The MENA Information Security Conference 2023 — themed, “Cognitive Cyber: Evolution from Reactive to Predictive Cyber Leveraging AI and Emerging Technologies: IT, OT and IoT” — aims to draw attention to the ever-evolving landscape of the cybersecurity industry and its latest artificial intelligence developments.
The world has seen revolutionary improvements in the field of artificial intelligence and its capabilities, and virtually no sector is left untouched by these advancements. The cybersecurity sector is no different, with AI leading the industry towards a more predictive stance than a reactive one when it comes to cybersecurity defense.
A report by Grant Thornton puts the average cost of a data breach in Saudi Arabia at SR22.4 million, so companies that take a passive approach to cybersecurity will take both reputational and financial hits to their organizations. In contrast, companies that are proactive with cybersecurity solutions save time, money, and reputational damage by preventing cybersecurity attacks.
A Kaspersky report for 2021 showed that 7 million threats were detected in just the first two months of that year; in essence there has never been a better time for companies and ministries to double down on their efforts to combat cybercrime and choose a predictive stance.
Artificial intelligence is becoming more prevalent than ever in the cybersecurity industry due to its automation, efficiency and accuracy. However, those same qualities are also why cybercriminals use AI to launch attacks and search for system vulnerabilities. It is because of these pressing issues that organizations need to be at the forefront of the latest developments in the field.
Since the launch of the Vision 2030 campaign in 2017, Saudi Arabia has risen to second position globally when it comes to its commitment to cybersecurity, according to the Global Cybersecurity Index. With such explosive growth, there has never been a better time for visionaries and organizations from different sectors to come together and collaborate to define the cybersecurity industry’s future at the MENA ISC 2023 event.
Anton Ivanov, Chief Technology Officer at Kaspersky and also a speaker at MENA ISC 2023, said: “Unfortunately, cyberattacks will continue to grow in volume and sophistication. As digitization grows, so do vulnerabilities in technology which are exploited for malicious reasons by known and unknown threats.”
“Basically, it is important for organizations to double down on cyber resilience. And, since we believe traditional cybersecurity will become obsolete sooner or later, our newly introduced concept of ‘cyber immunity’ is an ideal way forward for organizations, especially in the industrial and critical infrastructure sectors, to build their resilience against cyberattacks,” Ivanov added.
The Middle East-North Africa Information Security Conference 2023 aims to gather thought leaders from the cybersecurity sector with the goal of changing the industry’s stance from a defensive, reactive one to an offensive, predictive one.
