Symantec
Building defence
The Shelf meets up with Tamim Taufiq, Head of Sales,
Consumer Business Unit, MENA Symantec to understand
the threat landscape in the region
How do you see the threat landscape
changing in the region?
It has become increasingly apparent that
endpoint security is no longer enough for
businesses in the Middle East. A number
of high-profile attacks on organisations in
the Middle East have made headlines and
underscored the importance for businesses
to employ an in-depth security strategy that
includes a mix of aware, educated end users;
strict policies and procedures around testing
security vulnerabilities, securing information
and responding to issues that may arise; and
having up to date technologies.
According to Symantec’s 18th annual Internet
Security Threat Report, there has been a
surge in targeted attacks, rising by 42 percent
in 2012 compared to 2011. In addition, large
organisations aren’t the only target for attacks;
SMBs comprise 31% of targeted attacks, which
is a threefold increase over the previous year.
The UAE ranks 40th in the globe for overall
security threat profile (46th in 2011) according to
the ISTR. Within the Middle East, the UAE ranks
4th for malicious code, 2nd for phishing hosts,
4th for spam
www.redingtonmea.com
Are the threats getting more targeted and
sophisticated?
Symantec’s ISTR predicts that malware will
become increasingly vicious, and attacks
will be more aggressive and professional
over time. While mobile threats still
represent only a fraction of all malware,
Symantec expects that in the next year
there will be targeted attacks that are
predominately mobile based. Finally,
cyber-espionage has moved down
the supply chain, so business
will not only care about their
defences, but also take an interest
in the security of their business
partners
Tamim Taufiq, Head of Sales, Consumer
Business Unit, MENA, Symantec
With increasing cybercrimes,
are companies ready to invest
in protecting their systems in
the region? Are companies
concerned about ROI on
security solutions?
Cybercrime is one of the
largest illegal industries
in the world. Symantec is
For more information, please write to [email protected]
Issue 01
21