Why Cyberattacks in UAE Surged 862% in Five Years — What Businesses Must Know 

By OREL IT 

It sounds almost too wild to be real: over the last five years, cyberattacks in the United Arab Emirates have soared by a jaw-dropping 862 per cent. That’s not a typo — from just under 39,000 attacks in 2019, the number rocketed to more than 373,000 by 2024. Aletihad Newspaper+2Khaleej Times+2 

As your trusted IT partner, OREL IT believes this trend isn’t just alarming — it’s a massive wake-up call for any business with digital assets, data flows, or online operations. Here’s a deep dive into what’s really going on, why it matters, and what steps you should be taking now. 

What’s driving the surge 

A booming digital economy = A bigger bullseye 

The UAE is transforming at breakneck speed — financial services, smart cities, AI startups, fintech, digital government services — you name it. With growth comes complexity. More tech, more connectivity, more data, more APIs. And unfortunately — more attack surface for cybercriminals. Analysts at the launch of the 2025 report from Help AG (the cybersecurity arm of e&) pointed out that this digital boom makes the UAE an attractive target. Aletihad Newspaper+1 

But it’s not just quantity. The nature of the threats is shifting too. 

Smarter, stealthier attacks — AI, bots and new tricks 

According to Help AG, many of the new attacks are powered by artificial-intelligence, bot networks, and cunning tactics like impersonation or AI-enhanced phishing. Khaleej Times+2info.cpx.net+2 

In 2024 alone: 

• Phishing triggered roughly 90% of incidents. Aletihad Newspaper+1 

• Credential-based breaches contributed to about 45% of reported cases. Aletihad Newspaper+1 

• Ransomware is on the rise, with a growing number of ransomware-gangs (new names like DarkVault, Qilin, RansomEXX, RansomHub) becoming active in the region. info.cpx.net+1 

Meanwhile, traditional volumetric attacks (the kind that just flood a network) are being complemented by far more targeted, persistent, harder-to-detect campaigns — including ones aimed at critical infrastructure, government systems, and high-value enterprises. In fact, there was a reported case where a single DDoS attack lasted more than 35 days straight in 2024. Khaleej Times+1 

Add to that an expanding “attack surface”: more connected devices, more cloud adoption (often with misconfiguration issues), rising use of IoT and operational-technology systems, and a rapid shift to AI-powered tools across corporate environments. Gulf News+2Dark Reading+2 

All that equals a perfect storm for cyber adversaries. 

Who’s getting hit — and why it matters 

The list of targeted victims isn’t small — or limited to just one sector. 

• Government and public sector organisations remain prime targets. CPX+2Al Arabiya English+2 

• Critical infrastructure and energy firms are under increasing threat as industrial control systems and IoT networks expand. dubaiglobalnews.com+2Zawya+2 

• Financial services, insurance firms, healthcare providers, retail and e-commerce platforms — all report growing numbers of incidents. CPX+2uaedigitalnews.com+2 

For businesses operating in the UAE (or doing business with UAE-based firms), the cost isn’t just downtime or inconvenience: many data breaches in the region have translated into losses in the millions — in reputation, fines, data theft, and immediate financial impact. CPX+2dubaiglobalnews.com+2 

Moreover, beyond the obvious data theft, there are ripple effects: 

• Disruption to business operations that rely on cloud, automation, or interconnected systems. 

• Breach of trust with customers or partners, especially when personal data or sensitive financial data is involved. 

• Regulatory and compliance headaches — particularly for sectors like finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure. 

In short: being unprotected or under-prepared is no longer an option. 

What organisations must be doing — and fast 

At OREL IT, we’ve been watching these developments closely. Based on what the data (and real-world incidents) show, here’s our take on what businesses must do to stay ahead of the wave. 

1. Treat security as foundational, not optional

Cybersecurity can’t just be an afterthought. Waiting for a breach before investing is a dangerous game. Instead, think of security as part of your business infrastructure — like electricity, or data connectivity. 

2. Harden identity,accessand endpoint security 

Since phishing and credential-based attacks remain dominant, strong identity and access management (IAM) practices — multi-factor authentication (MFA), adaptive auth, behavioural-based monitoring — are non-negotiable. Likewise, endpoint devices (laptops, mobiles, desktops) must be protected with enterprise-grade security solutions, including real-time detection and automated response. 

At the same time, cloud environments — often misconfigured — need robust cloud-security posture management (CSPM) strategies. This helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data or overly permissive access that threat actors could exploit. 

3. Invest in proactive detection and response

With AI-powered attacks on the rise, static, reactive defences won’t cut it. Instead, organisations should adopt modern detection tools: user- and entity-behaviour analytics (UEBA), network detection and response (NDR), continuous monitoring of cloud and API usage, and threat-intelligence-backed alerting. 

4. Adopt a “resilience by design” mindset

Breach prevention is critical — but breaches will happen. That’s why building resilience matters just as much: solid backup, disaster-recovery, digital forensics, incident response capabilities, and well-defined cyber incident protocols should be part of the plan. 

Additionally, companies should consider partnering with managed-security providers for 24/7 threat monitoring and rapid response — particularly if they lack a dedicated in-house security operations capability. 

5. Educate people — because many attacks start with human error

One recurring finding: weak credentials, careless configuration changes, unpatched software, social-engineering — these often underlie successful breaches. Make cybersecurity awareness and training a part of your corporate culture. Simple awareness can foil many common attack vectors before they reach higher levels. 

Why now is the moment — not tomorrow 

As the UAE continues to evolve into a global technology hub — with AI, cloud, fintech, smart infrastructure — the value of its data, systems, and connectivity will only grow. With that growth, the incentives for attackers grow too. 

If you haven’t revisited your security posture lately — or if your defences rest on outdated assumptions — your business might already be exposed. 

At OREL IT, we’re committed to helping clients build cyber resilience that keeps pace with digital transformation. We see security not as a burden, but as a foundation for trust, growth, and future-ready business. 

Because in a landscape where cyberattacks rose 862 per cent in five years — standing still means being left behind.