UAE Banks Run 350+ Expert Cyber Wargame to Test Real-World Attack Response

For cybersecurity professionals, the UAE's wargaming exercise is a blueprint for intelligence-led defense: it translates adversary TTPs into hands-on simulations that test not just technical controls but management decision-making under pressure. The inclusion of telecoms and insurers alongside banks reflects a recognition that modern attack surfaces span entire digital supply chains, making this a model for sector-wide resilience testing.

The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) has conducted the fifth edition of its National Cyber Wargaming exercise, bringing together over 350 participants from the banking, payments, telecom, and insurance sectors to test and improve cyber incident response capabilities. Held under the supervision of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and the UAE Cybersecurity Council, the event represents a sustained, regulator-driven push to elevate the cyber resilience of the nation’s financial infrastructure. This year’s wargaming featured advanced simulations designed to mimic real-world attack scenarios, enabling management teams and cybersecurity professionals to practice responding to breaches, ransomware, and other threats while identifying gaps in their defenses. The inclusion of entities like Al Etihad Payments, e&, Du, and Gulf Insurance Group signals an understanding that cyber risk extends beyond traditional banking into the broader digital ecosystem that supports financial services.

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The inclusion of entities like Al Etihad Payments, e&, Du, and Gulf Insurance Group signals an understanding that cyber risk extends beyond traditional banking into the broader digital ecosystem that supports financial services.

The exercise is part of a multi-year strategy by UAE authorities to harden the financial sector against an increasingly hostile threat landscape. In 2024 and 2025, the Middle East experienced a sharp rise in financially motivated cyberattacks, including ransomware campaigns targeting banks and SWIFT-related fraud attempts. By institutionalizing wargaming at the federation level, the CBUAE ensures that readiness is tested not just within individual banks but across interconnected third parties, payment switches, and cloud providers. The 350+ participation figure — spanning senior management to operational security staff — suggests a holistic approach that goes beyond technical drills to include governance, communication, and supply-chain coordination.

From a threat-intelligence perspective, the event’s focus on techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) of real threat actors is critical. It moves organizations beyond checkbox compliance toward adaptive defense. The simulations likely covered scenarios such as phishing-based initial access, lateral movement within hybrid-cloud environments, and data exfiltration techniques seen in recent APT campaigns targeting the region. For financial institutions, which hold sensitive customer data and operate under strict Basel-based risk frameworks, the ability to rapidly contain an incident directly impacts capital adequacy, reputational standing, and regulatory fines. Ebrahim Al Zaabi, CBUAE’s Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, underscored that cyber resilience is a “shared responsibility” and called for sustained investment in digital infrastructure and incident response capabilities — a clear signal that future regulatory expectations will be tied to demonstrated readiness, not just policy documentation.