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UAE Central Bank Establishes Cybersecurity Operations Center
According to Check Point Research, the United Arab Emirates has seen roughly 311 weekly attacks per organization this year alone.
Cyber attacks are a growing problem around the world, and the United Arab Emirates has so far experienced on average 40 percent more attacks weekly in 2021 compared to 2020. According to Check Point Research, the country has seen roughly 311 weekly attacks per organization this year alone. To combat the growing number of cyber threats coming from nation states and independent cybercriminal groups alike, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has announced the establishment of the CBUAE Networking and Cybersecurity Operations Center.
The main objective of the new Cybersecurity Operations Center will be the protection of the critical infrastructure that enables UAE’s financial sector to operate.
“In line with the CBUAE’s overarching vision, the CBUAE Networking and Cybersecurity Operations Center will strengthen the UAE’s monetary and financial systems,” said Dr. Sabri Hamed Al Azazi, Assistant Governor, Support Services and Operations, and Chief Operating Officer of CBUAE. “As Cybersecurity threats become increasingly sophisticated, it is critical that we have the necessary framework to protect our financial institutions, their infrastructure, processes, and people from these challenges”.
The Cybersecurity Operations Center will be situated in CBUAE’s Abu Dhabi headquarters. Its proximity to the nation’s major financial institutions should bring better collaboration among decision-makers, helping them respond to cybersecurity threats as they emerge.
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The UK technology comparison website Comparitech analyzed the cost of cyber crime in the UAE, the figure it came up with was $746 million a year. As alarming as the number may be, it doesn’t even tell the whole story because cyber crime in the region is still severely underreported by police, government entities, as well as individuals.
Hopefully, the new Cybersecurity Operations Center will help improve the resilience and preparedness of the financial sector so that the UAE can achieve sustainable economic growth.
News
Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power
Egypt’s telecom regulator says $57.6 billion moved through more than 57 million wallets in six months. And one operator handled 77% of the value.
Egypt’s mobile wallets handled EGP 2.96 trillion ($57.6 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority – a 56% rise on the EGP 1.90 trillion ($36.9 billion) recorded a year earlier. Transactions grew faster still, up 62% to 2.22 billion, while registered wallets climbed 23% to 57.01 million.
On one reading, that is exactly what Egypt’s regulators have been pushing for: a payments system that runs through telecom-linked wallets rather than banknotes. But the same data shows how far cash still reaches into it. Cash withdrawals made up just 12% of the transactions taking money out of wallets, yet 75% of the value withdrawn or spent.
Money arrives mostly from bank accounts: transfers through InstaPay accounted for 78% of deposit transactions and 58% of the value deposited, while incoming remittances from abroad made up 3% of deposit transactions but 10% of their value. Once inside, it largely moves between wallets – wallet-to-wallet transfers accounted for 54% of all transactions and 67% of total value, with mobile and internet top-ups a distant second at 25% of volume. In effect, the wallet is serving as a transfer layer: the place money passes through between the bank account and the banknote.
That layer also runs predominantly through one operator. Vodafone Cash held 53% of registered wallets and 57% of active ones, but handled 69% of transactions and 77% of their value. Its nearest rival, e& money, held 23% of registered wallets but 14% of transaction value; Orange Cash 20% and 8%; WE Pay 4% of wallets. How many of the 57.01 million are active is not stated.
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Adoption is rather uneven in other respects. Men held 38 million wallets, or 67% of the total, against 19 million held by women. Users aged 26 to 45 accounted for half of all wallets, and Cairo alone had 10.6 million, or 19% of the national total, with Giza next at 6.5 million.
The NTRA says it is continuing to work with telecom operators on the regulatory framework for wallet services, part of a wider effort to expand electronic payments and financial inclusion. Its own figures show that effort succeeding on the way in. On the way out, three-quarters of the value still leaves as cash.
Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power
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