Mastercard Signs MoU with UAE Cybersecurity Council to Strengthen National Digital Trust and Cyber Resilience
Mastercard has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE Cybersecurity Council aimed at strengthening trust in the country’s national digital ecosystem and supporting efforts to enhance cyber readiness and resilience. The partnership focuses on the exchange of global best practices and contributing to the development of forward-looking cybersecurity policies.
The agreement was announced on the sidelines of the World Government Summit 2026 in Dubai, during which both parties jointly launched a new report assessing the current state of the cybersecurity landscape in the UAE.
Titled “Cyber Threat Insights in the UAE,” the report highlights the growing complexity of cyber threat actors targeting institutions, the diversity of their objectives, and the advanced techniques they employ. It also reveals an increasing focus by malicious actors on critical sectors and high-value national assets, underscoring the escalating cyber risks at scale. The report further emphasizes the UAE government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen national cyber resilience, particularly through expanded coordination between the public and private sectors to ensure collective readiness and reinforce the country’s leadership in cybersecurity.
Through this partnership, Mastercard will leverage its extensive expertise in combating cybercrime and fraud to support the UAE’s cybersecurity framework. Since 2018, Mastercard has invested approximately $10.7 billion in cybersecurity-related technologies, including strategic acquisitions and advanced solutions. Over the past decade, the company’s AI-powered tools have helped prevent an estimated $70 billion in fraud globally.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, global cybercrime costs are projected to reach $15.6 trillion by 2029, effectively making cybercrime the world’s third-largest economy. The UAE Cybersecurity Council previously warned that the country faces more than 200,000 cyberattacks daily, with over one-third targeting government entities.