Check Point Software Technologies, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, released the cyber threat landscape report for the UAE in the last six months as COVID-19 accelerated digitalization in the region.
According to the most recent threat intelligence report, on average an organization in the UAE has been targeted for cyberattacks 295 times each week during the last six months. Finance and banking is the most heavily affected sector, with 407 weekly attacks per organization, followed by hospitality and retail, with 118 and 107 weekly attacks, respectively.
The UAE remains a lucrative target for hackers, with cybercrime costing the nation $1.4 billion per year. In keeping with its reputation for foresight, the country leads the region in a variety of sectors, including technological advancements, making it a valuable target for both profit-driven and cyber warfare threat actors.
During global lockdowns, the rising use of mobile devices has fueled the growth of banking and information-stealing mobile Trojans. Most organizations had at least one employee download a malicious mobile application, which threatens their networks and data.
Ram Narayanan ME Country Manager Check Point Software Technologies
“Today’s security landscape is more complex than ever before. With cyber threats becoming more strenuous to determine and remediate, having a complete view and understanding of the network can prevent cyberattacks. We are now experiencing a ‘ransomware pandemic’ and see attack after attack dominate headlines. With the right technologies in place, even the most advanced attacks can be prevented without disrupting the normal business flow.”
Remote Code Execution was the most common vulnerability exploit type in the UAE, affecting 62 percent of companies. Around 59 percent of them are affected by information disclosure vulnerability attacks.
Since the beginning of the year, Trickbot, a botnet and banking trojan that collects financial details, account credentials, and personally identifiable information, as well as spreads within a network and drop ransomware, has been the most prevalent malware in the UAE, affecting 14 percent of organizations and having a global impact of 7 percent.
The report also looks at the most recent developing threats in a variety of industries and provides a detailed analysis of the trends in malware, emerging data breach vectors, and nation-state cyber-attacks. It also includes professional insight from Check Point thought leaders to help organizations understand and plan for the complex threat landscape of today and tomorrow.
