted. “We’ve moved from using AI in cybersecurity to securing AI itself,” he said. “Just like the early cloud days that gave rise to ‘shadow IT,’ we’re now facing ‘shadow AI.’ Employees are experimenting with AI tools without governance, exposing sensitive data. Our goal is to protect those AI engines — ensuring privacy, control, and compliance.”
This focus on AI protection marks a significant evolution in SentinelOne’s strategy — one that aligns with the region’s growing appetite for intelligent, autonomous, and regulated AI deployment.
“The future of cybersecurity is not about human speed — it’s about machine speed.”
— Ezzeldin Hussein, Regional Senior Director, Solution Engineering, SentinelOne
AI vs AI: The New Cyber Arms Race
As attackers increasingly exploit AI to craft evasive, high-speed attacks, SentinelOne is countering with equally advanced defense mechanisms.
“The attackers are very fast — we need to be faster,” Hussein explained. “If adversaries use AI to design new malware, it could bypass any static security layer. Our approach is to use AI at the same level of sophistication to predict and block threats before they act.”
Historically, SentinelOne leveraged behavioral AI to detect anomalies without relying on signatures. But the advent of generative AI demanded a new layer of intelligence.
“We integrated ChatGPT-like capabilities into our platform so SOC teams can interact in natural language,” he said. “They no longer need complex query languages for threat hunting — they can ask questions conversationally.”
The next leap, Hussein revealed, is Agentic AI. “This is AI that doesn’t just predict but also reasons and acts,” he explained. “Our platform can autonomously isolate compromised endpoints, terminate malicious processes, and even roll back systems to a safe state. It gives defenders the same — if not greater — agility as attackers.”
The Power of One: Unified Security for Complex Environments
CISOs today face a massive operational challenge — managing a maze of disconnected tools. SentinelOne aims to simplify that with its unified platform.
“If you ask any CISO about their biggest challenge, tool sprawl ranks high,” said Hussein. “They’re managing 50 to 100 different security products. What they want is one platform that does it all — and that’s what SentinelOne delivers.”
Starting from endpoint protection, the company has expanded through strategic acquisitions and R&D investments. “We’ve integrated identity protection, cloud workload security, data protection, and hyper-automation,” he noted. “Now, everything — including AI protection — runs on one platform, through one agent and one pane of glass.”
This consolidation, Hussein said, helps organizations achieve visibility, reduce operational cost, and respond faster to threats — all while strengthening overall resilience.
Regional Adaptation: Meeting GCC’s Cyber Mandates
For a region as diverse and regulation-driven as the GCC, global strategies rarely fit local needs. SentinelOne has adapted accordingly.
“We are a global company, but our go-to-market strategy is never one-size-fits-all,” Hussein explained. “What works in the U.S. might not work in Saudi Arabia or the UAE.”
Local compliance frameworks, especially in sectors like finance and energy, dictate stringent data residency requirements. “Many customers here prefer on-premises deployment — managed locally without cloud dependencies,” he said. “We’ve built that flexibility into our platform.”
Hussein added that SentinelOne studies each country’s compliance ecosystem and tailors its approach. “This gives us a real edge. We offer solutions that meet national cybersecurity mandates while maintaining enterprise-grade performance.”
This localization strategy, he said, has helped SentinelOne gain trust among large enterprises, governments, and regulated industries across the Middle East.
From Alerts to Business Resilience
For Hussein, cybersecurity is no longer about detecting alerts — it’s about ensuring business continuity.
“Traditionally, SOC teams reported in terms of alerts,” he said. “Now, they report in terms of risk and impact — how an attack affects operations or revenue.”
He cited a recent airport cyberattack as an example. “It wasn’t just a technical incident — it disrupted schedules, caused financial losses, and affected thousands of passengers. That’s the real impact of a cyber event,” he emphasized.
SentinelOne’s approach, he explained, is to integrate resilience into every layer of defense. “Our platform is built for redundancy and stability. Even if an attack occurs, our rollback feature allows organizations to instantly restore systems to their pre-attack state. It eliminates downtime and saves recovery costs.”
According to Hussein, this capability is among SentinelOne’s strongest differentiators. “We don’t just protect data — we protect continuity. That’s what every CISO values most.”
The Road Ahead: AI-Driven Autonomy
As GITEX 2025 showcased, cybersecurity is entering an era where autonomy and intelligence define success. SentinelOne’s mission, Hussein said, is to stay ahead of both the threat curve and customer expectations.
“The future of cybersecurity is not about human speed — it’s about machine speed,” he reiterated. “We’re building AI that doesn’t just assist analysts but acts as an autonomous defender — reasoning, responding, and adapting faster than any human could.” He concluded with a confident outlook for the region. “The Middle East is at the center of global digital growth. By combining AI innovation with local compliance, SentinelOne is empowering enterprises to lead securely in this new digital age.”
