Dubai gets new cyber risk information sharing platform

The new cyber threat intelligence platform was showcased for the first time last month by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

"The purpose of the platform is to establish a cybersecurity community in the DIFC to facilitate the detection and prevention of cyberattacks through sharing of cyber threat intelligence information," the DFSA said in a letter inviting firms to the platform launch event. "The use of the platform by DIFC firms is voluntary and at no cost. We have designed the platform to provide its users with enriched cyber threat intelligence information from multiple sources."

Marie Chowdhry of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said the new platform will help to increase cybersecurity awareness in the DIFC and provide access to resources for many financial institutions and fintechs that are prime targets for cyber attacks.

"The UAE is often ranked as being in the top ten countries on the global scale of countries susceptible to malicious email attacks and phishing activity," Chowdhry said. "Over the course of 2019, alongside global trends, we have seen an alarming increase in the number of hacks and cyber crimes being reported in the UAE, as well as an increase in the losses around them. The platform launched by the DFSA is aimed to provide cyber threat intelligence not only to firms regulated by the DFSA but to the entire DIFC business community and will allow for better information sharing between all such stakeholders. The launch of the platform is a timely reminder of the increasing importance of cybersecurity." 

The Dubai Electronic Security Centre, the National Computer Emergency Response Team, the Computer Incident Response Center Luxembourg, HelpAG, Kaspersky, Palo Alto Networks, Cofense, and Recorded Future are the agencies and companies that will contribute to the platform.