20 countries and 40 organisations are targeting UAE with cyberattacks

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, stressed the importance of establishing a system of community awareness of cybersecurity and promoting a culture of safe use of digital technologies with a view of protecting individuals and institutions and supporting the UAE’s efforts to build a safe and sustainable digital space.

Al Sharqi said so as he attended a session titled ‘Cybersecurity: How does awareness form the first line of defence?’ presented by Dr. Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government, as part of the sessions of Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi Majlis, which were held at Fujairah Creative Cultural Centre.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad noted the priority that Fujairah government under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, places on knowledge sessions aimed at enhancing the awareness of individuals in various vital sectors and his support for all the programs that contribute to building a society more prepared to keep pace with rapid digital transformations.

The session addressed a number of key topics, most notably national efforts in the field of cybersecurity and their role in confronting digital threats and attacks targeting individuals and institutions. During the session, the most prominent cyber risks and protection mechanisms adopted at the state level were also addressed.

Al Kuwaiti highlighted the importance of raising community awareness of safe digital practices, stressing that individual awareness was the first line of defence against cyber threats and that protecting personal data and preserving privacy became a shared responsibility that required a comprehensive community commitment.

Reviewing the most prominent challenges facing digital security and how to prevent them, Al Kuwaiti revealed that about 800,000 cyberattacks were detected during the truce period, which indicated that digital threats remained though their severity increased during the crisis, stressing that cyberattacks were no longer limited to direct traditional patterns but turned into complex and multi-level attacks.

Cyber wars are not fought in the real world we see but in virtual space, where digital currencies are used to support these campaigns and threats, he added, noting that about 20 countries and more than 40 organizations were identified, all of which targeted the UAE.

These attacks included financial fraud, systematic disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing public opinion, as well as the use of artificial intelligence techniques in carrying out offensive operations, he said.

Al Kuwaiti explained that the pre-crisis phase was dominated by direct hacking methods as about 200,000 attacks were detected before the crisis, which rose to more than 600,000 attacks during it.

Hundreds of threatening entities were also tracked including 350 supported entities, 320 amateur entities and 120 entities linked to malware, he said, adding that about 5,000 channels were also monitored via Telegram.

The continuation of this level of attacks, even during periods of relative calm, reflects the nature of modern cyber threats, which are no longer tied to a specific time or circumstance, he said, underscoring the need to raise the level of digital preparedness.

He pointed out that the attackers’ reliance on AI technologies contributed to the execution of attacks in a near-automated manner without direct human intervention, thus increasing their speed and accuracy.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ali Bin Nayef Al Tunaiji, Director of Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi Majlis, underlined the keenness of the Majlis to present and discuss emerging topics that keep pace with the society’s needs and issues in a way that would contribute to spreading awareness among individuals and promoting a culture of preparedness and prevention in all fields.

The session was also attended by Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, son of Crown Prince of Fujairah, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Saif Al Sharqi, President of UAE Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, and Dr. Ahmed Hamdan Al Zeyoudi, Director of the Office of Crown Prince of Fujairah in addition to a number of officials and those interested in technical and digital affairs and a large gathering of Fujairah youth and school and university students.