The Banking Executive Magazine - September 2025 Issue

UAE banking sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation in digital innovation and cybersecurity, capi- talising on advanced infrastructure and flexible legislation The UAE banking sector has emerged as a global leader in digital banking security. In addition to rolling out digital channels for cus- tomer services, UAE banks have in- vested heavily in data platforms, advanced analytics, and artificial in- telligence solutions to personalise services, strengthen fraud detection, and enhance the overall customer experience. In statements, cybersecurity experts said that the UAE banking sector is undergoing a fundamental transfor- mation in digital innovation and cy- bersecurity, capitalising on advanced infrastructure and flexible legislation. The sector continues to combine in- vestment in the latest technologies with strengthened protection capa- bilities to counter growing threats. Richard Cassidy, Chief Information Security Officer for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Rubrik, a data management and cybersecurity com- pany, said the UAE’s banking sector is entering a new phase of digital transformation accompanied by an increasing focus on strengthening cyber defense, in response to rapidly evolving global threats and regula- tory requirements. He added that artificial intelligence and big data have become central el- ements of digital security strategies. Banks in the UAE are deploying AI- powered tools to monitor unusual behavior in real time and to analyse vast amounts of data quickly and ac- curately to detect suspicious activi- ties. Multi-factor authentication, in- cluding biometric verification and app-based login systems, also con- tributes to strengthening protection for both individual and corporate clients. He stressed that the adoption of arti- ficial intelligence technologies repre- sents a promising opportunity for banks—not only in enhancing their ability to detect and prevent financial fraud but also in enabling their de- fensive systems to continuously learn from past incidents, becoming smarter and more adaptive over time. He noted that UAE banks demon- strate high resilience in development and innovation despite the evolution of cyber threats, through close col- laboration with all stakeholders, cus- tomer awareness initiatives, and the maintenance of effective emergency response plans. For his part, Zeid Shubailat, Director at Infobip, a cloud communications company, said that in recent years, UAE banks have witnessed a qualita- tive leap in their approach to digital security, moving from traditional pro- tection models to advanced intelli- gence- and analytics-driven systems. He added that the rapid adoption of digital channels—from online bank- ing services to instant payments and mobile-first experiences—has in- creased the pace of threats, prompt- ing banks to adopt sophisticated real-time fraud detection systems and activate secure, multi-channel com- munication that immediately notifies customers of any unusual activity. He emphasised that artificial intelli- gence and big data are now the cor- nerstones of these advanced efforts. By analysing device identity informa- tion, login patterns, and transaction behavior, AI models can detect un- usual activity in fractions of a sec- ond, while big data analytics helps uncover broader fraud networks and the fake accounts linked to them. He pointed out that some UAE banks have already begun implementing these intelligent models, alongside automated digital assistants that effi- ciently handle common fraud sce- narios at scale while seamlessly escalating complex cases to spe- cialised teams when needed. He explained that regulatory frame- works have played a decisive role in accelerating this transformation, en- couraging banks to move away from traditional authentication methods such as SMS or email activation codes, towards more advanced and secure authentication solutions, in- cluding app-based authentication and biometric verification. He affirmed that fraud prevention systems will be reshaped in the next phase through behavioral biometric verification, unified alerts across multiple channels, and interactive customer experiences that enable smooth transitions from alert to ac- tion, within a streamlined, simplified process. The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) launched in 2017 its cyber threat in- telligence sharing platform, “Tasharuk” initiative, launched by UBF. The platform allows banks to share incidents of cyber-attacks and findings of investigations to help them thwart potential malicious threat ISSUE 201 SEPTEMBER 2025 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 17 UAE BANKING SECTOR SETS GLOBAL MODEL IN AI-DRIVEN DIGITAL BANKING SECURITY