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A recent study by CyberArk revealed that 86% of Saudi organizations suffered at least three successful digital identity-related breaches in the past 12 months, indicating escalating identity security challenges in the Kingdom.

The 'Identity Security Landscape 2026' report showed that machine identities in Saudi Arabia outnumber human identities by 127 to 1, the highest ratio in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and an increase of 36% from the previous year.

This significant expansion is linked to the growth of AI identities, large language models, and increasing reliance on cloud technologies and IoT devices.

The majority of Saudi organizations expect an increase in various forms of digital identities over the next 12 months:

Human identities: 72% of organizations expect an increase.

Machine identities: 86% expect an increase.

AI identities: 82% expect additional growth.

Key findings of the study

43% of AI agents and 44% of machine identities have access to sensitive data within organizations.

Only half of organizations use behavioral monitoring for AI agents, and a smaller percentage automatically revoke credentials.

90% of participants confirmed that multiple identity management tools hinder or slow down threat detection and response.

94% of Saudi organizations reported at least one digital identity-related breach.

62% of organizations have not yet fully automated certificate renewal, exposing them to financial and security risks, with an estimated financial impact of $223,387 per organization.

Laurence Al Bana, Sales Director for Identity at Palo Alto Networks in the Middle East and North Africa, said:

With this massive expansion of AI-powered digital identities, traditional methods are no longer sufficient. Organizations must accelerate the adoption of automation and unified platforms to protect their digital identities.

Tags

Saudi cybersecurity

Press release, sent via email. Last updated: May 19, 2026

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