UAE Cyber Security Chief Blames Iran's IRGC for Surge in Daily Online Attacks

The UAE's cyber security chief has revealed that the nation continues to battle a relentless wave of daily online threats, pointing to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the orchestrator behind a significant portion of these assaults.

Speaking to CNN's Becky Anderson on Wednesday, Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of cyber security for the UAE Government, disclosed that the Emirates intercepted 640,000 attacks on Tuesday alone. He identified Iran as a primary actor in the ongoing high-tech offensive, a threat landscape increasingly complicated by the proliferation of artificial intelligence.

While noting that the overall volume of cyber attacks has decreased compared to the early months of the conflict, Dr Al Kuwaiti emphasized that the nation remains on high alert. "There are great footprints that show who is actually behind those attacks," he stated, specifically naming Iran and the IRGC.

Addressing the technological challenges, Dr Al Kuwaiti explained that rapidly evolving artificial intelligence has dramatically accelerated cyber threats. However, he noted that AI is also serving as a vital defensive mechanism for the UAE government to detect, defend, and disrupt hostile activities.

National teams previously detected and contained sophisticated operations targeting the aviation, energy, and education sectors in August, following similar incidents involving financial institutions in July. To counter these persistent threats, the UAE launched the UAE Cyber Factory in May. Established by the UAE Cyber Security Council and its strategic partner CPX Holding, the initiative focuses on developing next-generation cyber security capabilities and AI-powered defense systems.