From Reactive to Predictive: How AI is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity in the Middle East

Exclusive Interview with Assad Arabi, Regional Managing Director Africa, Mediterranean and CIS, Trend Micro

What are your impressions of GITEX this year?
GITEX has always been an incredible platform, but this year feels different, there’s more energy, more excitement, and a clear focus on meaningful business conversations. The engagement level is impressive, and it’s great to see the region’s digital ecosystem evolving so rapidly.

What is the current state of cybersecurity in the Middle East and Africa?
It’s getting increasingly complex. We’re seeing more AI-driven, sophisticated cyberattacks that are harder to detect and mitigate. Last year alone, Trend Micro detected around 1.35 billion cyber threats in MEA , a staggering figure considering even one major attack can disrupt entire organisation. Globally, cybercrime is projected to cost around USD 10 trillion, which is an enormous economic loss.

This growing threat landscape demands a new approach. Instead of reacting after attacks occur, we’re shifting to a predictive cybersecurity model  anticipating threats before they strike. By identifying patterns and alerting organisations in advance, we’re helping them safeguard critical data and infrastructure proactively.

What key innovations is Trend Micro showcasing at GITEX 2025?
This year is special for us. Our flagship Trend Vision One platform, known as the world’s most comprehensive cybersecurity platform, continues to evolve. It integrates multiple security layers  from endpoint and server to cloud, network , data, email, IoT, and OT security — into one unified ecosystem.

The latest innovation we’re showcasing is our Agentic  SIEM solution, launched just last month. Among the first of its kind globally, it leverages AI to automate rule creation, configurations, and response actions. This will revolutionise how SOC teams operate  paving the way for fully autonomous security operations powered by AI.

What emerging trends are shaping 2025?
One of the most concerning trends is the rise of AI-driven threats, especially deepfakes. Attackers can now replicate voices, faces, and data to create what we call “malicious digital twins.” Imagine a video that looks and sounds exactly like you, used to deceive others , it’s a new frontier of cyber risk. We’re actively developing tools to detect and neutralise these threats before they cause harm.

How is Trend Micro leveraging AI to stay ahead of evolving attacks?
AI is central to everything we do. We’ve developed systems that not only detect but quantify cyber risk. For example, organisations receive a numerical cybersecurity score , say, 67 today and 70 tomorrow ,helping them see risk fluctuations in real time and take corrective action.

We’re also creating cybersecurity digital twins, replicating clients’ digital cyber security environment on our platform to safely simulate attacks and test resilience. This enables predictive defence and faster response.

What defines the next generation of cybersecurity?
The next era of cybersecurity will be defined by intelligence and foresight. Having advanced tools isn’t enough; you need actionable threat intelligence. It provides visibility into what’s happening, what could happen, and where your vulnerabilities lie. This shifts cybersecurity from reactive to truly preventive.

How is AI transforming the way organisations predict threats?
At Trend Micro, AI is embedded across our entire ecosystem  from endpoint and network protection to cloud, OT, and IoT security. We collect native  telemetry data into a central data lake and apply AI models and threat intelligence to correlate anomalies and detect hidden attacks.

Our proprietary Cybertron large language model (LLM) is a breakthrough. It analyses threats contextually, offering insights tailored to each organisation rather than generic alerts. It empowers security teams to identify, prevent, and neutralize threats before they materialize. This advanced level of intelligence was unimaginable just two years ago, and it’s redefining how cybersecurity protection should be  perceived .

What are the biggest challenges organisations face in a cloud-native environment?
The biggest hurdle is mindset. Many organisations still use traditional security methods for cloud environments  and that simply doesn’t work. Trend Micro offers a complete cloud-native security portfolio covering applications, workloads, containers, storage, and configuration. Our attack surface and exposure management tools continuously assess cloud posture, identify risks, and alert teams before vulnerabilities are exploited.

What impact has the Trend Vision One AI Companion delivered?
The AI Companion acts like our version of ChatGPT for cybersecurity analysts. They can ask questions such as “What does this alert mean?” or “What should I do next?” and receive instant, actionable guidance or even have the system perform those actions automatically. This has dramatically reduced response times and helped close the cybersecurity skills gap, enabling junior analysts to perform at senior levels.

What sets Trend Micro apart from other cybersecurity companies?
As a Japanese company, precision and commitment are part of our DNA. For over 37 years, cybersecurity has been our singular focus. If we enter a segment, it’s because we intend to lead it.

Our leadership is consistently recognised by Gartner, Forrester, and IDC across multiple domains  from endpoint and network to IoT and attack surface management. What truly differentiates us is our natively integrated ecosystem, which simplifies management, enhances visibility, increase the protection , and strengthens customer confidence.