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INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security
Kaspersky releases overview
of cyberthreats faced by UAE
in first half of 2019
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Kaspersky has released
an overview of the cyber
and IT security threats
faced by the United Arab
Emirates during the first
six months of 2019.
T
he Kaspersky Security Network (KSN),
a specialised infrastructure designed
to process threat information and
transform it into actionable insights, has
found that the UAE, seen as heavily prone
to being targeted for malicious cyberattacks,
has had a very eventful H1 2019 when it
comes to banking trojans, malware, phishing,
ransomware and web threats.
While the threats recorded across all of
these areas have increased in comparison
to H1 2018, some of the percentage
increases are in single-digits.
"Kaspersky has been at the forefront of
a very focused multi-year awareness
campaign, which has now resulted in better
measures in place at the organisational level
and improved recognition of threats at the
individual level.
"In addition, the Kaspersky IT Economics
study found that enterprise security budgets
for 2019 in the META region have skyrocketed
to US$24 million, compared to just US$5.6
million in 2018. Both factors combined are
now resulting not just in lower impact per
incident, but also reduced attractiveness
among malicious actors to invest the time
and effort in targeting the UAE.”
The KSN insights reviewed instances of
attacks in the UAE between January and
June 2019, and compared this against the
same six-month period in 2018. The highest
activity was seen in banking trojans, as the
UAE saw an 88% increase over the same
half-year period in 2018.
Across the region, this was the most active
threat factor, with a 55.5% increase during
the same period.
Ransomware followed as the next most
prominent threat, seeing a 38% increase in
the UAE, yet slightly lower than the regional
average growth of 42.7%.). The Kaspersky
Security Network is a visualisation of global
co-operation against cyberattacks.
Its main source of threat-related data
is through opt-in contributions from
Kaspersky customers.
This sharing of aggregated data and
permitting the analysis by Kaspersky’s AI and
human experts helps ensure protection against
new cyberthreats for the larger network.
KSN helps Kaspersky respond rapidly to
emerging cyberthreats, while delivering the
highest possible levels of protection and
helping reduce the number of false positives. n
This goes to show that significant
investment in security infrastructure and
awareness – within organisations and
among individuals – is reducing the UAE’s
attractiveness as a cyber target.
However, to caution against unbridled
optimism, the first half of the year is typically
seen as a quieter period for attacks when
compared with the second half.
Maher Yamout, Senior Security Researcher,
META, Kaspersky, said: “There is no doubt
that within the MENA region, organisations
and individuals in the UAE are most
susceptible to various forms of cyberthreats.
This is largely driven by the perception
around the world of a very affluent society,
with a potentially larger pay-out for every
successful attack.
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