07 Nov Less than half of Middle East firms understand the cyber threat landscape
Only 48% of organisations in the Middle East have confidence in their ability to understand the cybersecurity threat landscape in relation to their business, according to new research from Rackspace Technology.
Slightly more respondents felt confident in their ability to respond to incidents (59%). Concerningly, 44% of IT decision makers don’t have the capability to identify security incidents across multi-cloud environments.
Similarly when it comes to mitigating threats, only 49% involved in the survey said they would be confident to address them, with a similar number feeling confident to address regulatory compliance.
One of the issues could be around the ongoing challenge of retaining and recruiting suitable cybersecurity experts. More than half (64%) say this is particularly challenging, despite 61% saying they have faith in their internal initiatives for cybersecurity talent retention.
To address staffing issues, 62% of Middle East businesses are forced to rely on in-house staff combined with some external third-party help. Just over a third (34%) say they use between 6-10 external partners to support their cybersecurity efforts.
George Pawlyszyn, Middle East and Africa General Manager at Rackspace Technology, said: “Cybersecurity is one of the most important digital elements for Middle Eastern businesses, but also the trickiest to address.
“Factors such as the evolving threat landscape, remote working conditions and talent shortages all feed into the varying security needs from one business to the next. What is increasingly clear is that few businesses have all bases covered – people, processes and technology in place – when it comes to a mature cybersecurity model.
“Working with a partner that can bring these specialist skills and tailor them to specific requirements is an increasingly popular and effective way to ensure and increase overall confidence in addressing cybersecurity needs.”