Saeed Agha, General Manager, Palo Alto Networks Middle East, recently revealed a few cyber security trends that the company foresees this year.
“It is essential that information security practitioners dealing with management, governance, enablement and execution, move towards a prevention-centric approach to securing their organisations and stay current on trends and malware distribution patterns,” he said.
A proactive and preventive approach to security is needed by Middle East businesses
We are living in the digital age and cybersecurity attacks are growing in both volume and complexity. Business leaders must recognise the importance of this issue, not only for their organizations, but for the broader interconnected ecosystem and to protect digital lifestyles. We see the blurring lines of work and leisure, penetration of 24-7 connectivity and a younger workforce across region; all these factors demand a better understanding of cybersecurity issues and solutions. Awareness is important in determining the way forward, ensuring that leaders understand the landscape, ask the right questions, and assist in creating a culture where a mindset of prevention is at the core of security strategy.
Mobile and digital payment mechanisms will attract cyberattacks
We must expect that cybercrime will continue to follow the money.
The Middle East region has shown an increasing affinity with mobile shopping, thanks to increasing smartphone and tablet penetration rates, which are among the highest in the world. Electronic payments have also found favour in the UAE through the rapidly growing e-commerce industry, according to industry experts.
The UAE’s e-commerce market was valued at $2.3 billion in 2014, according to a report by Payfort. By 2020, the company estimates that e-commerce markets of both the Emirates and Saudi Arabia will have a combined value of $10 billion.
In recent months we have seen new exploits found in Apple iOS, sitting alongside growth in Android attacks. As Apple Pay, Google Pay and touchless smartphone payments take off, we’ll see a shift in cybercrime, moving more towards the smartphone.
Businesses needs to be ready to manage the risks associated with Bring Your Own Device trends as the threats to mobile devices continue to increase.
To conclude, the regional business leaders will need to
- Shift to a mindset of prevention
- Invest in a proactive security strategy that is built for tomorrow, today
- Be prepared; Stop looking for solutions that clean up after the attack, but instead built capabilities to prevent it, making it harder for cybercriminals to work.
