UAE and Saudi Organizations Face Rising AI Security Risks as Ungoverned Agents Proliferate — KnowBe4, Inc.

Event summary

84% of cybersecurity leaders in UAE & Saudi Arabia report AI agents are already taking actions within organizational workflows.
24% of organizations admit their use of AI is unapproved or ungoverned, creating 'Shadow AI' risks.
88% of employees say deepfake content is now so realistic it's impossible to trust.
54% of cybersecurity leaders cite human error as the biggest cybersecurity impact in the past year.

The big picture

KnowBe4's research highlights a critical gap in AI governance across UAE and Saudi organizations, where autonomous tools are expanding attack surfaces faster than security teams can implement safeguards. This trend reflects broader industry challenges as companies struggle to balance innovation with risk management in an era of rapidly advancing AI capabilities.

What we're watching

Governance Gaps: How the proliferation of ungoverned AI agents will challenge traditional security frameworks in high-risk regions.
Human Factor Risks: Whether organizations can effectively mitigate human error as a primary cybersecurity vulnerability amid AI integration.
Deepfake Threats: The pace at which deepfake technology will evolve and its potential to undermine trust in digital communications.