The UAE ranks 17th in the world for cyber security preparedness, outpacing European countries such as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, said industry experts.

“The UAEs’ impressive ranking demonstrates the effectiveness of the National Electronic Security Authority’s cyber security outreach, and that the UAE government is one of the most innovative countries in the world in prioritizing cyber security,” said Savitha Bhaskar, COO of IT consultancy and cybersecurity experts Condo Protego.

She was commenting on the United Nations International Telecommunications Union’s most recent “Global Cybersecurity Index”, which measures cyber security aspects such as legislation, regulation and compliance, capacity building, and international cooperation.

Worldwide, 83 per cent of large companies were targeted with spear-phishing attacks, 60 per cent of targeted attacks striking small- and medium-sized organizations, while malware and ransomware attacks continue to grow, according to Symantec’s most recent “Internet Security Threat Report”.

Confronting an increasing number of increasingly complex cybersecurity attacks, in 2014, the UAE National Electronic Security Authority (NESA) announced the National Cyber Security Programme, which requires government agencies to report on their cyber security infrastructure, as part of creating a secure national digital environment.

As part of the programme, NESA can also audit government agencies’ cybersecurity systems, commission cyber-security tests, and intervene to strengthen systems.

Now, the UAE’s private sector organizations must catch up to federal standards, according to Condo Protego. The European Union recently required Internet service providers, online retailers, and search engines to declare cyber security breaches.

“There’s a strong business case to be made that UAE private sector organizations cannot wait until they have been breached to deploy cyber security solutions. Rather, they face an urgency to follow government guidelines, similar to how UAE banks follow international banking guidelines. Private sector companies large and small need to be more transparent in protecting their ICT infrastructure and vital customer data,” added Bhaskar. – TradeArabia News Service