Published on: 4/30/2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Situation
The regional conflict that began on 28 February 2026 entered a ceasefire on 8 April. The kinetic pause has not extended to cyber; UAE attack volumes tripled to roughly 600,000 during the conflict, and intrusion-led activity has since overtaken denial-of-service as the dominant pattern. Simultaneously, NCA ECC-2:2024 came into force in KSA, mandating Saudi nationals in all cybersecurity roles within critical national infrastructure. Three forces now sit on the same desk, the same budget, the same board agenda, and almost no MENA enterprise is staffed for all three at once.