a day ago
Cyber Threats in 2025: How Key Stakeholders in the Middle East Can Stay One Step Ahead
In an era marked by fast-paced digitisation and AI-driven innovation, the region's strategic sectors - finance, government, telecom have become prime targets for an increasingly sophisticated breed of cybercriminals. From deepfake-powered scams to state-backed espionage, the threats are no longer at the door - they're already inside the system.
In a recent video interview, Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB, shared exclusive insights on the findings of the firm's High-Tech Crime Trends Report 2025, a comprehensive guide that's fast-becoming essential reading for CISOs and other decision makers in the region.
"Cybercrime today is not just evolving, it's adapting to the way we work, live, and build," says Volkov. "Threat actors are using artificial intelligence, targeting regional economic powerhouses, and exploiting our own digital infrastructure against us."
According to Group-IB's latest findings, the most urgent threat sweeping across the Middle East is fraud in all its forms, especially AI-powered fraud, which includes deepfakes, voice cloning, and hyper-targeted phishing attacks.
"What's particularly alarming is how attackers are now impersonating oil and gas firms rather than banks,' explains Volkov. 'They're adapting to the region's economic structure and exploiting public trust in iconic brands and institutions."
Persistent Threats and the Rise of Hacktivism
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, many of which are nation-state sponsored, are now targeting sectors that form the backbone of regional security. These attackers are no longer just stealing data, they're laying the groundwork for long-term disruption.
"Some threat actors are leveraging politically motivated hacktivists to do their bidding - often unknowingly," Volkov adds. "We're seeing coordinated campaigns where hacktivism and espionage blur dangerously."
For security leaders, the technical landscape is clear. Email remains a top entry point for attackers, with phishing campaigns evolving in complexity. Meanwhile, remote access tools like VPNs and firewalls meant to protect are now being exploited for lateral movement within networks.
"CISOs must closely monitor both compromise credentials in dark web and internal access controls,' warns Volkov. 'It's no longer about building a wall - it's about monitoring every door and window, continuously."
Building Cyber Resilience from the Inside Out
So how can organizations stay ahead? According to Volkov, the key lies in building end-to-end cyber resilience from the cloud to the customer.
"In sectors like finance and telecom, behavior-based threat detection is crucial," he says. "It's not enough to know something went wrong, you have to detect what's out of character before the damage is done."
Moreover, with AI becoming central to business strategies, securing the full AI lifecycle - from data ingestion to model deployment - has emerged as a new boardroom priority.
Group-IB's Three-Pronged Defense Strategy
To address these evolving threats, Group-IB is helping businesses secure their environment across three key dimensions.
First, beyond the perimeter, the company's Threat Intelligence solutions offer early warnings by monitoring dark web activity and tracking threat actors before they strike. "We don't wait for an attack to happen, we anticipate it," says Volkov.
Second, at the perimeter, Group-IB's External Attack Surface Management simulates how hackers view a business, identifying and patching the most vulnerable entry points. "If you don't know what's exposed, you can't protect it," he explains.
Finally, inside the network, the company's company's Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solution consolidates detection and response across emails, endpoints, servers, and cloud infrastructure. This gives security teams full visibility and enables fast incident remediation. As Volkov puts it, "It's the difference between a breach becoming a headline - or a footnote."
Why CISOs Need the 2025 Report
"To make the right decisions, you need to understand the wrong moves others have made - before you repeat them," he advises. "This report helps leaders not just react, but predict, plan, and prepare."
