A recent report by OPSWAT has unveiled a significant disparity between the perceived and actual file security maturity among organizations in the Middle East. While 73.6% of security leaders rated their file security capabilities as highly mature, none of the surveyed organizations met the criteria for the two highest maturity levels according to an evidence-based assessment.
The 2026 Enterprise File Security Report: AI Is Exposing the File Security Gap, conducted by Osterman Research, surveyed 254 IT and security leaders to evaluate how organizations protect files throughout their lifecycle. The findings indicate that a staggering 94.5% of respondents overestimated their maturity, with 85.8% achieving no more than a somewhat mature rating.
AI’s Impact on File Security
The report highlights that the rise of artificial intelligence is expected to complicate file security further. Approximately 59% of respondents believe that AI will increase the time required for their IT and security teams to manage file-related threats. Concerns regarding AI-driven threats have surged, with an average increase of 78.9% compared to the previous year. Specifically, worries about Generative AI and large language model threats have escalated by 105% in the same timeframe.
Moreover, 68.1% of security leaders feel that cybercriminals are now more focused on bypassing file security protections than they were a year ago. The report also reveals a lack of confidence in detecting various threat types, with only 12.2% of respondents expressing extreme confidence in their defenses against polymorphic threats designed to evade signature-based detection.
Financial and Operational Risks
The research further indicates that 41.7% of organizations experienced file-related security incidents or breaches in the past two years, with the average cost of these incidents reaching approximately $2.2 million. However, the report suggests that the actual incidence of file-related breaches could be higher, as many organizations lack adequate visibility into their file environments. Among those who reported no incidents, 83% admitted to not having complete visibility across their file lifecycles.
Only 16.9% of organizations claimed full visibility into files entering, moving within, and leaving their networks, which poses challenges in identifying malicious content and monitoring data movement.
Shift Towards Prevention-First Security
The report also notes a growing interest in transitioning from traditional detection-focused security approaches to prevention-first strategies. Of the security posture statements examined, the strongest agreement was for the urgent need to move away from detection-first methods, with 27.2% of respondents strongly agreeing. Content disarm and reconstruction (CDR), which removes potentially malicious components from files, is already in use by 51.6% of surveyed organizations, with an additional 8.3% planning to implement it within the next year.
George Prichici, VP of Products at OPSWAT, emphasized the limitations of detection-first approaches, stating, “When AI-generated threats appear daily, a control that has to recognize a threat first will always be a step behind.” He advocates for a shift in focus from merely catching threats to addressing broader classes of risk.
Despite the increasing awareness of prevention-based technologies, organizations face barriers to adoption, including insufficient support from senior leadership and a limited understanding of available prevention methods. Budget constraints also pose challenges, indicating that knowledge and executive engagement may be more significant obstacles than funding alone.
The report concludes that organizations must reassess their file security capabilities using evidence-based measures rather than relying solely on self-assessments. It underscores the importance of enhancing visibility across file lifecycles and evaluating prevention-focused technologies as AI-enabled threats continue to evolve.
For further insights, the full report can be accessed through Intelligent CISO.
