DFSA releases annual Cyber Thematic Review

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) recently hosted its Annual Outreach session, which was attended by over 500 participants from the financial sector. During the event, the DFSA released its 2024 Cyber Thematic Review, which looks at the cybersecurity practices of firms in the DIFC. The review aligns with the UAE and Dubai's cybersecurity goals and underscores the DFSA’s commitment to improving cybersecurity in the financial sector.

With the number of authorised firms in the DIFC having surged by 25% between 2022 and 2024, the Cyber Thematic Review examined how firms have improved their cyber risk management since the last DFSA report in 2022.

The review looked at three key areas:

• Governance: Most firms (80-90%) followed the rules for good governance, which helps ensure they are accountable, transparent, and comply with DFSA regulations.
• Baseline Best Practices: Firms generally followed the key security and operational practices required to keep their systems, software, and infrastructure running smoothly and securely (about 90% implementation).
• Resilience: Firms made progress in making their systems more resilient, meaning they can continue to operate even when there are problems or unexpected events, with resilience levels at about 80%.

The DFSA’s 2024 Annual Outreach event also included updates from its Policy, Enforcement, and Authorisation Divisions. These updates shared the latest changes in regulations, enforcement priorities, and improvements to the licensing process to make compliance easier. There were also sessions on topics like Innovation and Technology, Prudential Standards, Conduct of Business, and Financial Crime.

The main focus of the outreach session was promoting technological innovation while ensuring strong measures are in place to prevent financial crimes, such as money laundering and financing terrorism.

Justin Baldacchino, Managing Director of Supervision at the DFSA, said, “Our Annual Outreach has been a pivotal step in reinforcing trust, transparency, and collaboration within the financial sector. Cybersecurity is central to the DFSA’s mission to protect the financial ecosystem within the DIFC, and the findings of our latest review show encouraging progress, but they also highlight areas where firms must further strengthen their defences.”