RIYADH: Cybersecurity effectiveness in Saudi Arabia is set to be enhanced thanks to an initiative launched by Trend Micro and Alibaba Cloud.

Announced at the Black Hat Middle East and Africa conference in Riyadh, the Vision One security operations center-as-a-service development will empower customers to take charge of their cybersecurity ecosystem.

It includes 24-hour basis alert monitoring and prioritization, incident investigation, and threat hunting to customers as a managed service.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Moataz BinAli, regional vice president and managing director for Trend Micro, said: “The solution provides the customers with solution software, basically, the service and now even the operation from Trend Micro to be able to deal with their cybersecurity issues across the entire organizations directly from the number one cybersecurity vendor in the markets.

He added: “Also, the solution is hosted on top of SCCC Alibaba cloud, the number one local hyperscale cloud in Saudi Arabia. Thus guaranteeing our customers from end to end complete peace of mind and local cybersecurity protection.”

Talal Al-Bakr, CEO of SCCC Alibaba Cloud added: “One of the most important aspects of what we're launching right now is not only providing solutions and services but also providing you an outlook of how things are going to change. We believe Saudi (Arabia) is the epicenter of change within technology, and this is just an additional sentiment to that change.”

BinAli also highlighted the key challenges being faced by chief information security officers across the globe, starting with the rising complexity of cyber threats.

He also expressed concerns about the emergence of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

Other issues included increasing alert fatigue and data overload as a result of organizations having many cybersecurity solutions, with BinAli saying it has become “very difficult for analysts to be able to decide whether these are true positives or false positives.”

Another concern centered on issues caused when numerous cybersecurity tools are utilized by an organization, but they are not sufficiently integrated or adequate training is not given to employees.

Organized by Tahaluf in collaboration with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, Black Hat MEA is expected to surpass its inaugural size by 41 percent, as indicated by a 119 percent increase in early visitor registrations.

The event, held from Nov. 14 to 16, is a cornerstone for industry growth, themed under “Infosec on the Edge.”

Featuring over 350 exhibitors from 120 countries, it is showcasing interactive workshops, training programs, and a high-level executive summit. More than 50 startups are set to participate, with over 150 briefing sessions, 40 arsenal sessions, and 40 executive summit sessions on the agenda.

Black Hat MEA aims to position itself as the largest cybersecurity event in the region and a global leader in terms of attendance.

The agenda covers crucial areas of the cybersecurity sector, including artificial intelligence, compliance, risk management, and the evolving role of women in cybersecurity.