Widebot CTO to CyberTalents: “Security First from Day One” - An Interview By CyberTalents!
An Interview By CyberTalents
Widebot CTO Mohamed Mostafa to CyberTalents: “Security first, From the very beginning of the startup, it's crucial to establish full security compliance for important data and secure the infrastructure from day one”.
In an insightful conversation with Eng. Mohamed Mostafa the CTO and co-founder of the groundbreaking AI startup, widebot, CyberTalent delve into the heart of their innovative technology. Discover the journey behind their cutting-edge solutions, learn about their navigation of security complexities and their achievements and gain a unique perspective on how they are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence.
CyberTalents: Mr. Mohamed , we are so honoured to have you with us in this interview. We would like to introduce you to our readers first.
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: I am Eng. Mohamed the co-founder and CTO of startup Widebot, I have 20 years of experience in the development field and cloud consultation and other technical domains. In 2017 we began the first AI Arabic speaking model that includes many Arabic dialects across the Middle east and North Africa.
CyberTalents: We would like to hear about the initial phase of the startup, what were your major security concerns ?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Our primary concern has always been the protection of our clients’ sensitive data. While we operate in the cloud and have the capability to securely store data there, many of our clients initially preferred on-premises solutions to ensure maximum control over the security and confidentiality of their information. However, this concern has significantly shifted since we obtained our ISO 27001 certification. The certification has provided our clients with added confidence in our information security practices, reassuring them that their data is handled with the highest standards of protection, even in a cloud-based environment.
CyberTalents: Your answer leads us to our question about the obtaining of ISO certification 27001. How did it contribute to establishing a culture of security awareness within the early team?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Obtaining the ISO 27001 certification has been a pivotal step in strengthening our internal security culture. It has provided us with greater control over account access within our major cloud environments—an improvement directly overseen and approved by the CTO. One of the most notable outcomes has been a significant reduction in the likelihood of human error, as well as a measurable decrease in the frequency of information security incidents.
The certification has also elevated our internal access control mechanisms across systems used for cloud hosting, enhancing both visibility and accountability. Beyond that, it has contributed to maintaining overall system stability, establishing more reliable backup solutions, and improving service availability.
In departments like HR, ISO 27001 offers a comprehensive framework for building, implementing, and continuously refining secure and compliant processes. It ensures that critical operations are not only efficient but also aligned with recognized information security standards—reinforcing our broader commitment to a security-first culture across the organization.
CyberTalents: What were the foundational ideas that shaped your AI experts team's formation? What qualities were you targeting in your first hires?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Information security background first, it is a major aspect in team formation, having a solid information security background is very important besides the acceptance and adherence to the rules.
As for the qualities we targeted in our first hires, we prioritized solid background in Arabic language, such as grammar, that is because we focused on training the models on arabic and specifically on arabic dialects.
Some dialects are not easy to manage like the Saudi dialect. There’s seven dialects such as Najdi and Hejazi. Also the Emirati dialect, the Egyptian dialect spoken in Upper Egypt (the southern part of the country) has distinct features that differentiate it from the dialects spoken in Lower Egypt. The Moroccan and Syrian dialect too.
We prioritized dialects because the AI models across the globe do not support that, they mainly focus on world languages. That is why we developed and launched as a company in 2024 the first Arabic speaking AI model featuring Arabic dialects. “Akl” outperformed global models. It was launched at the LEAP summit in Saudi Arabia. It is available inside Saudi Arabia for governmental institutions , governmental companies and even citizens.
CyberTalents: Given the well-known shortage of skilled professionals and the limitations of traditional hiring methods, how has this affected your recruitment process? And how have you leveraged AI to overcome these challenges and streamline hiring?"
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: The talent shortage is a significant challenge we constantly navigate. It has certainly impacted the speed and efficiency of our hiring process. To mitigate delays and maintain quality, we’ve adopted creative solutions that blend internal resource development with advanced technology. One example is our use of tools like Widebot, which intelligently screens PDF resumes and provides actionable insights to improve our hiring strategies. This helps us process large volumes of applications and identify high-potential candidates more efficiently.
AI, in particular, plays a transformative role in our recruitment efforts. It minimizes the time spent on repetitive, manual tasks—such as CV screening, criteria matching, and qualification filtering—freeing up our recruiters to focus on strategic, human-centric decision-making. For example, instead of manually sifting through 200 CVs, AI can quickly narrow it down to the five that best match the required criteria. It also supports voice filtration in interviews, enhancing the initial screening process for HR.
With AI acting as a smart assistant rather than a replacement, our team is able to scale up hiring—moving from two hires a month to ten—without compromising on quality.
CyberTalents: In your opinion, how can we maintain the human element when using AI in recruiting potential candidates and avoid over reliance on AI?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Human factor has to do with innovation and experiment while the AI has to do with non innovation tasks. AI helps humans and does not replace them. I do not think there is an over reliance on it.
CyberTalents: What advice do you have for startups trying to balance innovation speed with security requirements?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: I advise any startup to list the tasks the AI model can do for them. To identify what tasks can be done by it in the company. AI models can do security checks. This will help the startup in avoiding mistakes and enhancing quality. Humans can forget sometimes so AI can reduce the occurrences of mistakes.
CyberTalents: How did customer expectations influence your security roadmap?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: We could in a short time develop a local security roadmap. ISO 27001 enhances customer trust as I explained earlier about the data saving on cloud.
CyberTalents: Have you found that demonstrating certifications builds trust or opens up new markets, clients or investors?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Yes, sure, it built a customer base and attracted investors.
CyberTalents: What’s your biggest security win—and the most lessons learned?
-Eng .Mostafa: My biggest security win was successfully migrating and securing client data in the cloud. We ensured a highly secure cloud environment, significantly minimizing the risk of data breaches. With this transition, we achieved both system stability and high availability. The risk over the non-internal server was fully under control by ISO certification 27001 which provides a robust framework for managing information security. It effectively controls risks associated with external infrastructure. Consequently, the client is not worried about its data.
CyberTalents: What would you tell a first-time CTO about security that you wish someone had told you?
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Security first, From the very beginning of the startup, it's crucial to establish full security compliance for important data and secure the infrastructure from day one. This is to avoid reworking and starting over if there were security issues.
I also say that avoiding risk guarantees stagnation, while taking a chance at least offers the possibility of progress.The safety of avoiding risk comes at the cost of potential achievement.
CyberTalents: Thank you so much Eng Mohamed for being with us today, we are so delighted to talk to you and learn from your experience and achievements.
-Eng. Mohamed Mostafa: Thank you for the very interesting interview.