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WHY OT SECURITY IS BECOMING A KEY PRIORITY FOR POSITIVE TECHNOLOGIES
In this Q & A, Ilya Leonov, Regional Director for Positive Technologies in the MENA region, discussed the surge in OT-targeted attacks and the increasing weaponisation of AI, warning that outdated defences leave a growing surface open to highly strategic adversaries.
At GISEC Global 2025, one thing was clear – traditional defences no longer protect systems against growing attacks on operational technology( OT) and application environments.
There needs to be a growing focus on embedding security earlier in the software development lifecycle.
It is crucial to adopt DevSecOps practices to mitigate long-term risks and address a growing skills gap that even the most advanced tools cannot compensate for.
The threat landscape increases with every new technology layer – new vulnerabilities, attack surfaces and intrusion methods.
UAE cybersecurity spending is set to rise by 14 % in 2025 – what’ s driving this growth?
This message is particularly resonant in the Middle East. According to a recent Gartner report, nearly 14 % of organisations in the UAE – particularly in the energy, government, finance and infrastructure sectors – are ramping up investment in proactive cyberdefence strategies.
The primary driver is the rapid Digital Transformation taking place not only in the UAE but across the Middle East. We’ re witnessing an unprecedented integration of IT into virtually every aspect of daily life – whether cloud-based services, IoT applications, remote access platforms or smart infrastructure.
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