The UAE confronts 800,000 cyber attacks daily during the truce period

The Chairman of the Cyber ​​Security Council of the United Arab Emirates Government, Dr. Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, revealed that about 800,000 cyberattacks were recorded daily during the truce period, which indicates that digital threats remain, with a greater increase in their severity recorded during the crisis, in light of a noticeable development in attack methods and their complexity.

In detail, Al-Kuwaiti explained, during an awareness session entitled “Cybersecurity: How does awareness constitute the first line of defence?”, organized by the Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi Council at the Fujairah Creative Center, that cyber attacks are no longer limited to direct traditional patterns, but have turned into complex, multi-level attacks, targeting systems, institutions, and individuals through different paths at the same time.

Al-Kuwaiti pointed out that these attacks included financial fraud and systematic disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing public opinion, in addition to employing artificial intelligence techniques in carrying out offensive operations. He pointed out that the pre-crisis stage was dominated by direct methods of penetration, with about 200,000 attacks being monitored, in addition to tracking hundreds of threatened parties, including 350 supported parties, 320 amateurs, and 120 linked to malicious software, in addition to monitoring about about 5000 channels on Telegram.

Al-Kuwaiti stressed that the continuation of this level of attacks, even during periods of relative calm, reflects the nature of modern cyber threats, which are no longer linked to a specific time or circumstance, but rather have become continuous and changing, which requires raising the level of digital readiness.

He explained that cyber wars are not waged in the real world that we see, but in the virtual space, where digital currencies are used to support these campaigns and threats, with various parties and organizations standing behind them, including parties linked to Iran, noting that about 20 countries and more than 40 organizations have been identified, all targeting the UAE.

Al-Kuwaiti stated that this scene reflects a qualitative shift in the nature of threats, as attacks have become complex and multi-level, and include financial fraud, disinformation campaigns, and targeting public opinion, pointing out that the attackers’ reliance on artificial intelligence techniques has contributed to carrying out attacks semi-automatically without direct human intervention, which increases their speed and accuracy.

Al-Kuwaiti stressed that cyber awareness represents the first line of defense, calling on individuals and institutions to adopt safe digital practices, change default passwords, update devices periodically, and not be led by misleading advertisements, in addition to verifying the sources of applications and investments, to protect privacy and avoid falling victim to hacking and fraud.