Risk of cybersecurity concerns UAE
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, cybersecurity failure has been identified among the top 10 risks that have worsened the most. This is as reported in a new research by the World Economic Forum, ‘The Global Risks Report 2022.’
For several small, highly digitalised economies like UAE, Denmark, Japan, and Singapore, the risk of cybersecurity failure is included in the top five concerns. Meanwhile, it is seen as the number one risk in Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand. It is even noted that ransomware presents a major concern for public safety as it presents more danger from day to day.
Amid this threatening problem, IT and cybersecurity professionals have the most burden, considering the extension of remote work and the complexity of regulations for data and privacy. Besides, they have already lost in number, with a gap of more than three million worldwide of cyber professionals who can exhibit cyber leadership, run proper tests, and train people in digital health.
Although new initiatives like providing free cybersecurity risk management tools could be a little help for small businesses or other institutions, experts also emphasize that the further decrease of cybersecurity professionals could absolutely slow down economic growth.
Looking back to the case in the Middle East, Renaud Deraison, CTO and co-founder of Tenable explains that it is nothing new to the region since the reliance of digital systems for professional, social, and recreational needs have intensified during the pandemic.
Moreover, Kaspersky researchers have highlighted a fact that the UAE is among the most targeted countries in Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). Taking 49 investigative reports related to 16 cyber gangs actively targeting the country since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Kaspersky shows that UAE’s governmental and diplomatic institutions along with educational organisations are the ultimate target of the APT groups.
To sum up the matters, Deaison thinks that organisations cannot rely on cyber strategies from two years ago, as both skilled and unskilled cybercriminals may repeat their successful methods from 2021 and take some advantage of their vulnerabilities. This is something both the public and private sectors must consider, since cybersecurity professionals have warned about for years.