Tenable Study Shows 68% of Saudi Arabian Organisations Plan to Use Generative AI to Enhance Security Measures and Align IT Objectives with the Business However, only 22% exhibit high confidence in implementation

Riyadh, KSA (5th August, 2024) – Tenable®, Inc, the Exposure Management company, has published a new study revealing that 68% of organisations plan to harness generative AI (GenAI) within the next 12 months to enhance security measures and align IT objectives with broader business goals. Despite this surge in adoption, the study also reveals a worrying trend, as only 22% of organisations demonstrate high confidence in effectively implementing GenAI technologies

The data is drawn from the Saudi Arabian edition of “How to Discover, Analyze and Respond to Threats Faster with Generative AI,” a commissioned study of 826 IT and cybersecurity professionals, including 51 Saudi based respondents conducted in October 2023 by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable. The research sheds light on the growing adoption of GenAI within Saudi businesses, marking a significant pivot in their strategic focus. It reveals a sense of hopeful anticipation among security leaders regarding the capacity of GenAI to enhance security measures. Nevertheless, it also accentuates the intricate nature of the path towards AI integration, as organisations navigate the delicate balance between innovation and potential risks

An aspect of concern highlighted by the study is the perception of GenAI as a greater security threat than an opportunity among 37% of Saudi organisations. This sentiment reflects widespread apprehension regarding cybersecurity risks associated with GenAI implementation. Additionally, internal misuse of GenAI emerges as a prominent concern, with 43% of respondents expressing worry about potential misuse within their organisations

Moreover, the study emphasises the importance of data quality and integrity in the success of GenAI initiatives. A resounding 69% of Saudi respondents stress that GenAI’s effectiveness heavily depends on the quality of data utilised by organisations. This underscores the indispensable role of data governance and management in ensuring the efficacy of GenAI applications

“Whatever your thoughts around July 16 being AI Appreciation Day, we can all agree that GenAI has many amazing use cases from customer support to education to code development,” said Maher Jadallah, Senior Director Middle East & North Africa at Tenable. “Organisations are increasingly using cloud services, virtualisation platforms, microservices, applications, and code libraries. This flip-side is an expanded attack surface with vulnerabilities, cloud misconfigurations, and risks tied to identity access, groups, and permissions. Finding and fixing the flaws threat actors exploit is a game of cat and mouse

“GenAI can help by bringing together data from various sources, making it easier for Saudi organizations to understand and manage these complexities. This way, they can quickly identify exposures, prioritise actions, and see connections across the entire attack surface. However, these decisions must be based on reliable data. If you have unique data then you’re going to have unique intelligence guiding decisions — ultimately “gold in, gold out” or “garbage in, garbage out”