Welcome to SOCRadar’s Gulf Region Threat Landscape Report 2026!

Explore the evolving cyber threats targeting the Gulf region with SOCRadar’s Gulf Region Threat Landscape Report 2026. This report highlights how threat actors focus on the UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar through Dark Web data exposure, espionage, unauthorized access, ransomware activity, phishing campaigns, and credential harvesting. With data breach and compromise dominating Dark Web activity and the UAE carrying disproportionate risk across all major threat types, the Gulf region’s threat landscape reflects a mix of financial, geopolitical, and operational cyber risks.

Download the full report today to gain strategic visibility into cyber risks affecting the Gulf region and strengthen your organization’s defenses.

Key Insights from the Gulf Region’s Cyber Threat Landscape

• Data Theft Defines the Threat Landscape: Data Breach and Compromise accounts for 49.52% of Dark Web threat categories and 46.35% of threat types.
• The UAE Carries the Highest Cross-Threat Exposure: The UAE accounts for 33.70% of Dark Web threats, 56.36% of ransomware attacks, and 48.51% of phishing campaigns.
• Iran’s Risk Is More Geopolitical Than Financial: Iran accounts for 29.09% of Dark Web targeting but drops to 3.81% in ransomware and 10.30% in phishing.
• Public Administration and Finance Lead Dark Web Targeting: Public Administration accounts for 24.53% of Dark Web threats, followed by Finance and Insurance at 18.50%.
• The Top Five Industries Carry Most Exposure: Public Administration, Finance and Insurance, Information, Retail Trade, and Transportation and Warehousing together account for nearly 70% of targeting activity.
• Credential Abuse Supports Larger Operations: Unauthorized Access and Credentials accounts for 10.18% of Dark Web threat categories and 13.23% of threat types.
• Ransomware Is Highly Concentrated by Country: The UAE absorbs 56.36% of ransomware attacks in the Gulf region, followed by Saudi Arabia at 17.80%.
• Ransomware Actors Remain Fragmented: RansomHub leads at 20.9%, followed by LockBit at 15.4% and CoinbaseCartel at 13.2%, while “Other” groups account for 50.5%.
• Finance Dominates Phishing Targeting: Finance, Insurance, and Banking together account for over 36% of phishing incidents.
• Phishing Infrastructure Is Often Reused Globally: French-language loading and redirect page titles account for over 24% of phishing pages, suggesting large-scale reused phishing kits.
• HTTPS Is No Longer a Reliable Trust Signal: 82.3% of phishing sites targeting the Gulf region use HTTPS, making the browser padlock unreliable as a safety indicator.

Why This Report Matters

The Gulf region’s threat landscape shows that cyber risk differs sharply by country, sector, and attack type. The UAE stands out as the primary target across Dark Web activity, ransomware, and phishing, reflecting its role as a commercial, financial, and digital hub. Iran shows a different profile, with high Dark Web exposure but much lower ransomware and phishing shares, pointing to intelligence-driven and geopolitical activity rather than primarily financial cybercrime.

The report also shows a clear divide between threat motivations. Dark Web activity focuses heavily on public administration, finance, data theft, espionage, and access sales. Ransomware shifts toward commercial sectors where disruption can create pressure, while phishing concentrates on financial services where stolen credentials can be quickly monetized.

For government, finance, information services, transportation, retail, and critical-sector organizations, early visibility into leaked data, credential exposure, ransomware activity, and phishing infrastructure is critical. Defenders need threat intelligence that reflects both state-linked activity and financially motivated cybercrime.

Take Action Now

• Dark Web Monitoring: Detect leaked data, exposed credentials, unauthorized access listings, and high-value records tied to Gulf region entities.
• Ransomware Intelligence: Track RansomHub, LockBit, CoinbaseCartel, and smaller ransomware groups targeting the region.
• Phishing Detection & Response: Identify finance, banking, insurance, redirect-based, French-language, and HTTPS-enabled phishing campaigns.
• Critical Sector Monitoring: Track exposure affecting public administration, finance, information services, transportation, and digital infrastructure.
• Access Security: Strengthen MFA, monitor privileged accounts, rotate exposed credentials, and reduce credential-based attack paths.