(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Cyber security ranks far up on the agendas of non-executive directors in the Middle East and Africa region, a survey has revealed.
According to the survey by Deloitte, innovation is high up the board''s agenda with 60 per cent of respondents ranking it as a very important issue. "This Deloitte study provides an exclusive perspective on the issues boards of directors in the region are currently facing," said Rami Wadie, enterprise risk services partner and corporate governance leader at Deloitte in the Middle East. "Whereas board effectiveness in the Middle East has been a key issue in the past 12 months, concerns about global recovery are expected to become more significant, which may be a reflection of the current and perceived future state of the oil industry and forecast oil prices." According to cyber-experts, the Middle East cyber-security market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.5 per cent during the 2016-22 period. The GCC region has become the centre point for cyber-attacks because of the region''s strategic and economic significance. In the GCC region, government, education and banking, financial services and insurance industries are the most targeted verticals by cyber-attackers. Increased interconnectivity, digitisation, and use of social media within organisations have made the GCC appear more pregnable to cyber crimes The GCC cyber-security market is estimated to grow over $10.41 billion by the end of 2022. Currently, cyber-security solutions are acquiring a major share of the market because of an increase in Internet users in the GCC region with current estimation being approximately 40 million. Also, 45 per cent of social networking users in the UAE witnessed cyber-crimes in 2015. Globally, the UAE is placed at the 15th position as a victim of cyber-attacks due to the high density of established commercial and government organisations in the country. In its report entitled "Emea 360 Boardroom Survey: Agenda priorities across the region", Deloitte said only 48 per cent of respondents gave a high rating when asked to rate board awareness of cyber-risks, while 20 per cent gave a low one. Despite its importance, less than half of respondents said that their organisation currently has an action plan in place to deal with cyber-security of which five said they have nominated a board member as the cyber-security expert with the remainder, either believing that this was a matter for collective board responsibility or that management dealt with it. Among the respondents within manufacturing industry, cyber-security ranks high on the board agenda at only 38 per cent. In the life sciences sector, although half of respondents indicated a high level of awareness, 33 per cent gave it a low ranking. "Cyber-security is one of the biggest future threats for companies. The boards have to be aware of the dangers that come with further digitisation. But so far many companies still sleep on the possible threats for their business - they have to take action, the sooner the better," said Wadie. The results of the survey show that product innovation was the area receiving the most attention of board members (63 per cent), followed by business model innovation with 49 per cent. Digital innovation is also an important component of many organisations'' innovation plans (47 per cent). Only nine per cent of respondents said that their organisation did not have an innovation plan, and a further six per cent indicated that an innovation plan was still in the process of development. The report pointed out that digitisation has also become much more important, rising by seven places in the ranking due to its broad and ever increasing reach. Data analytics, the Internet of Things, robotics and other innovations are new technological possibilities that affect all industries, with new digital competitors are emerging to challenge incumbents in many traditional sectors. "Digitisation is a hot topic for board members. The worldwide trend is of enormous strategic significance for companies; therefore it is also important that the topic is ranked highly on the boards agendas," Wadie said. -
Issac John Associate Business Editor of Khaleej Times, is a well-connected Indian journalist and an economic and financial commentator. He has been in the UAE''s mainstream journalism for 35 years, including 23 years with Khaleej Times. A post-graduate in English and graduate in economics, he has won over two dozen awards. Acclaimed for his authentic and insightful analysis of global and regional businesses and economic trends, he is respected for his astute understanding of the local business scene.