Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Around 94% of organizations in Saudi Arabia plan to boost investments in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to scale their respective cybersecurity strategy, with 77% believing that AI is an important enabler for their organization’s overall approach to cybersecurity.

New research by Censuswide, commissioned by Palo Alto Networks, found that 87% of respondents in the Kingdom understand the potential cyber risks, and 91% feel their organization is cyber-ready; meanwhile, 50% of respondents researched said they have seen a rise in cyberattacks in the past 12 months.

Almost 71% of CEOs researched said that cybersecurity in the Kingdom is a board-level issue within their organization, and 49% saw themselves, alongside the CIO, responsible for ensuring their organization is protected against cyberattacks, especially if that could impact the business, customers, and reputation.

Furthermore, 69% said they are looking to raise investment in cybersecurity protection, while 84% of respondents have confirmed that their company’s CIO or CISO plan to reduce the number of security solutions deployed to reduce complexity.

Ercan Aydin, Regional Vice President at Palo Alto Networks for Middle East and Africa (MEA), stated that the increasingly complex cybersecurity challenges are prompting organizations to revise their strategies to enhance security postures and increase cyber resilience.

“It’s encouraging that business leaders in KSA view AI as an important business enabler,” Aydin added.

The official further noted that the potential opportunities for organizations looking to uplevel their cybersecurity with AI and machine learning are numerous.