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Gitex Global: AI a double-edged sword when it comes to cybersecurity

Trend Micro picks up 475 million threats across MEA region in first half of 2023

Published: Wed 18 Oct 2023, 3:38 PM

Updated: Thu 19 Oct 2023, 4:52 PM

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Dr Moataz Bin Ali, regional vice-president and managing director, MMEA for Trend Micro. — Supplied photo

Dr Moataz Bin Ali, regional vice-president and managing director, MMEA for Trend Micro. — Supplied photo

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword when it comes to cybersecurity, and companies and organisations must prepare to face the new challenges, an expert said.

“You can use AI to boost your defences, but also to attack, and that is what hackers are doing and what malicious actors have achieved through their years of working with AI platforms,” Dr Moataz Bin Ali, regional vice-president and managing director, MMEA for Trend Micro, told Khaleej Times in an interview on the sidelines of Gitex Global 2023 in Dubai.

In an era where digital threats have become increasingly sophisticated and prevalent, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region faces unique cybersecurity challenges, Trend Micro research shows. As we navigate the digital age, bad actors are leveraging advanced technologies, rendering traditional security measures insufficient.

The Trend Micro mid-year report, titled ‘Stepping Ahead Of Risk’, stated that just in the initial half of 2023, the company’s solutions identified and prevented more than 475 million threats across the MEA region, highlighting the growing intensity and intricacy of such attacks. Additionally, in the UAE alone, over 39 million threats were detected and blocked.

“However, it is a great opportunity as well, because it doesn’t just help fight fire with fire when it comes to the art and cybersecurity and protection, detection and response; it also helps in upskilling the vendors capabilities and abilities to automate to navigate and to transform across an organisation from the cybersecurity point of view,” Bin Ali added.

Trend Micro’s solutions and technologies are powered by AI in three different layers. The first layer is the threat detection and response which is in the very core layer. The second layer is the automation and assistance — that’s the launch of the Trend Micro AI copilot that helps the threat analysts and helps the security consultants in doing their work across the AI platforms and sites. The third layer is the layer that concerns the machine learning and it is the layer that helps Trend Micro identify threats that are not usually known as threats. “So not just in the detection response, which also in the identification as well and picking them out and as well as in taking them out as well,” Bin Ali said.

Trend Micro has signed a number of MoUs at Gitex, most significantly with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority for the launch of the cybersecurity platform, and another with the Cyber Security Council to raise the level of cybersecurity defence, working with differentiated organisations.

“Our journey through this fast-paced digital transformation is characterized by steadfast resilience and continual innovation. Our showcase at Gitex Global envisions a future where technology and security are intricately woven together, ensuring enterprises thrive with both innovation and security,” Bin Ali said. “At Trend Micro, our implementation of AI not only positions us at the vanguard of security solutions that are predictive, proactive, and precise, but also underscores our unwavering commitment to outpacing cyber adversaries and safeguarding the digital landscape.”

Looking ahead, Bin Ali sees cybersecurity and AI will be inextricably linked. “Both of them will be correlating together right and working harmoniously together and whether attack or whether in defence. I think that with the advancement of digital transformation across the different nations in the GCC and global and as AI intersects with other technologies like virtual reality, IoT, Blockchain and others you’ll also find AI-linked cybersecurity solutions for these emerging technologies as well. So the possibilities are endless,” Bin Ali said.



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