This September, Riyadh will host one of the most important cybersecurity conferences in the Middle East and North Africa – MENA ISC 2022 – under one of  the most relevant themes "Cyber Fusion: Converging Cyber Intel: Critical Network Infrastructure IT, OT, and IoT." The conference’s diverse sessions will focus on the rising cyber attacks on network infrastructure in countries around the world, posing a significant threat to the economies of these countries.

 10th edition of the conference aims to generate an effective dialogue between C-Level executives, directors, and global cybersecurity experts with rich experiences in developing strategies and cybersecurity techniques for the benefit of digital transformation and technological advancements. He stressed the importance of the conference for the Kingdom, especially as it is the largest market for information and communication technology in the Middle East and North Africa region

“The Saudi ICT market has been witnessing steady growth since the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. This makes the IT infrastructure in the public and private sectors vulnerable to cyberattacks, where these attacks cause great damage to the economy and various sectors,” Omar said. 

CyberKnight stated that 88% of organizations in Saudi Arabia have reported some form of an attempted ransomware attack, according to a study by Grant Thornton KSA a relatively high number compared to the global average. It is currently estimated that companies in Saudi Arabia lose about $6.53 million per cyber attack.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia has jumped 11 ranks since 2018 in the Digital Competitiveness Report, and more than 40 ranks since the launch of Vision 2030.

In 2021, the Kingdom ranked second globally among the G20 countries in the Digital Competitiveness Report, issued by the European Center for Digital Competitiveness.