UAE Cyber Threats Surge As Firms Turn To AI To Cut Response Times

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) As cyberattacks become more frequent and sophisticated across the UAE, businesses are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to strengthen their defences, reduce response times and address a persistent shortage of cybersecurity talent.

The shift comes as organisations face a rapidly evolving threat landscape in which attackers are themselves using AI to automate and scale attacks. The UAE is facing more than 200,000 cyberattack attempts daily, while AI-driven attacks globally have risen by 56 per cent, according to figures cited by cybersecurity company Paramount.

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Industry experts say the challenge is no longer a lack of security data but the ability to process it quickly enough to detect and contain threats before they spread.

“SOC teams are dealing with exponentially growing volumes of security data, and the real challenge is turning that information into actionable intelligence quickly enough to prevent or contain attacks,” said Pradeep Menon, Chief AI and Security Officer at Paramount Assure.

The growing pressure on security operations centres (SOCs) is driving demand for AI-powered tools that can automate investigations and help analysts identify malicious activity faster.

At Gisec Global 2026 in Dubai, Paramount Assure launched SoCMate, an AI-powered security investigation assistant designed to help security teams analyse threats using natural-language queries and connect information across multiple security systems. The company said the platform can reduce investigations that traditionally take several hours to as little as eight to 10 minutes.

According to Menon, AI is changing the way cybersecurity teams work by reducing the need for manual searches across multiple tools and allowing analysts to focus on higher-value tasks.

“AI-powered investigation changes SOC work from a sequential process into parallel triage,” he said.“AI can examine alerts, evidence sources and attack paths at once, correlating structured data such as logs and alerts with unstructured material including incident notes and threat intelligence.”

The technology is also aimed at helping organisations cope with a global cybersecurity workforce shortage, estimated at 4.8 million professionals. Traditional security teams are struggling to keep pace with rising attack volumes, particularly as businesses expand digital services, move workloads to the cloud and connect more critical infrastructure online.

The threat environment in the UAE has intensified in recent years. Menon said cyberattack attempts have increased sharply, with threats now exceeding 800,000 daily in some cases, while distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks continue to pose risks to organisations across sectors. Financial institutions, government entities, utilities and businesses holding large volumes of customer data remain among the most exposed targets.

Cybersecurity specialists also warn that AI is making phishing, impersonation and social engineering attacks more convincing.

“The threat landscape is changing because AI removes the human limits that once slowed attackers down,” Menon said.“Multiple AI agents can test penetration methods, vary attack vectors and scale campaigns faster.”

As companies embrace AI-driven security tools, experts argue that technology alone is not enough. Organisations need stronger governance, employee awareness programmes and updated response processes to counter increasingly complex threats.

“Across the Middle East, organisations are expanding digital services, cloud environments and connected infrastructure at speed,” said Premchand Kurup, CEO of Paramount Assure.“AI-assisted investigation can help make that model more accessible by reducing the time and cost involved in qualifying incidents, while keeping human oversight central to response decisions.”

With cyber risks rising and skilled talent remaining scarce, AI is increasingly being viewed not as an optional enhancement but as a necessary tool for defending critical systems and maintaining resilience in the region's digital economy.

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