Staggering 68 pct of Saudi firms plan to use GenAI for enhanced security: Study
Some 68 percent of organizations in Saudi Arabia plan to use generative AI (GenAI) within the next 12 months to enhance security measures, a new study by exposure management company Tenable found.
The data for the study was commissioned in October 2023 by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable.
The research – based on data from 826 IT and cybersecurity professionals, including 51 Saudi-based respondents – highlights the growing adoption of GenAI within Saudi businesses and marks a significant pivot in their focus area.
As organizations increasingly shift to cloud services, virtualization platforms, microservices, applications, and code libraries, they are becoming more susceptible to attacks and risks tied to identity access, groups, and permissions, according to the Senior Director of Middle East & North Africa at Tenable, Maher Jadallah.
“Finding and fixing the flaws that threat actors exploit is a game of cat and mouse,” he explained.
The threat of cyberattacks is a global issue. However, the challenges are more prominent in countries such as the Kingdom where the rapid growth of construction, urban, and other projects makes it a vulnerable target.
The study is indicative of how security leaders have anticipated GenAI’s positive impact on security measures at a time of heightened cybersecurity concerns.
“GenAI can help by bringing together data from various sources, making it easier for Saudi organizations to understand and manage these complexities. This way, they can quickly identify exposures, prioritize actions, and see connections across the entire attack surface,” said Jadallah.
“If you have unique data then you’re going to have unique intelligence guiding decisions. Ultimately ‘gold in, gold out’ or ‘garbage in, garbage out,’” he added.
A worrying trend
Despite this surge in adoption, the study also revealed a worrying trend, as only 22 percent of organizations demonstrate high confidence in effectively implementing GenAI technologies.
A total of 37 percent of Saudi organizations perceive GenAI as a greater security threat than an opportunity, the study showed.
This sentiment reflects widespread apprehension regarding cybersecurity risks associated with GenAI implementation.
These concerns might include data breaches, unauthorized access, and the misuse of AI-generated content.
Additionally, internal misuse of GenAI emerges as a prominent concern, with 43 percent of respondents expressing worry about potential misuse within their organizations.
Moreover, the study emphasizes the importance of data quality and integrity in the success of GenAI initiatives.
An overwhelming 69 percent of Saudi respondents stress that GenAI’s effectiveness heavily depends on the quality of data utilized by organizations – underscoring the indispensable role of data governance and management in ensuring the efficacy of GenAI applications.
