Most cyberattacks recorded from North Korea, followed by Russia, China and Iran Businesses this year invested most frequently in IT in cybersecurity solutions, services, apps and staff cybersecurity training LONDON: Most public and private sector entities in the Middle East suffered cyberattacks in the past year, causing major financial damage, according to a recent survey by Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm. Experts warned that more cyberattacks in the coming year are likely, and called for immediate cyber threat intelligence implementation by organizations in the region. “With operationalizing threat intelligence posing a challenge for many security functions, a requirements-driven approach to CTI is required to introduce essential building blocks for a thriving intelligence capability within an organization,” Jamie Collier, a senior threat intelligence adviser at Mandiant, told Arabian Business. According to Collier, the main objective of CTI is to enlighten, counsel and empower organizational stakeholders. As a result, CTI teams are equipped to perform at their best in situations with limited resources. The survey showed that 96 percent of security decision-makers in Middle Eastern organizations believed it is crucial to understand which threats could be directed at their organization. But Collier said it is essential to make decisions by considering adversaries’ perspectives. Another recent study by NordLayer, an organization offering solutions for adaptive network access security, identified different kinds of cyberattacks faced by Middle Eastern organizations in the last year and their solutions. Phishing (40 percent), malware (36 percent) and data breaches (27 percent) were the three most prevalent cyberattacks that caused significant financial damage to companies, the study reported. According to NordLayer, cyber insurance is a relatively new solution for businesses, even though it emphasizes covering incident repercussions rather than preventing them. However, training the staff and investment in cybersecurity solutions, services and applications as a priority are also highly effective solutions for organizations in the Middle East and adopted by most organizations in 2023. “More than seven out of 10 companies utilize antivirus software (78 percent), while secure passwords and file encryption (both 67 percent) are the second-highest priority when creating security policies within organizations at the moment,” said the study. It also revealed that roughly 35 percent of businesses intend to spend up to 25 percent of their budget on IT requirements in 2023, and another 32 percent plan to spend up to 50 percent.