ITSEC Asia signs Côte d'Ivoire security partnership

ITSEC Asia and SGCI have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide security operations services to public institutions and critical infrastructure operators in Côte d'Ivoire. The agreement marks ITSEC Asia's first move into Africa.

They plan to work together on national-scale security operations projects, combining SGCI's local delivery role with ITSEC Asia's technology, training and technical support.

The partnership comes as organisations in Côte d'Ivoire face rising cyber risk alongside broader digital adoption. Industrial and critical infrastructure systems are also becoming more exposed as information technology, operational technology and industrial control systems become more closely connected.

Under the agreement, SGCI will lead client engagement and delivery in Côte d'Ivoire, drawing on more than two decades of work in the country across information systems audit, integration, offensive security and digital forensics.

ITSEC Asia will serve as SGCI's cybersecurity technology partner, providing security operations centre services, managed detection and response, threat intelligence, OT and ICS security assessments, training, and access to its IntelliBroń Orion platform through SGCI.

Local delivery

Based in Abidjan, SGCI works with public institutions and critical infrastructure operators on strategy, governance, integration, operations and training. Its cybersecurity work includes technical and organisational audit, offensive testing, security operations, digital forensics and awareness.

Listed in Indonesia, ITSEC Asia said the agreement extends its international expansion across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and now Africa. It is participating in the partnership through its subsidiary ITSEC Services Asia.

Patrick Dannacher, President Director of ITSEC Asia, said the agreement reflects the need for sustained cybersecurity operations in increasingly complex environments.

"Organisations in Côte d'Ivoire are being asked to defend increasingly complex environments, and that requires sustained operational capability, not one-off engagements. SGCI has spent more than twenty years building the trust and the engineering depth that this work depends on. Our role is to bring the technology and the operational experience behind it. This collaboration is part of our broader international strategy to work with established partners in each market and make advanced cybersecurity capabilities more accessible to the Ivorian organisations that need them," said Patrick Dannacher, President Director of ITSEC Asia.

National projects

The work will focus on public sector bodies and critical infrastructure operators, where cyber resilience is increasingly tied to essential services and national systems. The agreement also points to a model in which services are delivered through a domestic partner rather than directly from abroad.

SGCI Managing Director Cyrille Koffi said compliance with national regulation and in-country operations would be central to the approach.

"Public institutions and critical infrastructure operators in Côte d'Ivoire need cybersecurity that is operated continuously, locally and in compliance with national regulation. SGCI brings more than twenty years of presence, a recognised audit practice and proven integration and security operations capabilities. With ITSEC Asia's technology and scale, we are building a sovereign response, hosted and operated locally, starting with national-level projects," said Cyrille Koffi, Managing Director of SGCI.

The agreement reflects growing demand in African markets for security monitoring and response services delivered on an ongoing basis rather than through one-off consulting assignments. It also highlights the importance of combining foreign technical platforms with domestic operators that understand local procurement, regulation and infrastructure environments.

ITSEC Asia said it has more than 300 staff across Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Mauritius and Dubai. SGCI said it has operated in Côte d'Ivoire for more than 20 years and has established practices in audit, integration and security operations.

In Côte d'Ivoire, the arrangement is aimed at projects that require local hosting, local operations and support for institutions managing sensitive systems. For ITSEC Asia, it opens a route into a new regional market through a partner with an existing client base and delivery presence.

SGCI will contribute governance and compliance expertise, information systems audit, offensive testing, digital forensics, integration, hosting and local operations.