66% of UAE Organisations Flag AI’s Speed of Growth as a Security Challenge
A new Thales report finds that as generative AI accelerates innovation across the Emirates, it’s also widening the cracks in the nation’s digital defenses
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AI may be transforming the United Arab Emirates faster than almost anywhere else on Earth but the country is also keeping its guards up.
According to the 2025 Thales Data Threat Report, two-thirds of organizations in the UAE now rank the speed of AI, especially generative AI as their top security concern. The study, carried out by S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 451 Research, surveyed more than 3,000 IT and cybersecurity professionals across 20 countries, and revealed how the technology is highly adaptable yet causing a sense of anxiety among users.
In the UAE, where AI has become a fundamental national ambition, the tension between innovation and risk is palpable. Eleven percent of businesses say generative AI is already reshaping their operations, but nearly 60% admit they struggle to trust it. A LinkedIn report released in August pegged the UAE’s AI adoption rate at 80%—up from 56% just a year earlier—placing it second only to India worldwide.
The boom, however, is outpacing security preparedness.
The Thales report suggests that as companies race to integrate AI into everyday workflows, they’re often running ahead of their own defensive systems. Cyber budgets in the UAE have surged by 35% in the past year, outpacing global averages, yet the attacks continue to multiply: 7 in 10 firms say they’ve endured ransomware strikes over the last two years.
Globally, protecting AI systems now ranks just below cloud security as the world’s second-biggest digital investment priority. In the UAE, nearly two-thirds of organizations have already committed resources to AI-specific safeguards.
But AI isn’t the only threat. Quantum computing is emerging as the next big concern.
Sixty-four percent of UAE respondents worry that advances in quantum processing could undermine encryption itself—threatening the very mechanism by which data is kept safe. Others warn of “harvest now, decrypt later” scenarios, where sensitive information stolen today could be decoded years from now with quantum power.
Half of the organizations surveyed are tightening privacy frameworks to reinforce digital sovereignty, while a third are betting on stronger encryption and key management to keep them ahead of the curve.
