UAE: RANSOMWARE ATTACKS RISE BY 32% IN 2024; ALL DETERRED, AUTHORITY CHIEF SAYS
The UAE recorded a 32 per cent increase in ransomware attacks and up to 18 per cent in other categories such as phishing, DDoS and scams in 2024, said Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, chairman of UAE Cyber Security Council.
While speaking during a cybersecurity conference, he said all these threats were successfully deterred due to the support of private sector partners and the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
“Cybercrimes is one of the major things which is motivated by money. About 65 per cent are ransomware, impersonation, scams and fraud attacks,” Al Kuwaiti said during the Proofpoint Protect conference organised by American cybersecurity firm Proofpoint in Dubai.
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He said the UAE and the other Gulf countries are ranked high in the UN global cybersecurity index.
Sumit Dhawan, CEO of Proofpoint, also addressed the conference where he highlighted the new solutions that company has introduced or planning to launch in the UAE and region.
The UAE Cyber Security Council chief warned that social media is also being used for misinformation and cyberterrorism – to spread radicalisation.
“Ransomware focuses on critical infrastructure such as healthcare. It focuses on human problems – not just technology – so it could impact all of us,” he said during the conference.
He added that the UAE Cyber Security Council works with its community partners like Proofpoint and others and this is one of the reasons that UAE has marked 2025 as a 'Year of Community' to jointly defend against cyberwarfare.
“We are defending so many attacks targeted against government or individuals. We adapted so many new technologies to counter the threats,” he said.
Al Kuwaiti said that the UAE has a smart and advanced cybersecurity system capable of predicting and countering most electronic attacks before they occur. He added that the average daily cyberattacks on key sectors exceeds 50,000, all of which are proactively deterred and mitigated.
He added that the UAE is inviting thinkers and inspiring and encouraging innovation in new-age technologies, intellectual property and innovative ideas.
Ransomware attacks cost region $1 billion last year, says top UAE officialUAE thwarts nearly 200,000 daily ransomware attacks, identifies hackers 2025-02-19T12:06:53Z
