Cyber attacks on financial institutions surged 238 per cent globally between February and April last year, as more consumers began transacting online at the peak of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, according to cyber security firm VMware Carbon Black.
Last month, the Central Bank of the UAE and the UAE Banks Federation conducted a ‘cyber war gaming’ exercise or a simulation drill to assess the preparedness of the country's banking sector amid potential cyber threats.
“The war gaming exercise as a community has never been more important … in order to rehearse, train, test our ecosystems, make quicker decisions and build muscle memory,” Mohammed Darwish Azad, group chief information and security officer of Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest lender by assets, said.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitisation – a trend that was already underway in the UAE – at an unprecedented rate.
“Digital banking offers customers convenience and faster processing of financial transactions … it [also] heightens vulnerabilities that banks spend years pre-empting and preparing for,” Hariprasad Chede, head of information security risk at National Bank of Fujairah, said.
The National looks at the importance of cyber simulation drills in the banking sector.
What is cyber war gaming?
It involves a cyber attack orchestrated through KPMG’s proprietary platforms that includes multiple scenarios and attack vectors such as malicious email attachments, pop-up messages and chat rooms.
All participating banks respond to these scenarios, testing their incident response and crisis management capabilities in real time.
“The cyber simulation is [a] cross-functional exercise … it requires us to conduct detailed planning, complex scenario building, designing the cyber range for technical teams, training and awareness, testing the range and collaborating across banks,” said Mr Azad, who is also the UBF's information security chairperson.
Banks’ response
In the last month’s drill, technical team members from different banks were challenged to react to real life scenarios by detecting, containing and responding to diverse online threats.
Management and executive management team members were challenged to collaborate, apply their respective cyber response strategies and take quick decisions at critical moments.
“Our preparations involved constant dry runs and connecting the story line before the training and simulation days … [and] supporting our leaders to power through the exercise,” Mr Azad said.
Top takeaways
Cyber resilience is critical for modern financial systems, as disruptions can have a “far-reaching impact for banks and the economy”, according to Jamal Saleh, UBF director general. He added that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of cyber resilience to protect the integrity of the banking system.
Cyber war gaming is one of the tools to help the banking sector test and evaluate institutional preparedness, he said.
“Conducting simulation drill of multiple scenarios and attack vectors is one of the innovative ways to collaborate at the national level with banks and relevant stakeholders to deal with cyber threat scenarios,” Mr Saleh said.
Effective communication and being prepared for the unknown are important to deal with such crises, Mr Azad said.
How serious is the threat?
A 2019 report by Accenture revealed that the average annualised cost of cyber crime for financial organisations worldwide increased to $18.5 million – the highest of all industries included in the study. It was almost 40 per cent higher than the average cost of $13m per firm across other industries.
“Our biggest strength is the culture we have built with our employees, partners and customers as we continue to invest in awareness campaigns and sessions to ensure they are fully equipped to counter potential cyber security threats,” Mr Chede said.
“As a result, after measuring our staff’s readiness to cyber security, we can report that their ability to mitigate threats has increased by 90 per cent over the last five years,” he added.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
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Pieces of Her
Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick
Director: Minkie Spiro
Rating:2/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
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Power: 592bhp
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Read more about the coronavirus
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
