Emirati official reveals Israel helped repel a cyber attack on the Gulf state

UAE cyber security head, Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, says the Israelis and 'its many companies have helped us and are still helping us to build a cyber iron dome'

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) cyber security head, Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, said Israel and “its national cyber system” helped repel a cyber attack against the Gulf state, Kan reported on Thursday.

During a speech at the Cyber Week conference this week in Tel Aviv, Al-Kuwaiti said "Israel and its national cyber system helped us repel a DDo denial-of-service cyber attack." He went on to thank the Jewish state for setting up the "cyber Iron Dome."

"The great start-up nation (Israel) and its many companies have helped us and are still helping us to build a cyber iron dome or improve the existing one," he said.

The national cyber systems of Israel and the UAE, along with dozens of cyber systems in other countries, have launched a global information-sharing platform to combat hacking and ransomware. "We face common challenges in the cyber field," said Israel's head of the national cyber system, Gabi Portnoy. 

"The attack surface is expanding with new technologies and the growing motivation of cyber attackers. We must meet the challenges with our partners, using the knowledge we have acquired and new technologies for better and faster protection,” Portnoy added.

Following a 2020 normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, as part of the Abraham Accords, the nations also embarked on a series of cooperative ventures. In addition, tourism has also boomed, with an estimated 150,000 Israelis visiting the Gulf state in 2022.

"The historic peace accord we signed with the UAE continues to bear fruit for the benefit of the citizens of both countries," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the budding relationship, during a signing of an economic agreement in March.

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