DUBAI: The cybersecurity ecosystem has grown more complex with implications for both organizations and governments, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest “Global Cybersecurity Outlook” report released on Monday.

Sixty-six percent of organizations expect artificial intelligence to have a major impact on cybersecurity in 2025. But only 37 percent of organizations have processes in place to assess the security of AI tools before deployment, the report found.

Akshay Joshi, head of the WEF’s Centre for Cybersecurity, told Arab News: “Geopolitical uncertainties, advances in emerging technologies and supply chain vulnerabilities are among the key factors contributing to complexity in cyberspace, all of which point to the need for building cyber resilience across organizations and nations.”

The report calls for a shift in perspective from cybersecurity to cyber resilience, which it describes as an organization’s ability to mitigate the impact of significant cyber incidents on its goals and objectives.

Supply-chain challenges are the greatest barrier to achieving cyber resilience due to their increasing complexity, along with lack of visibility and oversight into the security levels of suppliers, according to the report.

Over half (54 percent) of large organizations consider supply-chain challenges as the greatest barrier to achieving cyber resilience.

Another significant factor is geopolitical tensions, which affect the cybersecurity strategy of nearly 60 percent of organizations surveyed in the report.

Geopolitics also affect risk perception with 45 percent of cyber leaders saying they are concerned about disruption of operations and business processes. And approximately 33 percent of CEOs say cyber espionage, loss of sensitive information and intellectual property theft are their top concerns.

There is widespread disparity regionally and economically when it comes to cyber resilience. For example, 35 percent of small organizations believe their cyber resilience is inadequate — a proportion that has increased sevenfold since 2022.

On the other hand, the share of large organizations reporting insufficient cyber resilience has nearly halved since 2022 down from 13 percent to 7 percent.

Regionally, only 15 percent of respondents in Europe and North America lack confidence in their country’s ability to respond to major cyber incidents targeting critical infrastructure. But this number rises to 36 percent in Africa and 42 percent in Latin America.

The Middle East region is more optimistic with respondents saying they are “confident” (36 percent) and “very confident” (36 percent).

“This confidence is a result of the unequivocal focus on cybersecurity in the Kingdom and across the wider region coupled with the importance given to global collaborative efforts,” Joshi explained.

In addition to these insights, the report highlighted the economic implications of cybersecurity and the role of leadership in prioritizing it as a core business enabler.

It also stressed the need for collaborative efforts to secure networks essential to the digital economy and for ways to effectively address the increasing shortage of cybersecurity skills.

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco has secured 145 agreements and memorandums of understanding worth an estimated $9 billion on the opening day of the In-Kingdom Total Value Add Forum and Exhibition 2025. 

These deals are expected to drive the localization of products and services in Saudi Arabia, enhancing local content in the supply chain and fostering collaboration.

The agreements align with the core objectives of iktva, which aim to enhance supply chain efficiency and add value across Saudi Aramco’s operations.

By increasing local content, the program helps develop a more diverse and competitive energy industry in the Kingdom. It also supports the strategic goal of retaining 70 percent of procurement spending within Saudi Arabia, directly benefiting local businesses.

On its first day, the event highlighted 210 localization opportunities across 12 sectors, with a combined annual market value of $28 billion. These opportunities are seen as key to driving long-term industrial growth and reducing reliance on imports.

During the event, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser reflected on the company’s progress, noting that Aramco achieved a 67 percent local content score for its procurement of goods and services in 2024, up from just 35 percent in 2015. 

“Since launching iktva in 2015, we’ve made significant strides. Back then, most of our materials and services were sourced from outside Saudi Arabia,” Nasser said. 

Nasser emphasized that the success of iktva depends on its ability to create value for all stakeholders. 

“For Aramco, a largely localized supply chain ensures continuity and helps us navigate operational challenges more effectively,” he said. “Since 2015, iktva has contributed over $240 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and led to the creation of 350 local manufacturing facilities with investments totaling more than $9 billion.”

These new facilities cover a range of sectors, including chemicals, non-metallics, information technology, electrical and instrumentation, and drilling. As a result, 47 products are now being manufactured for the first time in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also addressed the gathering, announcing the Kingdom’s plans to enrich and sell uranium. “We’re committed to monetizing all our mineral resources, including uranium,” the minister said. “By enriching and selling uranium, along with producing yellowcake, we will secure essential raw materials for energy security.”

Prince Abdulaziz discussed the future of the petrochemical sector, emphasizing the importance of producing more advanced chemicals. “The future of petrochemicals is not just about plastics or polymers. We’re aiming for better, more sophisticated chemical products,” he noted.

Looking ahead, the energy minister spoke about potential collaborations with Egypt, indicating that a roadmap for joint ventures would be outlined in February. “We have much to look forward to with Egypt,” he said.

In a separate panel, Prince Abdulaziz highlighted the role of integrated collaboration between sectors in achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

He explained that major energy expansion projects are key to supporting industrial development by providing diverse energy sources and offering competitive prices for gas feedstock.

This, he added, would help stimulate the growth of manufacturing and facilitate the transition to cleaner energy.

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih also spoke during the ministerial dialogue session, stressing that standardized incentives for the industrial sector are critical to achieving Vision 2030.

These incentives, he said, will help accelerate the creation of new industrial facilities and strengthen local supply chains at all stages of the value chain, making Saudi industries more competitive.

The first day of the forum also saw the launch of ASMO, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco Development Co. and DHL. The new venture aims to transform the procurement and supply chain landscape across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Additionally, the opening ceremonies for the Novel Non-Metallic Solutions facility at King Salman Energy Park and the NMDC Offshore Fabrication Yard at Ras Al-Khair were held.

Novel, a partnership between Aramco and Baker Hughes, is focused on introducing a range of composite products to the market, while the NMDC fabrication yard will provide maritime engineering services and fabricate equipment and materials.

Running from Jan.13-16 in Dammam, the iktva Forum continues to spotlight critical infrastructure projects and collaborative opportunities aimed at advancing the local supply chain ecosystem and supporting the Kingdom’s long-term industrial goals.