At GISEC Global 2026 the UAE Cyber Security Council outlined a strategy that combines AI-powered defence, sovereign cyber capabilities and preparatory work for quantum-era threats, while calling for international collaboration.
The UAE reports more than 800,000 daily cyber attacks against national infrastructure and strategic assets, prompting a national push toward AI-enabled detection and response.
Sovereign capabilities are being expanded: the UAE unveiled a V7 malware detection model that reportedly achieved 94.7% detection accuracy during benchmarking.
Quantum computing is being treated as a medium-term risk: the country is planning migration to post-quantum cryptography and investing in quantum research and communications.
At GISEC Global 2026 UAE officials described a strategic shift in national cyber planning driven by two technological trends: rapid AI adoption and emerging quantum capabilities. The Cyber Security Council framed these trends as both defensive tools and sources of new risk.
The council said the UAE faces more than 800,000 cyber attacks per day aimed at national infrastructure and strategic assets. These attacks go beyond volumetric DDoS incidents and include advanced persistent threats, supply chain compromises, ransomware and destructive malware targeting operational technology.
AI is central to the UAE's digital transformation and its defence posture. Officials reiterated an ambition tied to the UAE Centennial 2071 programme to increase AI-driven government services, with a target that half of government services become agentic in nature. At the same time delegates highlighted how AI lowers barriers for attackers, accelerates attack speed and multiplies complexity.
Defenders are responding by deploying AI-driven security operations, autonomous detection, behavioural analytics and security copilots. The council presented sovereign AI initiatives designed to protect critical infrastructure and reduce dependence on external suppliers.
Sovereign cyber capabilities and V7 model
A concrete outcome announced at GISEC was the release of the V7 cyber security model. The council described V7 as a fine-tuned malware detection model used for malware identification, vulnerability detection and penetration testing support. When benchmarked against other systems the model reportedly achieved more than 94.7% detection accuracy. This sits within a broader push to build local data infrastructure, sovereign cloud environments and domestically developed security technologies.
Conference discussions moved beyond AI to consider quantum technologies as a future security challenge. While large-scale quantum computing remains nascent, the UAE is positioning for quantum by exploring quantum communications, quantum-safe encryption and migration strategies toward post-quantum cryptography. Delegates emphasized that quantum could eventually undermine current encryption methods and that planning should begin now.
Collective readiness and partnerships
UAE officials highlighted the limits of unilateral action and called for partnerships across governments and the private sector. The message at GISEC stressed shared responsibility: national preparedness programmes, information sharing, joint research and coordinated responses are required to manage transnational threats amplified by advanced technologies.
The UAE's GISEC presentations present a pragmatic programme: scale up AI-enabled defences, develop sovereign cyber tools such as the V7 model, and start preparing for quantum risks. International cooperation and shared readiness are central to the strategy.
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