Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Trend Micro throws down the gauntlet to MEA threat actors: ‘You have an adversary; and we are here to stay’

Trend Micro throws down the gauntlet to MEA threat actors: ‘You have an adversary; and we are here to stay’

Saudi Arabia has a vision. Wrapped up in that vision are goals such as world-leading healthcare, peerless education, jobs for all, and sustainable economic prosperity. In the many guidelines released by the kingdom’s government on Vision 2030, a recurring note is the need for digital transformation.
This is occurring at scale, accelerated by the global pandemic, and now maintaining pace in pursuit of a new hybrid-work future. But amid innovation lurks threat. Cybergangs accelerated their operations to take advantage of remote-work and the vulnerable personal devices it introduced to digital estates. Cybersecurity has become a boardroom imperative.

Trend Micro is an undeniable giant in the industry. Today, more than 7,500 employees (or “Trenders”) around the world serve around 500,000 customers and generate US$2 billion in annual sales.

“Our mission is to secure the connected world – an ambitious proposition, to be sure,” said Kevin Simzer, Chief Operating Officer, Trend Micro. “But like Saudi Vision 2030, we reach for the stars. We want to be the number-one cybersecurity company in the world. This has been our focus for the past 35 years and continues to be our driving force.”

Trend Micro inaugurated its Middle East and Africa headquarters in Riyadh, sending a message of commitment to the region’s digital businesses and the bad actors that pose a threat to them. The company said that its choice of Saudi Arabia for a regional base was partly predicated on the nation’s high ranking in the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index (second in the world and top in MEA). But despite the country’s accomplishments in the security space, the rise of ransomware has created more anxiety among business executives over the strength and consistency of their threat postures.

“I think Saudi Vision 2030 shines a spotlight on the kingdom,” said Simzer, “but that also has the potential to attract the attention of threat actors who will look to ransom some technology that is critical to progress. When preparing yourself, it all starts with people. You need skilled people. Some companies have a lot of employees and say they do business internationally, but they don’t have many people on the ground. That’s not us. We have offices in 65 countries. We invest. We recruit at the local level. How else do you get to know your customers? How else would you know what drives them and what worries them? And how else would they get help to their doorstep at 3am? Threat actors, as it turns out, don’t observe standard business hours.”

As technology has lurched forward – mobile, cloud, 5G – companies have followed. Digital transformation has followed the capabilities of the time. But cybergangs have adapted in parallel.

“Trend Micro innovates by predicting infrastructure changes and designing defenses before they are needed,” said Simzer. “For example, we started working on securing the cloud 12 years ago, but mass migration only occurred recently. More than half of our people are engineers and product developers; that’s how seriously we take innovation.”

Trend Micro’s MEA growth has been spearheaded by the company’s regional VP Dr. Moataz Bin Ali.

“Dr. Moataz has an incredible team,” said Simzer. “So, I think we have all the building blocks needed to grow even more. I’m very excited to see where we go from here in MEA. When we open a regional office, we make a strong statement about our commitment to a market and a territory. But we don’t just make that statement for the benefit of our customers and partners. It is also intended for the eyes and ears of threat actors. We are saying, ‘You have an adversary; and we are here to stay.’”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×