UAE repels 800,000 daily cyberattacks as 2026 AI defense measures scale

The UAE Cyber Security Council reported on Saturday, 10 October, that the country successfully repelled an average of 800,000 cyberattacks daily during the first half of 2026. The surge in digital threats has prompted a nationwide shift toward proactive AI-driven defense systems to protect critical infrastructure and financial services. National AI Initiatives Launched In May, the Council, in partnership with CPX Holding, launched the UAE Cyber Factory to automate threat detection and response. This was followed by the September release of a specialized AI model developed with Open Innovation AI, designed to assist security professionals in auditing software code and investigating incidents. At GISEC Global 2026, the Council further unveiled the V7 AI model, which uses machine learning to identify malicious files that employ advanced evasion techniques. The financial sector has remained a primary target for sophisticated actors. On 3 July 2026, the Council confirmed that national monitoring teams successfully countered coordinated attacks against several UAE financial institutions. The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2026 subsequently ranked the UAE sixth globally and second in the Middle East and Africa for customer-facing cyber activity during the first six months of the year. Infrastructure and Talent Development Infrastructure expansion continued during the Make it in the Emirates forum, where the Council and Dell Technologies announced a cybersecurity center of…