Help AG report highlights GCC’s new cybersecurity priorities – Intelligent CISO
Help AG report highlights GCC’s new cybersecurity priorities – Intelligent CISO
Publish Date: 2026-06-11 00:42:00
Source Domain: www.intelligentciso.com
Dr Aleksandar Valjarevic, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Help AG.
Help AG (the cybersecurity arm of e&) has released its State of the Market Report 2026, marking the sixth edition of its flagship annual analysis of cybersecurity trends across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Drawing on intelligence from Help AG’s Security Operations Centres in Dubai and Riyadh, as well as insights from cybersecurity specialists, technology partners, and customers across the GCC, the report highlights a decisive shift in how organisations must now understand and operationalise cyber resilience.
At the centre of the findings is a clear conclusion: cybersecurity in the GCC has entered a new operational reality defined by artificial intelligence, sovereign cloud infrastructure priorities, and machine-speed attacks that are compressing traditional response windows beyond legacy security models. The report identifies sovereign cloud infrastructure as an increasingly important component of broader operational resilience strategies across the region, as organizations reassess cybersecurity, infrastructure control and continuity planning in response to evolving geopolitical and cyber risks.
Help AG’s data shows a sustained and significant rise in attack activity and complexity over the past six years.
Between 2019 and 2025, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) activity increased by 857%, with more than 371,000 attacks recorded in 2025 alone. Beyond volume, the nature of these campaigns is evolving. The longest observed DDoS attack persisted for more than 85 consecutive days, reflecting a shift from short-term disruption to sustained operational pressure.
In parallel, attack execution speed has accelerated sharply. In Q1 2026, Help AG observed a 65% increase in attack completion speed, with several major compromises reaching operational impact in under 40 hours.
This acceleration is further amplified during periods of geopolitical tension. According to the UAE…
