Mena ISC 2022, a major cybersecurity conference upcoming in Riyadh, will host sessions focusing on the rising cyberattacks on network infrastructure in countries around the world, posing a significant threat to the economies of these countries.

The conference is being held in September under the theme "Cyber Fusion: Converging Cyber Intel: Critical Network Infrastructure IT, OT, and IoT."

Samir Omar, CEO of VirtuPort, said the 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 cyberattack.

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.

The 10th edition of Mena ISC includes leading firms from around the world with CyberKnight as diamond distribution sponsor and CrowdStrike as its diamond sponsor. Platinum sponsors are arcon and IT Security Training & Solutions – I(TS)2 in addition to gold sponsorships by Advanced Technical Solutions (ATS), ankura, kaspersky, MANDIANT, proofpoint,  SentinelOne and Tenable, and silver sponsorships by Acronis, ANOMALI, BeyondTrust, Bitdefender, Forcepoint, ClearSkies ODYSSEY, Security Scorecard, THREATQUOTIENT,tripwire,  and ZEROFOX.

Marcom Arabia and NOZOMI Networks as a Strategic Partner, with many more expected to participate and be announced soon.W7Worldwide is listed as Organizing Partner and Media Sponsors.

CyberKnight, a leading Value Added Distributor (VAD) also having participation from the following companies: appgate, BLUECAT, Checkmarx, ENTRUST, GROUP-IB, helpsystems, illumio, netwrix, PhishRod, seceon, SECLORE and solarwinds. – TradeArabia News Service