IBM report reveals surge in ransomware attacks in the UAE in 2021

IBM Security issued its annual X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, revealing how ransomware and vulnerability exploitations together were able to “imprison” firms in 2021, significantly burdening global supply chains, with manufacturing ranking as the most targeted industry globally.

According to the 2022 study, the Middle East and Africa area was the fourth-most assaulted region in the globe, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa being the most targeted nations.

Ransomware attacks were the most common type of cyber attack observed in the UAE, according to the report. In the great majority of events detected by X-Force, the most common cause of attacks on UAE businesses was attackers leveraging known and unpatched vulnerabilities.

“Cybercriminals recognized the opportunity to capitalize on the rapid digital adoption in the UAE and took full advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities to successfully infiltrate organizations,” said Wael Abdoush, General Manager, IBM Gulf & Levant and Pakistan. 

“As cybercriminals became increasingly sophisticated, open hybrid cloud environments can provide an opportunity for businesses to enhance and extend their visibility into suspicious activity on their networks and more quickly respond to cyber threats in their environments,” Abdoush added.

The 2022 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index maps new trends and attack patterns observed and analysed by IBM Security from its data – drawing on billions of datapoints from network and endpoint detection devices, incident response engagements, phishing kit tracking, and more – including data provided by Intezer.

Some of the top highlights in this year’s report include:

• Ransomware Gangs Defy Takedowns. Ransomware persisted as the top attack method observed globally in 2021, with ransomware groups showing no sign of stopping, despite the uptick in ransomware takedowns. According to the 2022 report, the average lifespan of a ransomware group before shutting down or rebranding is 17 months. 

Ransomware and server access attacks were the top attack types observed in the Middle East and Africa, tying for first place each representing 18% of attacks. Misconfiguration followed closely at 14%.

• Vulnerabilities Expose Businesses’ Biggest “Vice”. X-Force reveals that 50% of attacks against businesses in the Middle East and Africa were caused by unpatched vulnerabilities, exposing businesses’ biggest struggle– patching vulnerabilities.

• Early Warning Signs of Cyber Crisis in the Cloud. Cybercriminals are laying the groundwork to target cloud environments, with the 2022 report revealing a 146% increase in new Linux ransomware code and a shift to Docker-focused targeting, potentially making it easier for more threat actors to leverage cloud environments for malicious purposes. 

The report features data IBM collected globally in 2021 to deliver insightful information about the global threat landscape and inform security professionals about the threats most relevant to their organizations. You can download a copy of the 2022 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index here.