Cybersecurity in the Middle East has increasingly become a strategic priority closely linked to national resilience, economic growth, and digital transformation, according to Ned Baltagi, Managing Director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at the SANS Institute. This shift has prompted organizations in the region to reassess the skills and capabilities required to effectively manage evolving cyber threats.
Baltagi noted that the focus has moved beyond merely cultivating individual technical expertise toward establishing sustainable cybersecurity capabilities across entire organizations. This comprehensive approach involves developing specialized practitioners, security leaders, and professionals responsible for critical infrastructure, all supported by ongoing education to keep pace with rapid technological changes. The central question for organizations today is whether their cybersecurity capabilities align with their digital development goals in a secure manner.
In the United Arab Emirates, the cyber threat landscape in 2026 is characterized by a variety of sophisticated attacks. These include AI-driven phishing campaigns, deepfake-enabled social engineering, state-sponsored operations, ransomware targeting critical infrastructure and financial institutions, data breaches, scams, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Baltagi emphasized that ransomware targeting essential services remains a particularly pronounced risk throughout the year. He stressed that organizational resilience will depend not only on implementing appropriate security technologies but also on developing practical expertise in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud security, zero-trust architectures, and industrial control systems/operational technology (ICS/OT) security.
To address these challenges, the SANS Institute is leveraging its presence at GISEC 2026—the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference—to advance practical cybersecurity training alongside industry and government collaboration. Through its partnership with the UAE Cybersecurity Council, SANS is broadening access to advanced training programs and internationally recognized certifications. This collaboration emphasizes capacity building, information sharing, awareness campaigns, and advisory support.
A key element of this initiative is the Council’s CyberE71 platform, which fosters innovation and entrepreneurship in cybersecurity. By connecting SANS Institute’s training expertise with startups, entrepreneurs, university talent, and the broader innovation ecosystem, CyberE71 aims to extend cybersecurity capability development beyond traditional professional training and integrate advanced skills with the UAE’s growing cybersecurity entrepreneurial community.
Overall, these efforts highlight the region’s commitment to building a robust, adaptive cybersecurity workforce capable of meeting the challenges posed by an increasingly complex and dynamic digital environment.