'Seeing isn't believing any more': UAE cyber security chief on rising threat of AI deepfakes

Education is the key to tackling the rise of scams generated by the use of artificial intelligence, a senior Emirati official has said.

Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE's Cybersecurity Council, said public awareness on the risks posed by AI generated scams was a key factor in combatting cybercrooks.

As the capacity of AI becomes more advanced, so too do the threats posed by criminals using the latest technology to try to con people and companies.

CommentDo content creators have any chance at all against AI?

“We need the people to be our first line of defence," he told The National on the opening day of the Gitex technology conference taking place this week in Dubai. "And that's what we are focusing on. Our people, whoever clicks on that link, whoever looks at that deepfake, whoever actually accesses any of this data, they are the ones who need to be educated enough to know and understand that this could harm them.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, this year announced that AI was to be introduced as a subject across all stages of government education throughout the UAE.

A report from cyber protection solutions provider NetScout Systems explained how cyber criminals were stepping up their efforts in the region during the first half of 2025. Throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, NetScout said it had observed more than 3.2 million DDoS attacks.

This is the term given to a cyber attack in which actors and groups use co-ordination and several computers to overwhelm a network server with internet traffic, which then prevents users from accessing websites.

Enrique Caballero, head of international sales with Identt, said cyber criminals are able to manipulate photographs to create deepfake videos. Victor Besa / The National

In the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia received the highest frequency of attempted cyber attacks from January to June, with 270,179 recorded. The UAE was subjected to 3,477 attempted attacks but had the longest DDoS attack duration, averaging 27 minutes.

The rise of cyber threats was a key reason why the UAE is teaching AI at government-run schools, he said.

“You need to build that culture. You need to understand what is what in cyberspace,” Dr Al Kuwaiti said. "It's no longer [a case of] seeing is believing."

Deepfakes on the rise

The advancement of AI has acted as a catalyst in raising the level of sophisticated cyber attacks, another expert warned at Gitex on Monday.

“We've seen a boom in deepfakes during the last two years and this is basically because of Generative AI," said Enrique Caballero, head of international sales with Polish digital identity firm Identt.

“It's a race, so we are using AI against AI. We are checking each of the different threats that we've seen in the news or in our own research and trying to be ahead against these type of threats.”

He said cyber criminals can now animate somebody's face into a video just by manipulating a photograph of them.

What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.

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AndhaDhun

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

RESULT

Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)

Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)

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Scorebox

Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)

Wanderers

Tries Gormley, Penalty

Cons Flaherty

Pens Flaherty 2

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Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly

Cons Caldwell 2

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

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