Gulf Cybersecurity Spend To Surpass AED 120 Billion By 2030

Cybersecurity spending across the Gulf is expected to exceed AED 120 billion by 2030, more than doubling from 2024 levels. The projection comes from Grand View Research’s 2025 study, 'Cyber Resilience in the Gulf: Where Technology Meets Sovereign Risk', which outlines how national strategies and new technologies are shaping the region’s security posture. The study reports that the Middle East and Africa cybersecurity sector generated AED 60.6 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach AED 120.7 billion by 2030, reflecting a 12.5% compound annual growth rate. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to account for more than 60% of regional investment as both countries scale digital infrastructure under long-term national programmes. In the UAE, investment is directed toward AI-driven threat intelligence, zero-trust frameworks, and sovereign cloud ecosystems under the national Cybersecurity Strategy 2025–31. The report expects the UAE’s AI cybersecurity market to grow from AED 4.4 billion to AED 19.7 billion by 2030, while zero-trust frameworks are set to triple in value to AED 3.47 billion. In Saudi Arabia, AI-based cybersecurity revenues are projected to rise from AED 4.6 billion to AED 16.5 billion by 2030, with the National Cybersecurity Authority and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority embedding resilience across major projects. The study highlights a shift “from firewalls to frameworks,” noting integrated policies, continuity planning, and cross-border cooperation, including Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Cyber Risk Management Framework and Saudi Arabia’s cyber stress-testing regime.