EDITOR’S QUESTION
Sébastien Pavie
Regional Sales Director,
MEA at Gemalto
For the Middle East region we expect an
uptick in precise and targeted attacks on PHI,
PII, and intellectual property data as this
kind of information is the new oil. When oil
pioneers started harvesting and refining “rock
oil” in the mid 19th century, there wasn’t
all that much demand. Nevertheless, as
more and more uses were identified for the
various refinery by products – from kerosene
for lamps to gasoline for the burgeoning
automobile industry – demand grew and
the economy around oil grew with it.
Nowadays, we see hackers in a similar “Wild
West” environment, one in which they are
collecting massive amounts of data – from
personally identifiable information to Social
Security numbers, credit card numbers and
even healthcare records – with the intent
of figuring out its best uses at a later date.
They’re no longer just targeting data for
its immediate value, but instead are intent
with its eventual value that will come from
repurposing stolen data for future attacks.
The Middle East is one of the most
connected regions in the world and this fact
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generates mounds of data that businesses,
industry pros and analysts use to drive
decisions, make projections, issue forecasts
and more. For sophisticated hackers, it’s not
about stealing data anymore but accessing
and changing it.
Therefore, cybersecurity will continue
to be a hot topic in the boardroom as
companies try to understand their legal
and insurance needs due to seemingly
ongoing data breaches. However, we’ll
continue to see enterprises facing
challenges in embracing new security
strategies tuned to the market needs.
Also, we should highlight cloud computing
as a continuing trend for 2016 which
companies should bank on to understand
their key advantages and ensure business
competitiveness. Finally, it is essential to
mention the BYOD trend that will continue to
be fuelled by the great increment of mobile
penetration in the region (90%), hence
mobile computing will need to be on the
enterprises’ radars.
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