Gulf countries witness a surge in cyber-attacks amid COVID-19 crisis

According to a recent report by the multinational cybersecurity company Kaspersky, since the beginning of 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen 68 063 cyber-attacks. Bahrain has seen almost 5000 cyber-attacks on smartphones, with a notable increase during the quarantine period. Additionally, Saudi Arabia saw 160 000 attacks during the last five months, while there were a recorded 20 000 attacks in Kuwait and 15 000 in Oman. Yet, the highest number was reported in Egypt where 220 000 cyber-attacks were recorded during the same period. ‘COVID-19 epidemic and the shift to home office has stimulated cybercriminals to exploit the new attack vectors and try new practices that society might have been not ready for: It’s been only 5 months, but 2020 has already seen some groundbreaking techniques that would allow attackers to strike and surprise users. So stay alert for COVID-19 scams and follow basic cybersecurity hygiene,’ warned Kaspersky security expert, Victor Chebyshev.