issue 91

ello and welcome to

This month’ s cover story, which can be found on page 15, features Simon Bell, Cyber Practice Leader at Marsh. He tells us how the company is helping organisations across the Middle East close the cyber-risk gap through improved awareness, stronger cyberinsurance strategies and advanced risk management frameworks.

Bell explains that rapid data centre growth, AI adoption and new privacy regulations are expanding the region’ s threat landscape, with the UAE facing hundreds of thousands of daily cyberattacks.

He adds that comprehensive cyberinsurance not only safeguards financial stability but also provides rapid incident response and business continuity support. Finally, Bell stresses the importance of continuous monitoring, rigorous testing and post-incident learning to ensure organisations build lasting cyberresilience in an evolving digital economy.

Elsewhere, we learn how Middle Eastern governments and enterprises are moving from compliance-first security to true cyber-resilience.

Experts at an Intelligent Global Media roundtable at GITEX Global warned that the region’ s rapid digital growth has expanded the threat surface, making recovery and resilience as vital as prevention.

Attendees also called for pragmatic regulation, stronger public-private co-operation and more transparent incident reporting to strengthen national defences. The session concluded that cyber-resilience is no longer an IT concern but a fundamental economic and societal priority for the Middle East.

You can read more starting on page 24.

Don’ t forget, you can stay informed with daily news updates on our website, where we bring you the latest insights and developments from the world of business technology. I’ d like to wish you a productive and successful month ahead. Please enjoy this issue and take your time to explore the articles we have prepared for you. See you next time.

He highlights that despite growing awareness, cyberinsurance adoption in the UAE remains low, though transparency and new data protection laws are driving progress. Bell notes that softening insurance rates present an opportunity for businesses to strengthen coverage and build long-term relationships with insurers.

They stressed that compliance frameworks alone are insufficient and that organisations must embed resilience into leadership, culture and technology. Key recommendations included continuous testing, robust backup strategies, strict access controls and the integration of threat intelligence into daily operations.

Mark Bowen Editorial Director

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