About 95 per cent of organisations in the UAE plan to boost their artificial intelligence investments to make their cyber security infrastructure stronger, a report has shown.
AI alone is an important enabler, with 81 per cent of chief executives in the Emirates believing the rapidly evolving technology is critical for the overall approach of their organisations to cyber security, California-based Palo Alto Networks said in a study released at the Gitex Global technology conference in Dubai on Wednesday.
AI and machine learning are helping to boost cyber security measures within organisations by automating and removing manual processes across operations, making it possible to prevent more risks from becoming security incidents, Ercan Aydin, regional vice president for the Middle East and Africa at Palo Alto Networks, told The National in an interview.
“When evaluating cyber security and the implementation of AI, it’s important that organisations understand what data is available for AI to learn from. The more real-world data it acquires, the smarter it becomes and the more experience it can leverage,” he said.
“In order to meet the challenges and speed of today’s threat landscape, AI and machine learning are vital parts of a holistic security solution and should be focused on the ultimate outcome of prevention and response.”
The research, conducted by London-based Censuswide, revealed that 94 per cent of UAE respondents understand the potential cyber risks, with 89 per cent saying their organisation was ready to confront any attacks.
However, 52 per cent of organisations in the country said they had seen an increase in cyber attacks over the past 12 months.
“Attacks are increasing in sophistication and hackers are using more automated toolchains, which means a rapidly evolving threat landscape,” Mr Aydin said.
“The only way organisations will be able to stay one step ahead of bad actors in the future is by deploying AI and automation trained on quality data.”
Cyber security attacks can cause reputational and financial damages to people and companies. The global average for a data breach in 2022 was $4.35 million, up from $4.24 million the previous year, according to IBM's latest Cost of a Data Breach report.
This has prompted companies to enhance their IT infrastructure and personnel, which in turn is an opportunity for providers of cyber security solutions.
The UAE last month announced plans to develop a cyber security vision that will strengthen action against digital crime for the next 50 years.
The Middle East's cyber security market is projected to be worth $31 billion by 2030 as governments and enterprises take measures to protect their infrastructure, the latest data from consultancy Frost & Sullivan has shown.
“If you prevent more risks, then the organisation can respond more effectively as it will be responding to fewer actual security incidents,” Mr Aydin said.
About 70 per cent of chief executives said cyber security was a board-level issue within their organisation, with 39 per cent claiming joint accountability with the chief information officer when it comes to ensuring their organisation is protected against cyber attacks, the study found.
Previous company data showed that AI has helped Palo Alto Networks to analyse 1.5 million new attacks “that have never been seen before”. These new insights are added to its existing data set to block about 8.6 billion attacks across its customer base on a daily basis, it said.
My Aydin said organisations could maximise the value of AI “by using modern security orchestration technologies and processes to build strong defences for today and tomorrow”.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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