February 13, 2024 at 02:36PM
Cybersecurity spending in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa is expected to exceed $6.5 billion in 2024, driven by geopolitical threats, generative AI security concerns, and increasing data-protection regulations. Companies are increasing budgets due to more cybercrime and regulatory enforcement, with core countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading in cybersecurity efforts. Uneven improvements and targeted attacks are common challenges.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes include:
– Geopolitical threats, security uncertainty surrounding generative AI, and increasing data-protection regulations across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa are driving a forecasted increase in cybersecurity spending to more than $6.5 billion in 2024.
– The cybersecurity market in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region is projected to continue growing rapidly, with more than three-quarters of CISOs planning to increase budgets by at least 10% this year.
– The growth is driven by companies facing more cybercrime and regulatory enforcement, leading to increased spending on cybersecurity products and services.
– The region’s countries are divided into “core” and “non-core” countries based on their technology and cybersecurity spending, with core countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates leading in cybersecurity efforts.
– The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa regions are investing at a similar rate in their cybersecurity market as companies in North America and Europe, but the improvements are uneven, with GCC countries showing a faster cybersecurity posture improvement compared to African countries.
– Challenges for Middle East firms include a lack of funding for managing cybersecurity, with more than half citing it as their main challenge.
– The rise of generative-AI-related threats, increasing budgets, and a significant regulatory ramp-up are driving the increase in cybersecurity spending in the region.
– Targeted cyber attacks by state actors are common in the Middle East, with concerns over cloud security and an increasing trend of wipers, which can cause disruptions and emergency situations if they infect ICS equipment.
– The Middle East and Africa regions tend to efficiently allocate their cybersecurity budgets and lead their peers in cybersecurity, but most countries, except Saudi Arabia and the UAE, lag behind their global peers in cybersecurity maturity.
These takeaways highlight the significant cybersecurity trends, challenges, and investments in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa regions, indicating a growing need for cybersecurity solutions and services in the face of evolving threats and regulatory requirements.