A recent study by Cisco found a significant surge in the use of AI technologies in UAE organisations’ cybersecurity strategies. The study pointed out that 91 per cent of companies in the survey are integrating AI in their security defences, primarily in response, threat detection, and recovery.
The 2024 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index was developed in an era of hyperconnectivity and a rapidly evolving threat landscape. The readiness of companies is assessed in the index on five key pillars – AI Fortification, Network Resilience, Identity Intelligence, Cloud Reinforcement, and Machine Trustworthiness. These are comprised of 31 corresponding solutions and capabilities.
The study is based on a double-blind survey of more than 8,000 private sector security and business leaders across 30 global markets conducted by an independent third party. The respondents were asked to indicate which of these solutions and capabilities they had deployed and at what stage of deployment.
Fady Younes, Managing Director for Cybersecurity at Cisco in the Middle East and Africa, said, “As our digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly, the importance of proactive cybersecurity measures cannot be overstated; organisations must prioritise cybersecurity investments and embrace innovative solutions to mitigate risks effectively. By fostering a culture of cyber resilience, UAE organisations can confidently navigate the digital landscape while safeguarding their operations against emerging threats.”
Core findings:
The Cyber Talent Gap Persists: Nearly 90 per cent of UAE companies also highlight talent shortages as an issue. 51 per cent of companies said they had more than ten cybersecurity roles unfilled in their organisation at the time of the survey. Remarkably, 95 per cent of UAE companies envision integrating AI technologies into their cybersecurity frameworks to fill more than 10. per cent of those unfilled cybersecurity roles, highlighting a proactive approach to addressing talent shortages and embracing innovative solutions.
Future Cyber Incidents Expected: 85 per cent of UAE respondents said they expect a cybersecurity incident to disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months. Being unprepared can be substantial, as 65 per cent of respondents said they experienced a cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months, and 52 per cent of those affected said it cost them at least $300,000.
Point Solution Overload: The traditional approach of adopting multiple cybersecurity point solutions has not delivered effective results, as 82 per cent of UAE respondents said that having multiple point solutions slowed down their team’s ability to detect, respond and recover from incidents. This raises significant concerns as 78 per cent of organisations said they have deployed ten or more point-solutions in their security stacks, while 26 per cent said they have 30 or more.​
Future Cyber Investments Ramping Up: Companies are aware of the challenges and are ramping up their defences, with 68 per cent planning to significantly upgrade their IT infrastructure in the next 12 to 24 months. Most prominently, organizations plan to upgrade existing solutions (66 per cent), deploy new solutions (54 per cent), and invest in AI-driven technologies (54 per cent). Further, almost all (99 per cent) companies plan to increase their cybersecurity budget in the next 12 months, with a staggering 91 per cent of these companies anticipating substantial growth of 10 per cent or more in their cybersecurity budgets.
Despite continuing to be targeted with various techniques, from phishing and ransomware to supply chain and social engineering attacks, companies today are actively attempting to fortify their defences. While they are building defences against these attacks, the complexity of their security postures, dominated by multiple-point solutions, presents a challenge in effectively thwarting these threats.
These challenges are compounded in today’s distributed working environments, where data can be spread across limitless services, devices, applications, and users. However, 87% of companies still feel moderately to very confident in their ability to defend against a cyberattack with their current infrastructure. This optimism underscores a proactive stance in navigating the evolving threat and confronting emerging challenges head-on.
To overcome the challenges of today’s threat landscape, companies must accelerate meaningful investments in security, including the adoption of innovative security measures and a security platform approach, strengthen their network resilience, establish meaningful use of generative AI, and ramp up recruitment to bridge the cybersecurity skills gap.
