The UAE and Saudi Arabia together accounted for 50% of cyberattacks recorded across the Gulf in the first half of 2026, according to a Positive Technologies report.The UAE was the region’s most targeted country, accounting for 35% of reported attacks. Saudi Arabia followed with 15%, while Iran accounted for 17%, the report said.
The report found that cyber activity was heavily concentrated in the first quarter. About 96% of incidents recorded during the first half of the year occurred in Q1. Researchers linked the spike to increased malicious activity during the period of regional conflict. Many attacks targeted government and state organisations.
Government agencies accounted for 27% of successful cyberattacks across the Gulf, making them the most targeted sector. Cross-industry attacks followed at 23%. Industrial organizations accounted for 17% of incidents. Half of the attacks against industrial organizations targeted companies in Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
Alexey Lukatsky, Chief Evangelist Officer at Positive Technologies, said the UAE and Saudi Arabia attracted significant attention due to the presence of businesses across several industries. He told to media that the countries were targeted for their ‘different companies from IT, from telco, from banks, and so on.’
Exploiting software and hardware vulnerabilities was the most common attack method in the Gulf, accounting for 38% of incidents. Malware deployment ranked second at 31%, while social engineering accounted for 27% of attacks. The report also identified AI-assisted malware and phishing through email, WhatsApp and other messaging platforms among common tactics.
Positive Technologies said vulnerability exploitation was widespread across the region. Researchers linked part of the activity to the continued use of older SCADA systems and the relative ease of exploiting known weaknesses.
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