Can you introduce the SANS Institute 2025 GCC Cybersecurity Threat Landscape Report and explain what the research set out to achieve?
Cyber-risks in the GCC are evolving faster than ever and the SANS Institute 2025 Threat Landscape Report uncovers what security leaders in the region need to know right now. This environment is markedly shaped by the complex geopolitical situation and the critical regional assets currently at play.
To gain specific insight into these challenges, we conducted a comprehensive survey and interview series. This involved canvassing 200 security leaders, professionals and practitioners specifically operating within the GCC.
Frank Kim, Venture Advisor at YL Ventures( Fellow at SANS Institute)
The scope of the research spanned the entire region, encompassing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. The objective was clear: to establish a granular view of the security concerns, considerations and direct threats being confronted by leadership in that specific geographical domain.
The cybersecurity landscape across the Gulf Cooperation Council( GCC) countries is evolving rapidly, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for technology and security leaders. The SANS Institute 2025 GCC Cybersecurity Threat Landscape Report serves as a vital compass; offering an in-depth, regional assessment of the prevailing cyber-risks, defence strategies and skills gaps. In this article, Frank Kim, Venture Advisor at YL Ventures( Fellow at SANS Institute), discusses how the research sets out a clear, data-driven picture of the GCC’ s current security posture, benchmarking local realities against global best practices.
The research reveals high cyber-risk but low spending( 0 – 25 %) on detection and response. Why is this resource imbalance so persistent and what mindset shift is required for leadership?
That is an intriguing finding. Whilst a comparative analysis with other global regions would be illuminating, I contend that this phenomenon primarily reflects the varying stages of security maturity among different organisations.
This maturity level is clearly contingent upon core organisational attributes, notably the industry sector and the sheer size of the organisation. When we look closely at the survey data we see that the spending is roughly distributed across a spectrum, ranging from those with arguably the lowest expenditure, to those with the most significant spending, with several intermediate tiers separating them.
Therefore, this distribution strongly suggests an existence of inconsistent or divergent security priorities amongst the respondents and the diverse range of industries within which they operate.
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