GCC hit hard with ransomware attacks, with Saudi and UAE organizations most affected - Al Arabiya English

GCC hit hard with ransomware attacks, with Saudi and UAE organizations most affected - Al Arabiya English

Organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fell victim to the highest number of ransomware attacks out of all GCC countries between mid-2021 and mid-2022, according to a report from cybersecurity company Group-IB.


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A ransomware attack happens when an individual or group uses software to access a company or organizations files to either extort the business or steal its data.

“In terms of industries, the energy, telecoms, IT and manufacturing sectors were frequently targeted,” the report said.


In the second half of 2021 and first half of 2022, 42 companies in the GCC region fell prey to these attacks – 33 percent of the companies were UAE-based and 29 percent were from Saudi Arabia - Group-IB said in Tuesday’s report.


A total 21 percent of the companies who were victim to these ransomware attacks in the report were Kuwaiti, 10 percent from Qatar, while Omani and Bahraini organizations made up less than 10 percent of the organizations targeted.


Group-IB took the data from information posted on dedicated leak sites (DLS) - websites created by a particular ransomware gang, on which they upload data and files stolen from the victim’s network should the victim refuse or fail to pay the demanded ransom.


“DLS are being used by ransomware gangs as part of the so-called double extortion technique, where the threat actors not only encrypt ..

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