Cyber Threat Survey: Personal Data Theft Tops List in UAE, Gulf, and Middle East – GISEC Conference Highlight

Personal data theft topped the list of cyber threats in the UAE, the Gulf region and the Middle East in the past year with 49%, according to a recent security survey published in a panel discussion at Gulf Information Security Exhibition and Conference (GISEC) in Dubai.

Help AG, the cybersecurity arm of security consultancy firm e&Enterprise, which commissioned the study, said it monitored 30,000 critical cyber threat alerts last year, with personal data theft representing 49%, and -use of trademarks representing 39% 10% for data leaks and 1.5% for phishing attempts.

He said that these threats had a significant impact on several institutions in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, led by the education sector with 36%, aviation 29%, and health care 15%, then government institutions 8% and investment companies 7%, while the risks aimed at the banking and financial sector represented 4%.

The organization observed a remarkable increase in the index of attacks aimed at blocking electronic services provided by institutions and countries of 42% in the past year compared to 2022, with 213,434 attacks to overall, noting that the attack that paralyzed a service provider lasted the longest. five days. He explained that 40% of attacks targeting distributed electronic denial of service hit the government sector, and 29% targeted the communications sector, compared to 9% for the aviation sector, and 5% for the oil and gas.

She added, “On the other hand, cyber defense investments doubled in 2023, as partnerships and governments in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council recorded growth in the integration of cyber security fields with 100% in the sector of technology and integrating relationships with vendors also increase in defense, cyber security consulting, and defense systems.” From denial of service attacks, due to the huge losses they cause to the targeted parties.

According to the study, the most prominent methods used in the cyber attacks targeting the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council were the misuse of personal and public accounts captured by hackers, targeting applications by focusing on the loopholes in them, as well as disguise, which is a common method of introducing files and directing them Secret actions or services that are difficult to detect through security systems.

• Governments in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council recorded growth in integrating cybersecurity areas with 100% in the technology sector and integrating relationships with vendors.

The Dubai Cybersecurity Index is the first of its kind in the world

The Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Systems and Services Department at the Dubai Electronic Security Center, Amer Sharaf, said that the Dubai Cybersecurity Index, the first of its kind in the world, supports the efforts of government agencies in the emirate in this is important. sector, and helps to protect them from various threats and cyber threats.

He said, while participating in a keynote session at the Gulf Information Security Exhibition and Conference (GISEC), that the field of cybersecurity was ambiguous in the past, and there was no widespread interest in design security, but it has now been there. be essential in all projects around the world, to ensure the strength of the security systems in Cyber.

Amer Sharaf. From the source