Technology company Cybereason has identified new malware variants that have previously been used in cyberespionage operations. The unidentified malware variants were leveraged in two separate Iranian state-sponsored cyberespionage operations targeting a wide range of organisations in multiple global regions. One of the malicious operations is deploying ransomware...
Global technology company Leonardo celebrated their Cyber Game Award at Expo 2020 Dubai, as part of building awareness of cybersecurity issues. The Cyber Game was a practical challenge involving cyber security professionals spanning Italian and Emirati national strategic infrastructure companies, alongside universities and research sector representatives. The...
Cybersecurity is now considered as 'essential' in many Middle East sectors, including education, finance, health, retail and transport. The news comes as Riyadh is once again hosting global event the LEAP conference this month. The conference brings more than 400 speakers to discuss the future of...
The new UAE 2021 Cybercrime Law is currently being challenged for impacting the right to free expression. Rights groups say overly broad and vague terminology of the new law will provide authorities with the ability to criminalise and impose lengthy prison sentences, when individuals are exercising...
Elm, a digital security firm in Saudi Arabia, is set to raise $818m after pricing its (IPO) initial public offering for the stock market. The firm, which is owned by the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, was priced initially at 128 riyals per share but now looks...
The SANS Institute has announced its latest training program to boost cybersecurity skills in Dubai. SANS are the global leader in cybersecurity training and certifications and plan to offer their training from February 12th to 17th, 2022 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Waterfront. The event...
The job of cyber security specialist is now one of the fastest growing careers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to recent data. This was closely followed by roles such as data scientist, talent acquisition specialist and back-end developer, as the job market in the...
The UAE National Cyber Security Council and Injazat have signed an agreement to focus on improving coordination and response time to potential cyber-attacks in the UAE. The agreement, known as a strategic MoU, will enable all government and semi-government entities to be safeguarded usuing Injazat’s Cyber...
Cybersecurity companies Starlink and Anomali have announced their partnership to improve cyber security detection and defence. This new partnership will span across both the Middle East and Africa. Starlink provides cybersecurity and cloud advisory services which will compliment Anomali, who offer intelligence-driven extended detection and response...
A total of 887 Kuwaiti websites have been breached and more than 4,360 data files leaked in a 'serious data incident' linked to The Dark Web. The hacked websites vary between government and private institutions, and include various industries such as education, communications and e-commerce. The alleged...
Dubai Police have issued warnings as the number of online scams continues to rise. The force shared tips via their official Twitter account to help the public stay safe and avoid falling victim to scams. The force shared four tips including to be wary of any...
Google has made its first steps as it pledges to invest in long-term security and prevent future cyber attacks by completing the purchase of Israeli company Siemplify. The move to purchase Siemplify was due to its specialism within security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR). Google has not...
The United Arab Emirates has announced its "Stronger United" commitments for its term on the United Nations Security Council from 2022 to 2023. The commitments will guide the UAE's engagement with the Security Council and UN member states throughout its term, which include securing peace, advancing...
Abu Dhabi Digital Authority has joined forces with telecom operator Etisalat and security software company Trend Micro to strengthen cyber security measures and capabilities within the UAE government. The project, named Cyber Eye, will form a central part of the UAE's current cyber security strategy. The...
At the end of 2021, Group-IB uncovered a worldwide scam campaign that is targeting users in over 90 countries - including the UAE, Oman and Qatar. Deploying the tried and tested techniques of fake surveys and giveaways purporting to be from big name companies, the fraudsters...
Cisco’s latest cybersecurity report, Security Outcomes Study Volume 2, has revealed the security practices that really work. According to the study, the practices that can most impact on an organisation’s security programme are: maintaining an up-to-date and integrated architecture; investing in threat detection; and enabling timely...
Trend Micro has announced the launch of a consumer-focused business in the Kingdom at @Hack. The new company will centre on safeguarding the digital environments of families, homes and communities across Saudi Arabia. Trend Micro H1 2021 mid-year round-up report revealed that home networks in the...
Intersec 2022 will be welcoming ethical hacker, Freaky Clown (FC) to the show, who will be headlining the Cyber Security Lab, held in partnership with UAE Cyber Security Council. As a well-recognised ethical hacker and social engineer, FC will be disclosing secret tactics and his unique...
Vinchin Backup & Recovery v6.5 has been launched offering next-generation, innovative data protection solutions for advanced backup and restore performance. The new release provides multi-tenant management mode for managed service providers to deliver both Backup as-a-service (BaaS) and Disaster-Recovery as-a-service (DRaaS). It features complete data protection...
Kaspersky has signed a strategic agreement with Saudi’s Technology Control Company at the @Hack Infosec Conference 2021. The managed security service provider agreement is in line with Technology Control Company’s commitment to its customers to deliver enhanced managed security services. Speaking to Arab News, Mohamad Hashem,...
A global leader in the cybersecurity industry is set to stream its annual signature event, CyberCrimeCon on December 2 2021. The event marks the 10th edition of CyberCrimeCon, and will bring together more than 5,000 global cybersecurity pros for the threat hunting and intelligence conference. As well...
Trend Micro’s mid-year security round-up report has revealed that it detected and blocked 5,435,089 email threats in Bahrain in the first half of 2021. In addition, it also prevented 670,547 malicious URL victim attacks, 1,122 URL hosts, 219,796 malware attacks and 115 online-related banking malware threats. With...
Tenable has expanded its strategic relationship with IBM Security X-Force Red so that companies can identify and disrupt attack opportunities before bad actors can leverage them. Comprehensive Active Directory security services work to continuously detect and prevent attacks against the Active Directory and connected environment in...
An overwhelming 90% of UAE organisations are anticipating a moderate to substantial increase in demand during the 2021 holiday season, according to research from McAfee Enterprise and FireEye. This expected increase in demand makes organisations more vulnerable to cyber attacks, making peak holiday season a risky...
EDGE, the advanced technology group for defence and beyond, hosted its first workshop with the Ministry of Interior. The four-day event provided a platform for sharing insights, exchanging expertise and innovating ideas for future developments in the industry. During the course of the workshop EDGE entities...
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has established its own cybersecurity centre to improve the protection and security of the financial system’s critical infrastructure in the region. The CBUAE Networking and Cyber Security Operations Centre will carry out operations from the bank’s...
Only 48% of organisations in the Middle East have confidence in their ability to understand the cybersecurity threat landscape in relation to their business, according to new research from Rackspace Technology. Slightly more respondents felt confident in their ability to respond to incidents (59%). Concerningly, 44%...
Data protection is being prioritised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – according to the Enterprise Security Trends in the UAE survey, from IDC and Microsoft. Nine out of 10 organisations in the UAE have said that data protection is the most important priority in...
The United Arab Emirates has announced the adoption of cybersecurity standards for government agencies. The budget for 2022-2026 has a total expenditure of 290 billion dirhams ($79 billion) and is the largest in the history of the Gulf state. Writing on Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid...
A partnership between Microsoft and Etisalat will help to secure the UAE’s digital borders. Working jointly under the direction of UAE Cyber Security Council, the partnership will bring together Etisalat’s local network visibility with Microsoft’s digital crime unit (DCU) and its global intelligence threat feeds...
Tom Kellermann, a cybersecurity expert with more than 22 years’ experience in the industry, has been announced as a new advisory board member for Attivo Networks. He serves as the Head of Cybersecurity Strategy for VMware Inc and in 2020 was selected to the Cyber...
KPMG’s latest publication on industrial cyber defence has revealed that the frequency of cyberattacks on industrial operations in increasing. According to the report the cost of ransomware attacks skyrockets from a mere $8billion in 2018 to $20billion in 2020. The biggest jump in costs was...
The third cyber security expert workshop (Stadia) has wrapped up, following three days of sharing best security practice ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Organised by the Safety and Security Operations Committee (SSOC) of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 it ran in cooperation...
The world’s senior security professionals were finally able to join together to mark the return of International Security Expo, and the coinciding launch of International Cyber Expo. The event took place the 28-29 September, after a nearly 2-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Thousands of security...
Group-IB has signed a partnership agreement with Spire Solutions to deliver comprehensive solutions to its customers. Group-IB is dedicated to detecting and preventing cyberattacks, identifying online fraud and investigating high-term crimes. Its new partner, Spire Solutions, is a value-added distributor for the Middle East and Africa. Group-IB...
New research from Callsign has revealed that consumers in the middle east and Africa blame banks, retailers, social media companies and telcos for the so-called 'scamdemic'. The wide-spread problem of scam messages has become so pervasive that consumers no longer trust the technology and processes that...
Bahrain has shown one of the biggest improvements in digital connectivity internationally, according to the Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index published by Surfshark. The Kingdom was ranked ninth in Asia and 39th globally in the index, which is based on a range of assessments including...
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) has released a second set of IT service standards under the accreditation programme for IT service providers. The second phase includes standards in both Managed Security Services and Professional Security Services said the Ministry in a statement. The...
The bi-annual NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report has underlined the dramatic impact cyberattacks continue to have on governments and private and public organisations across the world. The first half of 2021 saw approximately 5.4million Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks – a figure that is 11 per...
Social media giant Facebook Inc has confirmed it has invested more than £13billion in safety and security measures since 2016. The announcement came soon after the company was accused of failing to fix ‘the platform’s ill effects’ by The Wall Street Journal. A Facebook blog post read:...
A leading provider of information protection and control solutions has highlighted how enterprises in Saudi Arabia can meet National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) compliance with its data security solution. Saudi Arabia’s commitment to boosting cybersecurity readiness led it to establish the NCA in order to develop and...
Microsoft is now enabling its users to completely remove passwords from their Microsoft accounts and allow them to sign in to the company’s services using alternative authentication methods instead. “Passwords are highly susceptible to malicious attacks, as people simply reuse them across accounts or utilise simplistic...
Attacks on MS Exchange grew collectively by 170% during August – with Oman seeing a 78% increase in the same time period. Overall the figure jumped from 7,342 users being targeted by vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Services that were blocked by Kaspersky products, to 19,839. The experts...
Automated bots designed to carry out malicious activities on the web, account for a massive 40% of all internet traffic, according to new research from Barracuda, provider of cloud security solutions. While many bots are perfectly harmless – such as those used to crawl search engines,...
A new survey from Entrust has revealed the gap between the prioritisation of data security and training for employees. In its newest data study, Securing the New Hybrid Workplace, Entrust surveyed 1,500 business leaders across 10 countries to gain an in-depth understanding of how managers are...
An overwhelming 82% of IT decision makers who are working in financial organisations in the United Arab Emirates are under pressure to level up their security protocols. The latest stats come from new research from Citrix, which also reveals 72% of respondents say IT security...
Israeli cybersecurity firm XM Cyber is entering the Persian Gulf for the first time, according to Globes, Israel business news. The start-up was co-founded by former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo and will be selling its products to protect the region’s gas, oil and financial infrastructures. The...
SentinelOne, a cybersecurity solution, has announced its SentinelOne Singularity marketplace now includes integrations with Cloudflare and Zscaler. The expanding ecosystem will offer joint solutions that provide unified visibility across the entire enterprise and cloud attack surface. Cloudflare’s edge capabilities will seamlessly combine with SentinelOne’s AI-powered endpoint...
Cisco is helping to upskill 8,000 trainers from the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) in a move that will help accelerate Saudi Arabia’s digitisation agenda. Through the Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad), the trainers’ digital skills will be developed in the fields of...
ONVIF, the leading global standardisation initiative for IP-based physical security products, has announced that it will end its support for Profile Q early next year since it contains certain specifications that are no longer consistent with current cybersecurity best practices. Profile Q was developed to provide...