Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 10, 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
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
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
×