DarkMatter Group releases MENA Cyber Security Report

In Q1 of 2019 there were  75% of intrusion sets documented in DarkMatter's review were motivated by cyberespionage actions, such as stealing remote access credentials and personal information, 75% of observed UAE domains are hosted outside the country, placing sensitive data at high risk , 91% of organizations assessed by DarkMatter had outdated software and were missing critical security patches; 83% used unsupported software, 91% of assessed organizations were vulnerable due to weak or default passwords, 87% of assessed organizations used insecure network protocols.

"Cybersecurity breaches in the region pose a genuine risk to critical sectors as cybercriminals harness new technologies to launch sophisticated and targeted attacks," said Karim Sabbagh, CEO of DarkMatter Group.

The latest focuses on the global significance of targeted attacks on the UAE's critical infrastructure sectors. Of these, the Oil and Gas sector faces the greatest vulnerability to cybersecurity breaches. In the Middle East, an estimated 75% of regional oil and gas companies have had their security in their operational technology compromised. The commercial and strategic importance of this industry to the region makes it an attractive target for geopolitical or economic rivals.

"In this digital battlefield, while organizations believe they have most of the security management controls in place to mitigate cybersecurity risks, the reality is that technical control and capabilities to address the cybersecurity challenge are markedly lagging behind. So there's a considerable risk that if an attack happens, it may well be successful. The C-Suites must and can readily take steps to effectively manage holistically their security posture in order to be better prepared against escalating malicious attacks," concluded Sabbagh.