الرئيسية
By Arab News
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the most vulnerable
among Middle East countries for phishing and virus attacks, top IT
security firm Symantec has warned.
“We know the threats are real
in this part of the world,” said Johnny Karam, Symantec’s regional
director for Middle East and North Africa.
“Global trends also
show that cyber criminals are more likely to target small businesses as
they have more money than individual targets and far less secure than
large enterprises,” Karam added.
He was commenting on the latest
findings of its small and medium business (SMB) information management
and security study in the Middle East.
Symantec announced the
findings of its small and medium business (SMB) information management
and security study in the Middle East in partnership with research
company, YouGov.
The survey also shows that less than half of the
respondents are archiving data in Saudi and Egypt — 49 percent in the
Kingdom and 44 percent in Egypt.
Only 52 percent are archiving
their data in the UAE, according to poll that was conducted in
partnership with research company YouGov.
“A majority of small
and medium sized businesses in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are not
taking effective measures to safeguard their important information, nor
are they setting aside a dedicated budget for IT, ” said the Symantec
statement.
The survey found that SMBs in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and
UAE are spending up to $10,000 per annum on IT — with the 17 percent of
the respondents spending in the range of $1,000 to $5,000.
According
to the poll, 45 percent of respondents in Egypt do not have a fixed
annual budget for IT and are making purchase decisions as and when
needed, the same is true for 45 percent in UAE and 39 percent in Saudi
Arabia.
“The survey results tell us that a high percentage of
SMBs are making purchase decisions for IT on a need basis, without
threat assessment of their critical information, and without long-term
planning,” Karam said.
“It is likely these ad hoc purchase decisions are being made to rectify issues only after they happen,” Karam added.
The
director said SMBs would benefit greatly from a more strategic approach
to IT. They could actually save money, given that the costs associated
with a security breach or loss of data, loss of business and most
importantly damage brand reputation
In Egypt, data loss due to
power failure was noted as the issue faced most frequently, while UAE
and Saudi Arabia highlighted the inability to recover data from back-ups
as the biggest problem.
In addition, the research found that the
frequency of back-ups was not optimum, with only one third of
respondents backing up on a daily basis.
Only a quarter (26
percent) of respondents claim they have never experienced an issue
recovering data from their back-up, or faced loss of data due to power
failure. “The issues recovering data could be a result of a lack of
understanding relating to backing-up of data,” said Karam.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the most vulnerable
among Middle East countries for phishing and virus attacks, top IT
security firm Symantec has warned.
“We know the threats are real
in this part of the world,” said Johnny Karam, Symantec’s regional
director for Middle East and North Africa.
“Global trends also
show that cyber criminals are more likely to target small businesses as
they have more money than individual targets and far less secure than
large enterprises,” Karam added.
He was commenting on the latest
findings of its small and medium business (SMB) information management
and security study in the Middle East.
Symantec announced the
findings of its small and medium business (SMB) information management
and security study in the Middle East in partnership with research
company, YouGov.
The survey also shows that less than half of the
respondents are archiving data in Saudi and Egypt — 49 percent in the
Kingdom and 44 percent in Egypt.
Only 52 percent are archiving
their data in the UAE, according to poll that was conducted in
partnership with research company YouGov.
“A majority of small
and medium sized businesses in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are not
taking effective measures to safeguard their important information, nor
are they setting aside a dedicated budget for IT, ” said the Symantec
statement.
The survey found that SMBs in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and
UAE are spending up to $10,000 per annum on IT — with the 17 percent of
the respondents spending in the range of $1,000 to $5,000.
According
to the poll, 45 percent of respondents in Egypt do not have a fixed
annual budget for IT and are making purchase decisions as and when
needed, the same is true for 45 percent in UAE and 39 percent in Saudi
Arabia.
“The survey results tell us that a high percentage of
SMBs are making purchase decisions for IT on a need basis, without
threat assessment of their critical information, and without long-term
planning,” Karam said.
“It is likely these ad hoc purchase decisions are being made to rectify issues only after they happen,” Karam added.
The
director said SMBs would benefit greatly from a more strategic approach
to IT. They could actually save money, given that the costs associated
with a security breach or loss of data, loss of business and most
importantly damage brand reputation
In Egypt, data loss due to
power failure was noted as the issue faced most frequently, while UAE
and Saudi Arabia highlighted the inability to recover data from back-ups
as the biggest problem.
In addition, the research found that the
frequency of back-ups was not optimum, with only one third of
respondents backing up on a daily basis.
Only a quarter (26
percent) of respondents claim they have never experienced an issue
recovering data from their back-up, or faced loss of data due to power
failure. “The issues recovering data could be a result of a lack of
understanding relating to backing-up of data,” said Karam.