Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Hesham Altaleb, Chief Product Development Officer at SITE, the Public Investment Fund–owned cybersecurity firm, said Saudi Arabia has undergone a major transformation in cybersecurity since 2017, with a comprehensive regulatory framework from the National Cybersecurity Authority and growing maturity among government and private entities in handling threats.

Speaking to Al Arabiya Business on the sidelines of the Global Cybersecurity Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Altaleb noted that this maturity extends to local service providers. SITE now offers a full suite of services, including cybersecurity and IT consulting, secure hosting via “SITE Cloud,” integration, managed services, and specialized security products.

He estimated the Kingdom’s cybersecurity market at around SAR 15 billion, adding that SITE’s work spans not only critical sectors and large enterprises but also SMEs, offering tailored solutions such as threat detection and response.

Altaleb emphasized that cyberattacks are becoming more complex, with artificial intelligence increasingly used to automate intrusions. SITE is also leveraging AI to strengthen its defensive capabilities across monitoring, response, and managed services. He identified social engineering as a growing challenge, underscoring the need to invest in human capital, as employees can be either the weakest link or the strongest shield.