JEDDAH – More than 65 percent of IT experts in the GCC believe the region is a prime target for cyber criminals, according to research conducted by Gulf Business Machines (GBM). The results revealed that 35 percent of incidents are staff related, which can be avoided by increasing employee awareness. Cyber security risks are also potentially increasing with social media becoming more available within companies, announced GBM, the region's leading IT solutions provider. The security landscape in the GCC has continually evolved in recent years, largely due to the increase of cybercrime. The results of the research also highlights that 25 percent of respondents said their organizations have not been conducting regular proactive screenings to ensure that their IT infrastructure and critical data are protected. Respondents are expressing a false sense of security as the survey shows that 60 percent of respondents believe that the number of successful attacks will decrease in the next 12 months. “Companies are more aware of IT security issues than ever before. Although organizations are showing more interest in pre-emptive measures against possible cyber threats, they are not always taking the appropriate measures,” said Hani Nofal, director of Intelligent Network Solutions (INS) at GBM. “Nearly half of the organizations polled spend up to 10 percent of their IT budget on security. However, we expect this number to increase in the future,” Nofal added. Similar GBM research conducted last year showed that just over a third of those polled claimed that their organizations' IT policies completely prohibited access to social networking websites. Today, this number has been cut in half, indicating that more businesses are adopting and embracing social media. “Companies in the region have been exploring social media as a new way of communicating with the public. Enterprises are, therefore, opening their internal networks and allowing access to social media. This is increasing the potential of cyber risks for organizations and making them more vulnerable to cyber security attacks,” Nofal noted. Since GBM's foundation in 1990, the company has been at the forefront of addressing challenges resulting from an ever-changing cybercrime eco-system in the region. The research coincided with the launch of GBM's Security Framework, which assists users with mitigating risks. At the core of its IT security offering, the Security Framework enables customers to meet and exceed IT industry best practices in order to secure their infrastructure. — SG
