Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 02 | Page 24

COMMENT itself, because if something happens to the keys, entire sets of data can be stolen or lost, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It is essential to continue to promote encryption among companies by using multi-factor authentication and data encryption along with the security of the encryption key as the threat landscape is in constant change and hackers are also more skillful. The fact that data resides anywhere and everywhere on the network makes it harder to the companies to have full control of it from the time data is in transit. Thus, by encrypting the data, companies are protecting themselves and proactively avoiding data breaches. DESPITE OF THE CYBERATTACKS AND DATA BREACHES OCCURRED IN THE REGION, MIDDLE EASTERN GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN MAKING INCREDIBLE INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THEIR SECURITY SYSTEMS ARE UP TO DATE TO MINIMISE THE RISKS OF CYBER-ATTACKS According to Gemalto’s Breach Level Index report for the first half of 2015 there was an increment of 10% of data breaches, while the compromised data records have dropped by 41%. In spite of the drop, it is important to highlight that large data breaches are continuing to expose massive amounts of personal information and identities. The Middle Eastern region has been facing few cases of cyber-attacks and 24 INTELLIGENTCIO In spite of these facts, it is important to highlight the greater maturity and awareness of the Middle Eastern enterprises that are starting to understand the importance of securing their data through solid encryption strategies. The initiatives of improving the security operations and capabilities of