UAE‘s strategy towards most cyber resilient nation

Abstract

With the fast-paced industrial and Techni revolution, smart nations are emerging with the idea of integrating the developing technologies, like IoT and CPS, to make communications and networks easier and closely interconnected. With increasing technology usage globally, the UAE envisions transitioning into a global smart nation by innovating and deploying world class disruptive technologies for the better connectivity digitally. However, the frequency of cyber threats has also increased drastically with this ever-evolving technology. For a nation like UAE that is transforming into a digital nation at a rapid speed, while still having stakeholders with poor cybersecurity practices, UAE stands as a strong target for attacks by malicious hackers. With cyber-attacks becoming the top most concern globally, especially in the Middle East, UAE has built certain strategies to combat the evolving issue of cybersecurity. In this paper, the authors suggest that just as the collaboration of the key stakeholders – government, academics, industry and society – depicted under the Quadruple Model is needed to develop an innovative and creative nation, so is their coordination required to protect that nation from the potential cyber threats. In light of this theory, the four key stakeholders of the UAE are analyzed for their cybersecurity practices, initiatives and coordination to prove UAE’s commitment towards becoming the most cyber resilient nation in the world.