There is something interesting happening with the security of industrial systems in the Middle East. Kaspersky has just launched a tool that is changing the way companies talk about cyber risk.

For a long time, operational technology security was something that sat between IT teams and executive leadership without a common language. Security professionals spoke in technical terms, while executives thought in financial impact. This disconnect resulted in insufficient budgets and competing priorities.

What Kaspersky did was translate this problem into a practical solution. The new OT Cybersecurity Economy Calculator works like this: you input information about your sector, region, company size, breach history, and existing security measures. The tool returns estimates of how much you could save by strengthening security, as well as comparing your position with other companies in your segment.

Why does this matter now? Because the industry in the GCC is in rapid expansion. The United Arab Emirates has the $300 billion Operation, Saudi Arabia is investing heavily through its National Industrial Development Program, and Qatar has launched its National Manufacturing Strategy. With all this industrial activity growing, risks also increase. According to research data used by Kaspersky, over 60% of industrial companies reported that cybersecurity breaches caused significant costs last year.

The key difference is that now organizations can present a clear business case based on data. It’s no longer abstract. You can show: if we invest X in security, we save Y in potential incidents. This completely changes the conversation between security teams and C-level executives.

Kaspersky also offers a similar calculator for non-industrial sectors, in case your organization operates in different environments. What’s clear is that quantifying risk in financial terms is becoming as important as mitigating it. Especially in regions where the digital transformation of critical systems is happening at an accelerated pace.

It’s worth keeping an eye on how industrial companies start using these tools to readjust their cybersecurity budgets in the coming months.