Cisco has shared insights into key cybersecurity trends in preparation for Black Hat MEA, held in Riyadh from 14-16 November 2023. The insights stem from Cisco Talos’ analysis, considered among the most trusted threat intelligence research teams globally, indicating a significant increase in attacks on web applications and a marginal decline in ransomware attacks.
Web application threats accounted for 30% of the engagements Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) responded to in Q3 2023, marking a stark rise from Q2, where such attacks made up only 8% of engagements. In contrast, ransomware engagements dropped to 10% from 17% in the previous quarter, while the Talos Incident Response team noted the first appearance of a new variant from the BlackByte ransomware group, in addition to the previously encountered LockBit ransomware.
Telecommunications and education sectors were the most targeted, each representing 20% of the total number of incident response engagements, with public administration and manufacturing closely following.
At Black Hat MEA 2023, Cisco, as a strategic sponsor, will present under the banner “If it’s connected, you’re protected”, showcasing their newest security innovations. Salman Faqeeh, Managing Director at Cisco Saudi Arabia, said: “The cyberthreat landscape is evolving rapidly, yet by being laser-focused on the latest research and innovations created to address today’s risks, we can shape the future of cybersecurity. At Cisco, we believe that a modern security approach requires a combination of industry partnerships, intelligence sharing, and co-operation. Black Hat MEA is strategically offering the right platform for industry leaders to align and discuss the way to boost security resilience in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
This year’s Black Hat MEA attendees will have the opportunity to engage with Cisco’s subject matter experts and experience demonstrations of the latest security innovations, enabling businesses to protect against cybersecurity threats. Salman further noted: “Security has never been more critical for our customers, and we have lately announced our plans to establish a data center for cloud-delivered security in Saudi Arabia, to help customers protect their users, infrastructure, and investments against threat actors.”
Cisco’s latest security technologies will be on display, including Secure Connectivity with SASE, Zero Trust with Duo, Cisco Multicloud Defense, Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Network Security, and Cisco Security Services. The Cisco experts are set to deliver insights on threat intelligence, recent cyber-risk trends, attack responses, and how to ensure secure access for a remote workforce.
During Black Hat MEA, Jeff Scheaffer, Vice-President for Product Management for Security at Cisco, will address the audience with a keynote on the company’s three-fold security strategy: simplify security, prevent attacks, and secure the use of large language models.
Cisco will welcome visitors at booth H3. C50 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center, from 14-16 November 2023.
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