Manchester City Legend Paul Dickov Joins Acronis at GITEX 2023

Global cyber protection expert, Acronis,  is making its fourth appearance at the world's largest technology showcase, GITEX Global Expo. To underscore its commitment to cybersecurity and its strategic sports partnerships, Acronis is hosting another renowned sports figure, former Manchester City striker and legend, Paul Dickov.

Acronis’ 2023 event’s theme, “​​Make your business cyber resilient against intelligent and sophisticated attacks,” positions them as a leader in unravelling the modern cyber threat landscape, demonstrating the importance of crafting and integrating multi-layered resilience.

This year, at Acronis’s booth, you can:

1. Witness Live Demonstrations: Experience the power and capabilities of Acronis solutions firsthand through live demonstrations showcasing their industry-leading technology.
2. Attend Daily Sessions: Acronis experts will host daily sessions, offering deep insights into the latest trends and innovations in cybersecurity. Plus, get your Acronis passport stamped for each session you attend, and you could win exciting prizes!
3. Participate in Gamification: Engage in interactive gamification activities for a chance to win exciting prizes. Test your knowledge, have fun, and learn about cybersecurity in a unique way.
4. Meet Paul Dickov: Visit the Acronis booth on Wednesday, October 18th, for an exclusive opportunity to meet Paul Dickov, get an autograph and capture the moment with a memorable photo session.

According to the Acronis regional spokesperson, the theme coincides with the increased adoption of future-proof innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) in both businesses and home offices. Despite its effectiveness in simplifying numerous tasks and operations, this innovation is also increasingly being used by cybercriminals to develop undetectable cyber-attacks.

Ziad Nasr, General Manager of Acronis Middle East, stated, “As we get ready to join the global technology community in showcasing new innovations and solutions at this year’s GITEX, we are equally excited to emphasize the necessity for businesses and organizations to up their cyber protection measures. In recent years, the technology space has introduced valuable but also potentially lethal innovations such as AI. Our ongoing role will be to guide enterprises on how to proactively and cost-effectively become cyber resilient.”

“Cyber protection has become a crucial concern for individuals and businesses. To become cyber fit, enterprises should take several practical steps to protect themselves against cyber threats. Some of these include employee training and awareness, risk assessment to evaluate potential threats that might compromise the security of your company's networks, systems, and information, a well-defined incident response plan that outlines the steps to take in case of a cyberattack, and regular updates and patches,” added Ziad.

Despite ongoing efforts, the GCC region continues to face cyber threats, that result in costly data theft and downtime on large and medium-sized enterprises, including government, healthcare, and other critical organizations. The region has seen a significant increase in email and ransomware attacks, with the number of email-based phishing attacks rising by 464% in 2023, compared to 24% in 2022 per organization.

As AI-driven solutions have become increasingly useful in enhancing threat detection and automating responses, they also introduce new vulnerabilities such as adversarial attacks, data poisoning, and model inversion. On their part, hackers are leveraging AI to heighten the speed, scale, and scope of their activities. Generative AI, a specific type of AI, is now being used by hackers to develop malware and create more sophisticated phishing and smishing messages.

As the regional threat landscape becomes sophisticated, cyber protection experts forecast that enterprises are likely to increase their overall IT budgets to cope with the demand for effective solutions. According to Gartner, IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa region is forecast to grow by 4% to reach US$183.8 billion in 2024, up from US$176.8 billion in 2023. This trend is expected to ultimately drive organizations in the region to spend more on software and IT services such as cybersecurity and improved data management to secure their digital assets.

During GITEX, Acronis will feature thought leadership presentations by James Slaby, Director of Cyber Protection, covering vital topics such as countering ChatGPT-aided cybersecurity threats, building comprehensive cyber resilience, and navigating the landscape of cyber insurance. Others include building an incident response plan for cyber resilience and safeguarding your Microsoft 365 data and Google Workspace.

You can visit the Acronis booth in the Cyber Valley section, H25 - C50 and cultivate your #CyberFit strategy by reserving a one-on-one consultation with an Acronis expert. Secure your spot now by booking your meeting through the following link.

About Acronis

Acronis unifies data protection and cybersecurity to deliver integrated, automated cyber protection that solves the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges of the modern digital world. With flexible deployment models that fit the demands of service providers and IT professionals, Acronis provides superior cyber protection for data, applications, and systems with innovative next-generation antivirus, backup, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection management solutions powered by AI. With advanced anti-malware powered by cutting-edge machine intelligence and blockchain based data authentication technologies, Acronis protects any environment - from cloud to hybrid to on premises - at a low and predictable cost.

Acronis is a Swiss company, founded in Singapore. Celebrating two decades of innovation, Acronis has more than 2,000 employees in 45 locations. Acronis Cyber Protect solution is available in 26 languages in over 150 countries and is used by 20,000 service providers to protect over 750,000 businesses.