United Arab Emirates — Cyber Threat Profile
The United Arab Emirates has established one of the Middle East's most advanced cybersecurity ecosystems, driven by smart city expansion, digital government services, and critical energy infrastructure protection. National cyber strategy emphasizes resilience across oil and gas, aviation, finance, and telecommunications sectors. The UAE faces persistent targeting from state-sponsored espionage actors and financially motivated cybercriminal groups seeking geopolitical and economic intelligence. Federal authorities coordinate national defense through centralized cyber governance frameworks, supported by international partnerships and private sector integration. Investments in AI-enabled security operations and workforce development continue to elevate the country's defensive maturity.- National CERT/CSIRT: aeCERT (UAE Computer Emergency Response Team)
- World Cybercrime Index 2024 (origin significance): 1.55 / 100, #24 worldwide
- Secure Internet servers per 1M people (2024): 4,192.3 (source: World Bank)
- Internet users (2024): 100.0% of population (source: World Bank)
Threat actors targeting United Arab Emirates
- Anonymous Sudan Hacktivist
- Mirage Kitten APT
- MuddyWater APT
- OilRig APT
- RansomHub Ransomware · 12 incident(s)
- Qilin Ransomware · 9 incident(s)
- INC Ransom Ransomware · 8 incident(s)
- DragonForce Ransomware · 7 incident(s)
- Stormous Hacktivist · 7 incident(s)
- LockBit Ransomware · 6 incident(s)
- KillSec Ransomware · 5 incident(s)
- APT73 Ransomware · 4 incident(s)
- Everest Ransomware · 4 incident(s)
- FunkSec Ransomware · 4 incident(s)
- Medusa Ransomware Ransomware · 4 incident(s)
- Lynx Ransomware Ransomware · 3 incident(s)
- NightSpire Ransomware · 3 incident(s)
- Brain Cipher Ransomware · 2 incident(s)
- Handala Hacktivist · 2 incident(s)
- Krybit Ransomware · 2 incident(s)
- The Gentlemen Ransomware · 2 incident(s)
- Akira Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Cl0p Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Coinbase Cartel Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Dire Wolf Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Global Secret Group Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Gunra Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Hunters International Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Lamashtu Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Lazarus Group APT · 1 incident(s)
- MedusaLocker Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Meow Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Payload Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Rhysida Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- SafePay Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Sarcoma Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- Snatch Ransomware · 1 incident(s)
- APT35 APT
Most targeted sectors
- Business & Professional Services 22 incident(s)
- Technology 14 incident(s)
- Government & Public Sector 7 incident(s)
- Manufacturing 7 incident(s)
- Construction 6 incident(s)
- Energy & Utilities 6 incident(s)
- Financial Services 6 incident(s)
- Healthcare 6 incident(s)
- Transportation & Logistics 4 incident(s)
- Hospitality & Tourism 3 incident(s)
- Retail & Consumer 3 incident(s)
- Agriculture & Food 2 incident(s)
Recent claimed incidents
- ahadandco.com 2026-08-31 · Other
- A&E + SMA Design 2026-08-24 · Professional Services
- Wozair 2026-08-24 · Other
- MCT Group of Companies 2026-08-21 · Other
- nyklawfirm.com nyk.ae 2026-08-18 · Professional Services
- Al-Futtaim Group 2026-08-05 · Retail & E-Commerce
- Emirates Flight Catering 2026-08-05 · Hospitality
- NIMR Oil 2026-08-05 · Energy & Utilities
- harwal.net 2026-07-29
- Stratos Network 2026-07-26 · Technology
- Midal Cables 2026-07-14 · Manufacturing
- Navana Real Estate 2026-07-10
- Inter Power Engineering 2026-07-09 · Energy
- Western International Group 2026-07-06 · Business Services
- Dolrad 2026-07-01