Shifting from Reactive to Proactive — Trend Micro’s Vision for the Future of Cybersecurity

DUBAI / GULF TIME

At GITEX Global, Salah Suleiman, Managing Director, South Gulf, Trend Micro, shared insights on how the company is leading the transformation of cybersecurity from a reactive function to a proactive intelligence-driven discipline.he discusses Trend Micro’s showcase at GITEX, best practices in the sector, expected market growth, upcoming plans, and key trends shaping the cybersecurity landscape.
Salah Suleiman:GITEX Global this year was one of the busiest and most impactful editions we’ve had so far. It really highlighted how cybersecurity has become a boardroom priority, with governments and enterprises looking for smarter ways to build resilience and stay ahead of evolving threats.
Our focus this year was to demonstrate how Trend Micro is shifting security from being reactive to truly proactive. We showcased our Cyber Risk Exposure Management solution, which gives organizations a real-time, data-driven view of their security posture, along with our Zero Day Initiative technology that helps identify and block threats before they’re weaponized.
We also showcased our Digital Twin technology, which creates a virtual replica of an organization’s digital environment enabling security teams to safely simulate and analyze real-world attack scenarios, test defenses, and strengthen response strategies without impacting live operations. All of this comes together in the Trend Vision One platform, a single, intelligent, and integrated security platform designed to help organizations detect, assess, and respond to risks proactively.
Salah Suleiman:Organizations today are more connected than ever and with every new integration, every new application, and every new access point, they open another door for attackers. The reality is that the attack surface has grown so much that being reactive just doesn’t work anymore. By the time a threat is detected, it’s often already too late.
That’s why the conversation needs to shift from responding to incidents to building real risk intelligence. It’s about having a clear view of the environment, knowing exactly where the weak points are, understanding how attackers might exploit them, and closing those gaps before anything happens. The organizations that get this right don’t just react faster; they stay ahead of the threat curve. That’s what builds resilience.
The second big piece is breaking down the silos. No single team or tool can defend a modern organization on its own. You need a unified, intelligence-driven security architecture that connects people, processes, and technology. When everything works in sync, security teams gain the speed, visibility, and control they need to act with confidence.
And finally, resilience today is about anticipation, not reaction. With technologies like Digital Twin, organizations can mirror their environments, safely model real attack scenarios, and understand how they would play out in the real world. That kind of foresight allows them to make smarter, faster decisions and that’s where the real advantage lies.
Salah Suleiman:Cybersecurity is entering a period of accelerated growth. The attack surface is expanding at a pace we’ve never seen before, and at the same time, organizations are recognizing that security isn’t just an operational requirement anymore, it’s a strategic enabler.
According to Deloitte’s Future of Cyber: Middle East Outlook 2024, more than 52% of organizations in the region view cybersecurity as critical to the success of their digital transformation programs, while 61% link it directly to business-continuity and resilience objectives. This reflects how governments and enterprises alike are investing more aggressively in proactive security capabilities shifting away from fragmented tools toward integrated platforms, advanced threat intelligence, and AI-driven detection and response. Another growth driver will be the adoption of cyber risk exposure management. Organizations want visibility, control, and the ability to predict and prevent attacks before they happen. This strategic shift from reacting to leading is what’s fueling momentum across the sector.
Salah Suleiman:Our priority for the year ahead is to continue leading the shift toward proactive, intelligence-led security. Over the past year, Trend Vision One has evolved significantly from advanced detection and response to becoming a fully integrated platform that gives organizations complete visibility and control across their entire environment. We’ll keep pushing the boundaries of what the platform can do, bringing in even more risk-centric capabilities, AI-powered defense, and deeper integrations to help customers move faster and stay ahead of threats.
As part of this evolution, we launched several major innovations this year that redefine how organizations strengthen their cyber resilience. Among them is Agentic SIEM, an AI-driven solution that helps security operations teams cut through alert fatigue and focus on the incidents that matter most. We also introduced End-to-End Protection for Agentic AI Systems in partnership with NVIDIA, extending our defense capabilities across the entire AI lifecycle from infrastructure to application so that emerging AI workloads remain secure and compliant. In addition, we unveiled a new Digital Twin technology that enables organizations to simulate real-world cyberattacks in a controlled environment, validate their defenses, and continuously enhance response readiness.
This evolution is driven by the strength of our people. Our team combines deep security expertise with a relentless drive to innovate. They’re the force behind every new capability, every integration, and every layer of intelligence that makes Vision One more powerful and adaptive to real-world challenges.
Beyond technology, we’re also focused on strengthening strategic partnerships with governments and critical sectors collaborations that are already driving measurable impact across the region. Today, we’re proud to be working with the Government of Abu Dhabi, Bank Dhofar, Ministry of Health, Bank Al Etihad, and many other leading public and private organizations that trust Trend Micro to safeguard their digital transformation journeys.
We’ll continue building on these partnerships, deepening our collaborations, and expanding our ecosystem of trusted allies to help more organizations stay ahead of threats with the intelligence, speed, and resilience needed to thrive in an AI-driven future.
Salah Suleiman:The single biggest force shaping cybersecurity right now and in the years ahead is AI. Its influence is already accelerating, transforming how both attackers and defenders operate. What started as a set of emerging capabilities has quickly become a defining factor in how fast threats evolve and how fast organizations must respond.
This shift is changing the game on both sides. On one hand, we’re facing more automated, sophisticated, and adaptive attacks than ever before. In fact, 78% of CISOs say that AI-powered cyber threats are already having a significant impact on their organizations. Trend Micro’s State of AI Security Report 1H 2025 also highlights how cybercriminals are increasingly using generative AI to automate reconnaissance, create realistic deepfakes, and craft more convincing phishing campaigns blurring the line between human and machine-driven attacks.
On the other hand, AI is giving defenders the ability to act faster, predict more accurately, and respond with precision at scale. That’s why we’re embedding it even deeper into Trend Vision One, enabling faster detection, smarter response, and more autonomous security operations. By integrating AI across every layer of the platform, from threat intelligence and risk analytics to attack surface management, we’re helping organizations move from reactive defense to proactive resilience.
At the same time, we expect AI regulation, governance, and trust to become increasingly critical. As AI grows more powerful, organizations will need to align their security strategies with evolving standards and compliance frameworks. This balance between power and responsibility will define the next era of cybersecurity and determine who leads it.