UAE cybersecurity officials have urged organisations to stay vigilant as the number of attacks remains high amid regional tensions. According to The National, the country faced 640,000 cyberattacks in a single day in mid-September. That is below the April peak of almost 800,000, but still far above pre-conflict levels.
Key figures
- In August, national teams detected and contained organised attacks on aviation, energy and education systems.
- Government agencies remain the most frequent target, followed by sector-agnostic attacks and the industrial sector.
- The UAE accounted for 35% of all attacks in the region, according to a Positive Technologies study.
- Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cyber Security Council, says more than 85% of cyber threats begin with an incorrect click by an ordinary user. “Awareness is the first line of defence,” he said.
Experts quoted in the article add two points that matter for any company. “Being compliant doesn’t mean that you’re secure,” said Jan D’Herdt, a SANS certified instructor. And a quiet period is not an all-clear: attackers can stay inside a network for a long time before acting.
A checklist for a small or mid-sized office
- Multi-factor authentication on email, Microsoft 365, VPN and banking. This alone blocks most account takeovers.
- Phishing training for staff, with a short test every quarter. Fraudsters now copy bank and government logos convincingly.
- Updates. Windows, Office, the router firmware and the firewall. Unsupported software is an open door (see our note on Microsoft’s 13 October deadline).
- Backups that are offline or immutable, and a restore test at least twice a year.
- Endpoint protection with central management, not a free antivirus on each laptop.
- A separate guest Wi-Fi and a segmented network for cameras and IoT devices.
How we can help
Our team runs security audits for offices in Dubai: we check accounts, network, backups and endpoints, and give you a prioritised list of fixes. As a Kaspersky and Dr.Web partner we also supply and manage endpoint protection. Learn more about our information security services.
Source: The National, 22 September 2026: UAE companies urged to remain vigilant on cyber attacks
