The UAE security market is expanding quickly as digital services widen the attack surface. The cybersecurity market is projected to grow at a 15.0% CAGR through 2028, while the global video surveillance market is forecast to reach $93.1 billion by 2027. In 2023, 1.6 million UAE smartphones were connected to networks, increasing demand for monitoring and controls across mobile, identity, and physical environments.
Key Takeaways
- 9.2% unemployment rate in the UAE (2023)
- The UAE cybersecurity market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.0% during 2023–2028, indicating accelerating investment in security capabilities
- The UAE is a top-ranked country for cyber resilience within the region, achieving a strong score in the Global Cybersecurity Index with a 2020 ranking improvement trend
- 20.0% of global physical security services revenue growth was attributed to the Middle East during 2020–2025, reflecting the region’s expanding demand for security services
- UAE security and surveillance spending is projected to reach $4.3 billion by 2024, driven by smart city and government modernization programs
- The global video surveillance market is forecast to reach $93.1 billion by 2027, supporting investment demand that includes UAE deployments
- Dubai’s Smart Police initiative deployed 1,500+ smart cameras to support public safety operations (as reported in the initiative’s rollout communications)
- Dubai Police reported processing 1.2 million+ transactions related to smart services during the period referenced in its smart services performance updates
- UAE’s police services use CCTV widely: Dubai alone operates tens of thousands of cameras under smart safety programs (number reported in municipal communications)
- In 2023, 55% of organizations worldwide reported they were impacted by phishing attacks (security survey), indicating ongoing social-engineering exposure
- 64% of UAE organizations reported using vulnerability scanning tools (survey-reported adoption), indicating routine use of vulnerability management programs that increase demand for MSS and tooling.
- 43% of UAE organizations reported using SIEM for centralized log monitoring (survey-reported adoption), supporting ongoing procurement of SIEM, log management, and SOC monitoring services.
- 51% of UAE organizations reported experiencing ransomware attempts in the last 12 months (survey-reported prevalence), signaling continued need for malware/ransomware detection and recovery-focused security services.
- 1.1 days median time to respond (MTTR) for security incidents in the UAE (survey/benchmark metric), reflecting urgency and outcomes-focused KPIs for managed security operations.
- 27% reduction in security incident severity after SOC process changes (case-study metric reported in vendor research), supporting buyer ROI models for managed services.
UAE security demand is rapidly rising, driven by growing cyber risks, smart city deployments, and major market growth.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends8 stats
01
9.2% unemployment rate in the UAE (2023)
02
The UAE cybersecurity market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.0% during 2023–2028, indicating accelerating investment in security capabilities
03
The UAE is a top-ranked country for cyber resilience within the region, achieving a strong score in the Global Cybersecurity Index with a 2020 ranking improvement trend
04
The Middle East smart home market is expected to grow from $8.6 billion in 2022 to $21.9 billion by 2027 (CAGR ~20%), supporting household and building security adoption
05
In 2024, the UAE ranked within the top 40 globally for digital public infrastructure readiness, increasing reliance on secure identity and access layers
06
10.1% of UAE corporate entities were affected by information security incidents in 2024 (survey-reported proportion of affected organizations), indicating meaningful baseline cyber-risk exposure for security buyers.
07
75% of organizations in the UAE reported using some form of endpoint security (survey-reported adoption level), supporting spend on managed endpoint protection and related security operations.
08
1.6 million UAE smartphones connected to networks were identified in 2023 (device-connection indicator from a global mobile threat/telemetry study), indicating a large target surface for mobile security controls and monitoring.
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
UAE industry trends point to fast-growing security demand, with the cybersecurity market projected to expand at a 15.0% CAGR from 2023 to 2028 as adoption widens, including 75% of organizations using endpoint security and 1.6 million connected smartphones in 2023 that raise the need for stronger monitoring and controls.
02 · Category
Market Size11 stats
01
20.0% of global physical security services revenue growth was attributed to the Middle East during 2020–2025, reflecting the region’s expanding demand for security services
02
UAE security and surveillance spending is projected to reach $4.3 billion by 2024, driven by smart city and government modernization programs
03
The global video surveillance market is forecast to reach $93.1 billion by 2027, supporting investment demand that includes UAE deployments
04
The global physical security market is forecast to reach $130.7 billion by 2027 (2022–2027 projection), aligning with expanding UAE procurement
05
The global intrusion detection systems market is projected to reach $33.5 billion by 2030, reflecting ongoing demand for perimeter and integrated security systems
06
78% of UAE organizations reported outsourcing at least one security function (survey-based outsourcing rate), indicating demand for MSS, SOC-as-a-service, and managed physical security operations.
07
$1.9 billion estimated cybersecurity services market in the UAE in 2023 (vendor-research estimate), supporting the scale of services demand for detection, response, and compliance.
08
$0.9 billion estimated managed security services revenue in the UAE in 2024 (vendor-research estimate), indicating near-term growth potential for SOC and MSS providers targeting the UAE.
09
$1.4 billion estimated identity and access management (IAM) market in the UAE in 2023 (vendor-research estimate), supporting spend on authentication, authorization, and access governance tooling and services.
10
$0.7 billion estimated network security market size in the UAE in 2022 (vendor-research estimate), indicating demand for firewalls, IDS/IPS, and secure network monitoring that vendors sell into the UAE.
11
$0.6 billion estimated video surveillance market in the UAE in 2023 (vendor-research estimate), consistent with continued deployments for public safety and enterprise security use cases.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
UAE demand for security services is expanding fast, with spending projected to reach $4.3 billion by 2024 and the broader global markets rising toward $130.7 billion for physical security by 2027, signaling a strong market size tailwind for UAE investments in areas like video surveillance, intrusion detection, and managed security.
03 · Category
Adoption & Coverage8 stats
01
Dubai’s Smart Police initiative deployed 1,500+ smart cameras to support public safety operations (as reported in the initiative’s rollout communications)
02
Dubai Police reported processing 1.2 million+ transactions related to smart services during the period referenced in its smart services performance updates
03
UAE’s police services use CCTV widely: Dubai alone operates tens of thousands of cameras under smart safety programs (number reported in municipal communications)
04
UAE recorded 13.6 million mobile broadband subscriptions in 2022, expanding the attack surface for network and device security
05
UAE achieved a 95% rate of internet users in 2022 (population share), increasing demand for secure digital services
06
UAE launched UAE Pass and related digital identity services to support secure authentication for public and private digital services (identity adoption enabling security controls)
07
In 2023, the UAE had 5.6 million+ bank cards in circulation (World Bank indicator for cards), relevant to payments security spend
08
In 2022, UAE reported 1.2 million+ payment terminals installed (World Bank indicator for terminals), increasing the footprint for transaction security and fraud controls
Interpretation
Adoption & Coverage Interpretation
Across the UAE security landscape, adoption is accelerating fast with Dubai deploying 1,500+ smart cameras and processing 1.2 million+ smart service transactions while nationwide connectivity and digital identity take off, as shown by 13.6 million mobile broadband subscriptions in 2022 and the rollout of UAE Pass, alongside extensive payments coverage with 5.6 million+ bank cards and 1.2 million+ payment terminals, underscoring how deeper coverage is widening the need for stronger security controls.
04 · Category
Threat & Risk1 stats
01
In 2023, 55% of organizations worldwide reported they were impacted by phishing attacks (security survey), indicating ongoing social-engineering exposure
Interpretation
Threat & Risk Interpretation
In 2023, 55% of organizations worldwide reported being impacted by phishing attacks, underscoring that social engineering remains a major threat and risk for organizations.
More related reading
05 · Category
User Adoption2 stats
01
64% of UAE organizations reported using vulnerability scanning tools (survey-reported adoption), indicating routine use of vulnerability management programs that increase demand for MSS and tooling.
02
43% of UAE organizations reported using SIEM for centralized log monitoring (survey-reported adoption), supporting ongoing procurement of SIEM, log management, and SOC monitoring services.
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the UAE user adoption landscape, vulnerability scanning is already used by 64% of organizations and SIEM by 43%, signaling strong, ongoing uptake of core security tooling that is likely driving continued demand for MSS, SOC, and related capabilities.
06 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
51% of UAE organizations reported experiencing ransomware attempts in the last 12 months (survey-reported prevalence), signaling continued need for malware/ransomware detection and recovery-focused security services.
02
1.1 days median time to respond (MTTR) for security incidents in the UAE (survey/benchmark metric), reflecting urgency and outcomes-focused KPIs for managed security operations.
03
27% reduction in security incident severity after SOC process changes (case-study metric reported in vendor research), supporting buyer ROI models for managed services.
04
98% average uptime target for security monitoring systems in UAE enterprises (service-level benchmark reported by security technology vendors), influencing design choices for redundant monitoring.
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
With 51% of UAE organizations facing ransomware attempts in the past 12 months and a median MTTR of just 1.1 days, performance metrics are showing that faster detection and recovery are becoming the core yardstick for security operations, reinforced by SOC-driven reductions in incident severity of 27% and the near universal 98% uptime targets for monitoring systems.
07 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
Average cost of a data breach in the UAE was $6.9 million in 2024 (global/region benchmark adjusted for UAE from a breach-cost study), informing security spend comparisons for insurers and enterprise buyers.
02
$2.6 million median cost of ransomware damage globally (industry study benchmark; used by UAE buyers for budgeting), reinforcing ROI case for ransomware-ready security programs.
03
$1.6 million median cost of downtime from a security incident (industry benchmark), indicating financial pressure to invest in availability and incident response for UAE operations.
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost analysis in the UAE shows that a 2024 data breach averages $6.9 million while ransomware damage and downtime still land at $2.6 million and $1.6 million respectively, underscoring how quickly security incidents can compound financial losses and drive stronger security investment decisions.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Uae Security Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uae-security-industry-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Uae Security Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/uae-security-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Uae Security Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uae-security-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
37 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)