Article by Dmitry Marinov, Technical Director at ANY. RUN Cybersecurity Specialist in the UAE

As the startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa evolves, cybersecurity has shifted from a behind-the-scenes technical issue to a key topic on the board's table. Today, investors are not content with public promises of "security," they want real evidence that a company's digital infrastructure is robust and that its data is in safe hands. Therefore, founders should treat cybersecurity as a sign of a company's maturity and operational capability, not as a detail to be postponed until after launch.

Scan suspicious files within secure environments isolated from the company's systems.

Keep logs of hacking attempts or unusual activities for longer periods beyond a month.

Having a clear mechanism to track and respond to threats immediately, rather than just an email alert.

A few years ago, cybersecurity was not present in investors' questions during the evaluation or review phases. Today, it is an essential part of the full picture of the company's maturity and operational stability.

Still, the gap between expectations and reality remains wide. In my work in cyber response in the region, I have seen the same scenario repeat itself over and over again: startups offering world-class products, but operating on a fragile digital architecture, all servers, work devices, and development environments connected on the same network, with limited internal firewalls, logs being erased weekly, and employees opening anonymous files directly on their devices.

But building protection doesn't require huge budgets or specialized security teams, but a real awareness of the real threats to startups in the region.

The most common types of attacks on startups in the region

Startups around the world face a familiar set of cyber threats: phishing attacks, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and attacks on supply chains.

But while attackers in the West typically seek to steal data on a large scale, most attacks directed at the region are focused on making quick and direct profits, using tools such as PrivateLoader and SmokeLoader as entry points for digital extortion attacks.

In the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular, startups are exposed to huge amounts of commercially prevalent malware – a level not usually seen in European or US markets.

Phishing is still the most prevalent method, especially through fake login pages that resemble Microsoft portals, fake invoice links, or HTML files compressed into ZIP archives.

Designed to work silently, Stealer and Dropper software proliferates, infiltrating 64-bit and ARM systems and avoiding warning messages or obvious installation.

Email fraud (BEC) attacks have seen a remarkable 29% rise in the UAE alone, often relying on impersonating to transfer payments or withdraw sensitive documents.

While their use has declined, malicious files continue to appear in campaigns that use simple tricks such as hiding them inside archive files or serving them as internal training materials.

The root of the problem and security gaps in the early stages of the life of companies

The biggest misconception that many founders fall into is to treat cybersecurity as a deferred luxury, as if it were an unnecessary step before expanding and reaching the market. But the reality is quite different: security debts accumulate like technical debt, and the longer it takes to deal with them, the more expensive they will become, whether from difference time, customer trust, or even from the company's reputation and market value.

In fact, attackers don't wait for a company to grow or raise new funding, as attacks sometimes begin just days after the product launches. In our region, for example, small businesses are being targeted with ready-made phishing tools and rapid digital attacks, while basic security practices such as secure testing environments and record authentication are still maturing.

In contrast, investors became more cautious early on. With the first round of institutional funding,Funds in Abu Dhabi or Riyadh require security check reports and files from test environments. The breakpoint is no longer the hack itself, but the moment you get your first customer. From the moment you start dealing with user data or payments, you become a clear target whether your audience is 50,000 users or 50,000.

The same mistakes are often repeated in the early stages of building a company, even in talented technical teams:

Networks without internal separation: Development, testing, and production environments run on the same network, with wide access permissions, making any small breakthrough enough to spread throughout the entire system.