That growth is also expanding the region’ s threat surface, with nationstates and criminal groups now mixing disruption, destruction and extortion in ways that traditional controls alone cannot blunt.

That was the stark message from a cybersecurity roundtable held during GITEX Global, hosted by Intelligent Global Media. The conversation, including insights from financial services, healthcare, consulting and critical infrastructure experts, repeatedly returned to one theme: resilience is no longer a project milestone but a national and board-level imperative.

From compliance to resilience

Multiple leaders warned against equating regulatory compliance with actual protection. Frameworks matter, but they can create a false sense of security when treated as tick-box exercises rather than operational disciplines embedded into culture and architecture.

24 WWW. INTELLIGENTCISO. COM