Gurdip Singh, VP Sales & Partnerships, EMEA & APAC, CloudSEK, discusses the region’s evolving threat landscape, AI weaponisation, third-party exposure and growing risks facing critical sectors
Cyber threats across the Middle East are intensifying as state-sponsored groups, ideologically motivated actors and cybercriminals target critical sectors with increasingly coordinated campaigns. AI weaponisation, third-party exposure and vulnerabilities across interconnected IT and operational technology environments are adding new layers of risk for regional organisations.
Gurdip Singh, VP Sales & Partnerships, EMEA & APAC, CloudSEK, spoke to Sandhya D’Mello, Editor, CPI Media Group, about findings from the company’s Middle East Threat Exposure Report, the growing AI attack surface and the importance of continuous third-party monitoring. Singh also outlines lessons from securing the real estate and aviation sectors and CloudSEK’s partner-led regional growth strategy.
Interview excerpts
What does CloudSEK’s Middle East Threat Exposure Report reveal about the region’s evolving cyber-risk landscape between April 2025 and August 2026?
CloudSEK’s quarterly Middle East Threat Exposure Report tracks cyberattack trends and the challenges facing organisations across the region. Recent findings point to an unprecedented surge in coordinated attacks across the UAE and other Middle Eastern markets. State-sponsored groups, ideologically motivated actors and underground cybercriminals are targeting critical sectors to disrupt operations and potentially damage national economies. Around 1,000 attacks were recorded during the latest quarter covered, with banking, financial services and insurance, telecommunications and government among the most targeted sectors. AI weaponisation has also emerged as a major concern, enabling threat actors to conduct increasingly targeted and coordinated campaigns.
Which threat groups are actively targeting organisations across the Middle East and Africa, and how have their tactics evolved?
CloudSEK has observed activity involving state-sponsored groups such as APT33, APT34, MuddyWater and OilRig, alongside ideologically motivated actors and cybercriminal groups. Critical infrastructure and strategically important industries remain key targets. Attack methods now extend across distributed denial-of-service campaigns, hacking, cybercrime and targeted disruption.
Threat actors are also using AI to improve reconnaissance, automate elements of their operations and conduct more coordinated attacks against sectors such as government, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, real estate and critical infrastructure.
How does CloudSEK’s AIVigil help enterprises identify and manage AI-related attack-surface risks?
AI adoption is accelerating rapidly, but many organisations still lack formal governance policies for AI assets and associated cyber risks. This creates an attack surface that often remains unknown or poorly monitored. CloudSEK’s AIVigil monitors an organisation’s external AI attack surface, including large language models, AI tools, source-code libraries, databases and vector databases. The platform provides visibility into potential exposures across these environments, helping enterprises identify risks early and stay ahead of threat actors seeking to exploit AI infrastructure.
Why has third-party risk become a board-level compliance priority, and how does CloudSEK’s SVigil support emerging operational resilience requirements?
Third-party risk management has moved beyond a compliance exercise. Organisations inherit elements of a vendor’s attack surface and vulnerabilities when that vendor is connected to their systems or entrusted with sensitive data. Exposure can also originate from fourth-party providers operating deeper within the supply chain. Boards are increasingly accountable to investors and regulators for managing these risks. CloudSEK’s SVigil enables organisations to continuously monitor third- and fourth-party vendors for cyber vulnerabilities, deep and dark web exposure, and wider digital risks.
This visibility helps security teams identify weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them and strengthens operational resilience across the supply chain.
What has CloudSEK learned from securing the Middle East’s real estate and aviation sectors?
Real estate and aviation organisations have become high-value targets because they serve large customer bases, manage sensitive personally identifiable information and operate business-critical systems. CloudSEK’s work with major real estate companies in the UAE has revealed persistent attempts to harvest investor and customer data through targeted campaigns. Airports, airlines and aviation regulators face similar risks across interconnected IT and operational technology environments. Vulnerabilities within applications and operational systems can expose millions of passengers and disrupt essential services. These sectors must therefore adopt a proactive security approach based on continuous monitoring and early threat detection.
What does CloudSEK’s regional growth roadmap involve across local support, product development and partner engagement?
CloudSEK’s regional strategy combines local investment with a partner-led approach. The company has established an on-the-ground team spanning customer success, partner management and technical support to assist customers throughout their cybersecurity journey. Partners play a central role in its growth model through a structured programme focused on enablement, certification, education and incentives. CloudSEK also works with the Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, which supports introductions to government and enterprise customers. Continued investment in regional capabilities and close partner collaboration will remain central to the company’s expansion.
