- The United Arab Emirates is fending off up to 200,000 attempted cyber breaches every day
- Since the beginning of 2026, 128 confirmed cyber threat incidents have targeted entities across the UAE
- The UAE’s response has been to centralise and professionalise its cyber defence architecture
The United Arab Emirates is fending off up to 200,000 attempted cyber breaches every day, according to the country’s cybersecurity chief, in what he describes as an increasingly complex digital battlefield dominated by state-sponsored actors.
Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of the UAE Government Cybersecurity Council, said the country has built ‘an advanced and integrated national cybersecurity ecosystem capable of detecting and countering digital threats with high efficiency.’
“Over 90,000 to 200,000 breach attempts strike the UAE infrastructure every single day,” Al Kuwaiti told the Emirates News Agency (WAM), stressing that the attacks are blocked without disrupting services or compromising data.
The sheer scale of the numbers reveals how exposed digitally advanced economies have become.
Since the beginning of 2026, 128 confirmed cyber threat incidents have targeted entities across the UAE, including ransomware attacks, government breaches and data leaks. All were handled under unified national response protocols, he said, designed to contain risks quickly and prevent wider fallout.
Behind many of the attacks are well-resourced state-backed groups. Of the 21 advanced persistent threat (APT) groups currently tracked by UAE authorities, 71.4 per cent are state-sponsored. In addition, 60 hacktivists and cybercriminals are actively targeting the country’s infrastructure.
By origin, Asia accounts for around 66.7 per cent of state-sponsored actor activity, Europe 14.3 per cent, with the remainder linked to Middle Eastern or cross-regional groups.
“Regional geopolitical tensions across North Africa, the Gulf, and broader Middle East information spaces have intensified online narratives targeting the UAE. Conflict-driven discourse, diplomatic friction, and AI-enabled disinformation activity have increased rumour propagation and hacktivist mobilisation across regional digital ecosystems,” he said.
Government administration and the financial services and banking sectors are the most frequent targets, reflecting the UAE’s position as both a political and financial hub. Real estate, construction, transport and professional services also feature on the threat list.
The methods vary. Website defacement accounts for 38.3 per cent of recorded incidents, followed by data leaks at 25.8 per cent and data breaches at 13.3 per cent. Initial access operations make up 10.2 per cent, ransomware attacks 7.8 per cent, and DDoS attacks 4.7 per cent. Almost half of coordinated activity is conducted via Telegram, with much of the rest taking place across open web forums and marketplaces.
A smaller share is linked to Tor-based dark web infrastructure, typically associated with ransomware groups.
But it is not only infrastructure that is under attack. Al Kuwaiti warned of a surge in deepfake videos and AI-generated disinformation aimed at undermining public trust and manipulating markets. Fabricated videos depicting public figures promoting fraudulent schemes or issuing false decisions are becoming more common, he said.
Although there is no official tally of deepfake cases related to the UAE, authorities are monitoring attempts to circulate misleading or fabricated content, particularly where it targets the financial and economic sectors or exploits the names of officials.
His remarks come at a time when artificial intelligence tools have become widely accessible, making it easier to launch sophisticated influence campaigns.
The UAE’s response has been to centralise and professionalise its cyber defence architecture. The country’s national cybersecurity strategy for 2025–2031, approved in February 2025, sets out a long-term plan to strengthen resilience.
Al Kuwaiti said the UAE addresses threats through ‘an integrated technical and legislative framework that includes early detection, advanced content analysis, community awareness, and the development of regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence to limit misuse.’
At the same time, the country is looking ahead to the next technological disruption. In November 2025, the UAE approved a National Encryption Policy and its executive regulation, urging government entities to transition from traditional encryption methods to post-quantum cryptography.
The Cybersecurity Council is overseeing the migration to new standards, assessing the readiness of AI systems, software and hardware, and working to ensure compliance with international best practice.
Al Kuwaiti has repeatedly framed cyber security as a matter of national sovereignty as much as technical defence. He said the UAE is strengthening regional and international partnerships to exchange threat intelligence and coordinate responses, while maintaining control over its own digital space.
But what does the future hold for the region? Will these measures work to prevent further attacks?
