The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait need to enforce better cybersecurity laws to rival the UAE’s high level of cyber safety and resilience, an expert told Arabian Business.
The UAE has emerged as a cybersecurity benchmark in the region, a report released by Acronis Middle East earlier this week found, ranking the UAE as the safest cybersecurity country in the region. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also ranked quite high in comparison to the rest of the region, but lagged behind the UAE.
UAE leads in cybersecurity resilience
“The UAE has achieved a higher level of cyber resilience compared to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia due to its comprehensive cybersecurity laws and proactive measures,” Acronis Middle East’s General Manager, Ziad Nasr, told Arabian Business.
“Saudi Arabia and Kuwait can work towards reaching the UAE’s level of cyber resilience by implementing similar stringent cyber protection laws and regulations. This would involve establishing comprehensive frameworks, promoting collaboration between government entities and the private sector, investing in advanced cybersecurity technologies, fostering cyber protection awareness and education, and continuously updating their cybersecurity measures to address emerging threats.”
The UAE implemented regulations like the UAE Cybersecurity Law and the Dubai Cybersecurity Strategy to prioritise cyber resilience and ensure that all companies operating in the Gulf country can follow a highly comprehensive framework to safeguard users.
This comes as the report revealed a 464 percent increase in email attacks so far this year, compared to the corresponding period in 2022. During the same time frame, cyberattacks increased by 24 percent per organisation.
As of May, the number of Malware detections in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait rose to 11 percent each.
Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated in their attacks, using AI and existing ransomware code to drill deeper into victims’ systems and extract sensitive information. This is particularly worrying because AI-created malware is adept at avoiding detection in traditional antivirus models. This has resulted in an explosion of ransomware cases compared to last year, as Acronis registered a 62 percent spike in March alone – accounting for 809 publicly mentioned ransomware cases which was well over the average of 270 cases per month.
“It’s worth noting that the cyber protection landscape is constantly evolving, and organisations need to stay vigilant, adapt to new threats, and continuously improve their security measures to protect against emerging risks,” said Nasr.
“It is important for businesses and individuals in the GCC to regularly update their knowledge of evolving cyber threats, stay informed about best practices, and actively engage in cyber protection initiatives. Implementing a layered security approach, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, and ensuring timely patching of software and systems are also crucial steps in enhancing cyber resilience.”
Follow us on
