Across the Middle East, security teams at critical infrastructure plants are on maximum alert as a wave of politically-motivated cyberattacks targets their operations.
Many of the attacks go undetected and those that are discovered are often unreported, which may disguise the nature and extent of the problem. Attackers target infrastructure such as water systems, oil and gas facilities, transport hubs and manufacturing plants. As Tarek Kuzbari, Middle East and Turkey director for security vendor Cybereason, says: In the Middle East, the number of politically-driven cyberattacks is very high compared to other regions. With all the politics in the region, such as the revolutions of the Arab Spring and tensions between different nations, each country has started to build their own cyber offensive capability and have launched their own operations.
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The rapid shift to remote work in 2020 has led to a shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals in the UAE.
But lucrative opportunities await those willing to take on larger roles, a new salary guide shows. The speed of digital transformation in the past 12 months is much more than the whole previous five years, and it s still accelerating, Tarek Kuzbari, regional director for Boston-based security company Cybereason, told
The National.
This digital boom has opened opportunities for criminals to continue using age-old tactics, such as ransomware, malware and email fraud, Mr Kuzbari said.
This has led to a run on demand for cybersecurity architects, managers and engineers to battle these threats.