A Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness of Cyber Security Defenses in UAE Government Agencies

Cyberspace has become the new frontier for countries to demonstrate power. Nations that have developed defense tools or those that can successfully launch attacks against adversaries will become the next global superpowers [1], [2]. While cyber threats and attacks by government agencies are well documented, most widespread attacks are done by individuals or hacking groups for personal gains [3], [4]. The UAE has become a major target for cyber conflicts due to increased economic activity, tourism, technology and rise of the oil and gas industry. Furthermore, the wide spread of internet in the region to the tune of 88% has exposed it to attackers [3]. Recent attacks against Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO and Qatar RasGas and the Stuxnet attack on the Iranian nuclear plants are often cited as examples [3], [5]. Previous reports show that the UAE Government is set to double expenditure on homeland security [6]. Therefore, we need to assess whether available cyber-security defenses are effective and guarantee comprehensive cybersecurity strategies that would uphold the highest security standards in line with the vision 2030. In this paper, a critical review of the existing cyber security mechanisms has been done and a framework for effective management of cyber security threats proposed for the UAE government agencies.