Ransomware Attacks Rise Across the Gulf: What UAE Businesses Should Know

Ransomware activity across the Middle East has risen sharply, with established criminal groups increasingly targeting businesses and infrastructure across the Gulf.

Research cited by The National shows that ransomware activity tracked by cyber security company CloudSEK increased from 17 incidents in April 2025 to 357 in June 2026.

The UAE is now among the countries facing sustained cyber threat activity, alongside Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other major regional economies. Researchers say the growth of digital infrastructure across the Gulf has increased the number of internet-facing systems available to attackers, while weaknesses such as unpatched firewalls and VPN gateways remain common entry points.

For businesses operating in the UAE, the trend reinforces an important point: ransomware is no longer a remote or occasional threat. It is an operational risk capable of disrupting systems, exposing sensitive information and creating significant financial pressure.

Why Ransomware Activity Is Increasing Across the Gulf

The Gulf has become increasingly attractive to cybercriminal groups because of its rapid digital development, concentration of high-value businesses and reliance on connected infrastructure.

Organisations across the region increasingly depend on:

• Cloud platforms.
• Remote-access systems.
• Connected operational technology.
• Third-party technology providers.
• Online customer services.
• Digital payment infrastructure.

These systems create efficiency, but they also create potential access points.

Researchers cited by The National said several established ransomware groups are no longer simply testing the Gulf market but appear to be maintaining a sustained focus on businesses in the region.

Attackers often look for the easiest and most commercially valuable targets rather than focusing on a particular geography.

A $5m Ransom Demand in the UAE

The growing risk was highlighted this week when Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cyber Security Council, disclosed that a hacker had demanded more than $5 million following an attack on a private-sector company in the UAE.

According to Dr Al Kuwaiti, the incident involved destruction of data and attempts to circulate stolen information through Telegram and the dark web.

UAE authorities worked with the affected organisation to contain the incident and limit further circulation of the compromised material.

The company involved has not been publicly identified.

The case illustrates how modern ransomware attacks can extend beyond the encryption of systems.

Attackers may also steal information and threaten to publish it, increasing pressure on the victim even where systems can be restored from backups.

Ransomware Is Increasingly About Data as Well as Disruption

Traditional ransomware attacks focused heavily on preventing access to systems until a payment was made.

Many modern attacks combine several forms of pressure.

An attacker may:

• Encrypt systems.
• Destroy or corrupt data.
• Steal commercially sensitive information.
• Threaten to release data publicly.
• Contact customers or business partners.
• Attempt to damage the victim's reputation.
• Disrupt business operations.

This means an organisation may face several problems at the same time.

Restoring systems does not necessarily resolve the wider incident if sensitive information has already been removed.

Conflict Advisory Group's Cyber Security capabilities support organisations seeking to understand cyber exposure, investigate incidents and strengthen their ability to respond to digital threats.

Critical Infrastructure Can Face Greater Pressure

The latest reporting also highlights the particular risk to businesses and organisations operating critical or operationally important infrastructure.

Where an attack affects energy, transport, financial services, aviation, logistics or other essential systems, disruption can create consequences beyond the immediate organisation.

This can give attackers greater leverage.

The UAE Cyber Security Council has previously reported that national teams detected and contained advanced attacks targeting sectors including aviation, energy, education and financial services.

Dr Al Kuwaiti said the UAE continues to face hundreds of thousands of cyber attacks each day.

For organisations in critical sectors, cyber resilience therefore needs to include the ability to continue operating when systems are unavailable.

Vulnerabilities Do Not Always Need to Be Sophisticated

A significant cyber attack does not necessarily require an entirely new or highly advanced technique.

Attackers frequently exploit known vulnerabilities that have not been addressed.

Common weaknesses can include:

• Unpatched software.
• Exposed remote-access systems.
• Weak authentication.
• Poorly configured cloud environments.
• Compromised credentials.
• Excessive user privileges.
• Unsupported systems.
• Inadequate network segmentation.

Researchers discussing the Gulf ransomware trend specifically highlighted unpatched firewalls and VPN gateways as continuing points of weakness.

This is why basic cyber hygiene remains important even as attackers adopt more sophisticated tools.

AI Is Increasing the Speed and Scale of Attacks

Artificial intelligence is also making established cyber techniques easier to scale.

According to researchers cited in the latest reporting, AI is helping attackers produce more convincing phishing messages, identify potential vulnerabilities and automate parts of the attack process.

The immediate risk is not necessarily that AI has created completely new forms of cyber attack.

Instead, it can make existing methods faster, cheaper and easier to deploy.

This can reduce the amount of time organisations have to identify and respond to suspicious activity.

At the same time, AI is increasingly being used defensively to identify unusual behaviour, analyse security events and prioritise potential threats.

The challenge for businesses is therefore to use new technologies to strengthen security without assuming that technology alone can remove risk.

Third-Party Dependencies Can Increase Exposure

Businesses also need to consider cyber exposure beyond their own internal systems.

Many organisations rely heavily on external providers for:

• Cloud hosting.
• Software.
• Managed IT services.
• Payroll.
• Communications.
• Data storage.
• Security services.

A weakness in a critical third party can potentially affect multiple organisations at once.

Cyber risk assessments should therefore consider which external providers have access to sensitive information and which suppliers are operationally critical.

Where a business has no viable alternative provider, a third-party incident can quickly become a business-continuity problem.

What UAE Businesses Should Review

The increase in ransomware activity provides a useful opportunity for organisations to review whether their existing controls reflect current threats.

Key areas can include:

• Regular vulnerability assessment.
• Timely software patching.
• Multi-factor authentication.
• Secure remote access.
• Network segmentation.
• Privileged-access controls.
• Tested offline or isolated backups.
• Monitoring for unusual activity.
• Incident-response procedures.
• Third-party cyber exposure.
• Staff awareness of phishing and social engineering.

The appropriate controls will depend on the size and nature of the organisation.

The important point is that cyber security should reflect actual business exposure rather than becoming a checklist exercise.

Ransomware Is Also a Business Risk

The consequences of a ransomware incident can extend well beyond the technology department.

An attack may affect:

• Revenue.
• Operations.
• Regulatory obligations.
• Customer relationships.
• Supply chains.
• Reputation.
• Contractual commitments.

That is why cyber risk increasingly needs to be considered alongside wider operational and corporate risk.

Conflict Advisory Group's Risk Advisory services support organisations seeking to understand emerging threats, operational dependencies and wider exposure in complex environments.

Preparation Can Reduce the Impact of an Attack

No organisation can guarantee that it will never experience a cyber incident.

The objective should therefore be both prevention and preparation.

An effective response plan should establish:

• Who takes control of the incident.
• How affected systems are contained.
• How evidence is preserved.
• How critical services continue operating.
• How internal and external communications are managed.
• When legal or regulatory advice is required.
• How systems are restored safely.

Testing these procedures before an incident occurs can help identify gaps while there is still time to address them.

Gulf Businesses Need to Treat Ransomware as an Active Threat

The sharp increase in ransomware activity across the Middle East shows that Gulf organisations are now firmly within the focus of established cybercriminal groups.

For businesses in the UAE, the response should not be driven by panic or by trying to eliminate every possible vulnerability.

It should be risk-based.

Organisations need to understand which systems matter most, where their most significant vulnerabilities exist and how quickly they could respond if an attack occurred.

If your organisation needs to assess its cyber exposure, strengthen resilience or respond to a suspected ransomware incident, Conflict Advisory Group can help identify vulnerabilities, establish what has happened and support an appropriate response. Contact our team to discuss your requirements in confidence.