Cost of a Cyber-Attack in the Middle East
As the Middle East becomes more significant in global technology, cyber-attacks are becoming a growing concern.
As the KSA and UAE invest their wealth in digital transformation, the region’s vulnerability to online threats has also increased. “Technology is universally integrated into many day-to-day processes, therefore, a cyber-attack would be just as damaging to the Middle East as it would be to anywhere else in the world,” stated Maher Yamout, a lead security researcher at Kaspersky.
Amongst other companies, such as Nvidia, Saudi Arabia stands out for spearheading this new era with cloud infrastructures. Conversely, the area’s fast adoption of global technology has made it attractive for hackers. As a result, the Middle East ranks as the second most expensive region worldwide, after the US, when it comes to costs linked to cyber crises, amounting to over $8 million.
Global Technology Impact of the War
Beyond the global technology sector, there are quite a number of potential consequences of cyber-attacks in the Middle East due to its role as home to some of the world’s largest oil and gas producers.
“Any disturbance here could cause major ripple effects all over the world leading to scarcity of energy and rising prices,” warned Sertan Selcuk, vice president at Opswat.
Regional geopolitical tensions and escalations, such as the ongoing Israeli war on Palestinians, have further complicated technological growth in the region. The cost and instability associated with this battle have led to significant challenges for Israel, once known as a technological hub. Consequentially, countries like Saudi Arabia are now an investment magnet for investors that were once looking into pumping their money in Israel, as KSA positions itself as some of the new leaders in the Middle East’s tech industry.
While global technology infrastructure is rapidly growing in the region, cybersecurity measures ares struggling to keep pace with the evolving threats taking place. The increasing attacks, especially in the energy sector, show that huge funds must be invested towards cyber defense. Predictions towards the Middle Eastern market is said to grow past $24 billion by the year of2028 due to the need for secure data.
Future Glimpse of the Middle East
With the fast-emerging global technology scene in the Middle East, the stakes are incredibly high. The region, which has shown importance to both tech and energy sectors, turns out to be one of the prime targets of cyber-attacks, with debilitating consequences possible around the globe. In that sense, rapid digital transformation, combined with regional conflicts, makes securing critical infrastructure in the Middle East increasingly complex. Powerful cybersecurity strategies are more imperative now than ever before, in a time when Saudi Arabia and other nations forge ahead in the region.
As the Middle East grows in every aspect, the risks are always there ready and available to try to break it down. One thing the world doesn’t know about true Middle Easterns is that they can overcome challenges and external threats, outshining the competition.
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