SentinelOne’s Meriam ElOuazzani on how AI is reshaping cybersecurity in the region

As cyberattacks grow more sophisticated and the region’s digital ambitions accelerate, AI is emerging as the backbone of modern cybersecurity. Meriam ElOuazzani, senior regional director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at SentinelOne, discusses how AI-driven automation, zero-trust frameworks, and proactive defense strategies are transforming how regional enterprises safeguard their data and operations.

How is AI changing the way enterprises defend against cyber threats in the Middle East?

AI is transforming cybersecurity in the Middle East by enabling enterprises to move from reactive defense to proactive autonomous protection. Traditional tools often struggle with the sheer scale and sophistication of modern threats, but AI-native  solutions provide real-time visibility, rapid detection, and automated response at machine speed. In a region that experiences rapid digital transformation across government, finance, energy, and critical infrastructure, AI addresses the shortage of skilled professionals by augmenting human expertise with intelligent automation.

Machine learning models continuously adapt to new attack techniques, reducing dwell time and minimising impact. Beyond threat detection, AI empowers proactive threat hunting, risk prioritisation, and compliance monitoring, aligning with regional regulations.

For Middle Eastern enterprises pursuing ambitious national digital agendas, AI is not just a technology upgrade but a foundation of cyber resilience, enabling organisations to innovate confidently while staying ahead of an increasingly complex threat landscape.

What cybersecurity trends should businesses in the region be most concerned about?

Firstly, organisations must be prepared for the rise of advanced ransomware and double-extortion attacks targeting critical infrastructure, financial services, and government sectors. These often exploit supply chain vulnerabilities. Second, the surge in cloud adoption and hybrid work models has expanded the attack surface, with misconfigurations and identity-based threats becoming prime entry points. The integration of AI and automation by attackers is creating more evasive and scalable cyber campaigns, challenging traditional defenses.

Additionally, the GCC’s regulatory changes demand stronger data protection and compliance, making governance a strategic priority. Insider threats and phishing continue to persist as employees remain a critical weak link.

To address these evolving threats, businesses should adopt zero-trust, AI-powered defence, and proactive resilience strategies that ensure continuity while safeguarding national digital transformation agendas.

With governments introducing stricter data localisation and compliance requirements, how can organisations ensure they remain secure and compliant without adding complexity or slowing business operations?

Organisations can implement this by adopting security frameworks that embed compliance into daily operations rather than treating it as an add-on. Leveraging AI-native platforms with built-in policy enforcement ensures data is monitored, protected, and stored according to local regulations, without manual overhead.

Zero trust principles, such as verifying every user, device, and workload, help reduce risk while maintaining flexibility across hybrid environments.

Cloud-native security solutions with regional data centres also enable compliance without disrupting business agility. To avoid complexity, automation plays a crucial role, streamlining reporting, audits, and threat detection.

By integrating compliance into security architecture, enterprises can remain resilient, meet regulatory obligations, and continue driving digital transformation without sacrificing speed or innovation.

What strategies should companies adopt to strengthen their overall cloud and application security as digital transformation accelerates?

As digital transformation accelerates, companies must adopt a holistic and layered approach to this. The first step is embedding security into the software development lifecycle through DevSecOps practices. This ensures vulnerabilities are identified and remediated early.

Zero-trust architectures should be implemented across cloud and application environments. Identity security is essential and includes multi-factor authentication, least privilege access, and continuous monitoring to help prevent credential-based breaches.

Cloud-native security tools, including workload protection and posture management, provide visibility and control across dynamic, multi-cloud environments. To reduce regulatory risk, organisations need to encrypt data in transit and at rest, along with automated compliance checks.

Continuous threat hunting powered by AI and automation helps enterprises detect and respond at machine speed. Ultimately, integrating security as a business enabler rather than a barrier ensures that organisations can innovate securely while safeguarding sensitive data, applications, and customer trust.