Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 16 February 2017:  A study by Citrix and the Ponemon Institute on IT security infrastructure found that less than half (40%) of UAE based respondents said their organization has security policies in place to ensure employees and third parties only have the appropriate access to sensitive business information. Adding to their concern is that nearly 79% of business respondents said that some of their existing security solutions are outdated and inadequate. 

There is no one-size-fits-all security solution to address the threat landscape that businesses in the UAE face. Each organization has unique security obstacles and obligations. Globally, billions of dollars have been invested into IT security solutions and increasing annual security budgets has been an imperative. In fact, 99% of UAE respondents stated they will spend over a million dollars in 2017, however, many of the systems and people in place are still not able to handle today's threats. 

Security threats increase as more devices crowd networks and as people have more freedom to work from anywhere, on any device. More devices, especially bring your own (BYO) devices are the new norm, and businesses need to put information security at the top of their priority list to ensure apps and data are secure no matter where they reside or are accessed. On top of this, businesses need skilled staff to plan how they will reduce risk and improve the security of their applications and data. 

Top security concerns confirmed in the study: 

• Poor security deployments: 71% said their organization had made investments in IT security technology that was not successfully deployed.
• Unapproved apps and unmanaged data: Just 32% of respondents said their organization is able to reduce the inherent risk of unapproved applications, with 33% expressing the same sentiment when asked about unmanaged data. 
• Talent pool is small: Only 36% said their organization is successfully hiring knowledgeable and experienced security practitioners. 

While there's no silver bullet to fixing security business challenges, survey respondents shared that they believe there are solutions to help better manage security challenges: 

• Creating a unified view: 51% percent believe a unified view of users across the enterprise. 
• Becoming proactive: 42% percent answered an ability to keep up with new or emerging attacks. 

Respondents also shared that some specific improvements can be made to reduce their overall risk: 

• Technology improvements: 73% believe an improvement in technologies will improve their overall security posture and reduce risk. 
• Staffing investments: 81% say an improvement in staffing will improve their overall security posture and reduce risk. 

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Arthur Dell, Director, Technology Services, Middle East and Africa, Citrix
'The UAE’s constantly evolving cybersecurity threat landscape requires a new, more flexible IT security framework - one that extends beyond traditional fixed end-point security approaches to deliver threat detection and protection of apps and data at all stages. Citrix is committed to delivering robust solutions that are designed with data security in mind.”