Gulf cyber threat grows as region embraces cashless payments

Gulf cyber threat grows as region embraces cashless payments

One of the outcomes of coronavirus has been a hastened shift towards digital financial services in the UAE and regionally. While this was already occurring well before the pandemic, the unique circumstances of 2020 have accelerated the process.

In an April interview with Arabian Business, Samer Soliman, Network International's Middle East managing director, called the coronavirus a “tipping point” for the adoption of digital payments solutions in the region, while a joint study by Dubai Economy and Visa published earlier this month said the UAE had the highest online annual spend per online shopper in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia – $1,648 – and that cashless payments were growing faster than expected in the country.

However, this transition has coincided with a large uptick in financial cybercrime. This is one of the areas in focus at GISEC, the region's largest cybersecurity expo and part of GITEX Technology Week, which runs until December 10. 

Co-located with GITEX 2020, GISEC returns to the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6-10

According to figures shared with Arabian Business by Kaspersky, the cybersecurity firm, the first half of this year saw a 45 percent increase in financial malware, compared to the same period in 2019.