ABU DHABI — The UAE Cyber Security Council collaborates with its partners to deter over 50,000 cyberattacks per day, which specifically target critical national sectors, revealed Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the Government of the UAE.
During the Oracle CloudWorld Tour Abu Dhabi 2023, Al Kuwaiti highlighted that the banking, financial, health, oil, and gas sectors are the most frequently targeted, but assured that all attacks are efficiently countered in a proactive manner to safeguard the country’s digital sphere.
Emphasizing the UAE’s advanced digital infrastructure and capabilities, Al Kuwaiti emphasized that malicious cyberattacks against government authorities are effectively neutralized.
The UAE currently ranks fifth globally in the Global Cybersecurity Index of the International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which assesses cybersecurity awareness in 193 countries.
In March, prominent regional and global information security officers gathered at the GISEC CISO Circle, part of GISEC Global 2023, to discuss strategies for building cyber resilience in digital businesses across the region. The event centered around the theme of “Building a united cyber frontier” and emphasized the crucial role of collaboration and information sharing within the cybersecurity industry to combat cybercrime.
The CISO Circle, established in 2022, has served as a platform for security experts from diverse sectors to exchange insights, address cybersecurity challenges, and prioritize business, economic, and national security agendas.
During his keynote speech at the event, Dr. Al-Kuwaiti emphasized the importance of partnerships and collaborations based on trust and transparency to achieve the common goal of enhancing cyber resilience. He highlighted the significance of visibility provided by the National Security Operations Centre (NSOC) in connecting all Security Operations Centres (SOCs) across sectors at a national level.
Hadi Anwar, Chief Cyber Defense Officer at CPX, had stressed the need for collaboration among CISOs to combat cyber threats and protect the UAE’s cyber landscape. He emphasized that having a trusted advisor to counsel on best practices is crucial in today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
At the GISEC Mainstage, Amer Sharaf, Director of Compliance, Support, and Alliances at the Dubai Electronic Security Center, discussed the joint efforts of the public and private sectors to transform Dubai into the safest city in the world.
Sharaf emphasized the importance of collaboration between the two sectors to develop protective measures against potential threats arising from emerging technologies. This aligns with the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy, which aims to position Dubai among the world’s most secure cities electronically.
Analysts at Frost & Sullivan project that the Middle East cybersecurity market, currently valued at $7.5 billion in 2022, will reach $31 billion by 2030, experiencing an annual growth rate of 20 percent.