Countering The Growing Cyber Threat To Gulf Security

Abstract

The global threat of cyber attacks from hostile international and domestic actors against states, commercial enterprises and private individuals is rising exponentially. Foreign states use cyber operations against governments, private companies and individuals to steal information, influence populations, and damage physical and IT critical infrastructure. In worst cases such attacks are capable of causing the devastation of major conventional-weapon strikes ــ without requiring substantial investment in armament purchase and development. Non-state actors use cyber for ransomware attacks, and some skilled cyber criminals maintain mutually beneficial relationships with countries that offer them safe haven or benefit from their activity. Some states in the Gulf have already been victims of cyber operations, which are now a serious and growing threat to the economic and political security of all Gulf states. This paper outlines the extent of the cyber threat to Gulf states from within and outside the region. It examines the defences these states have in place and analyses the effectiveness of these measures against different categories of hostile actors. It then proposes action that Gulf states can take now, individually and collectively, to minimise the threat.