Bahrain's financial services industry has emerged as a key target in a surging regional wave of cyber warfare, as new data reveals a 138 per cent year-on-year explosion in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks across the Middle East.
According to the 2025 Mena DDoS Attack Report by cybersecurity provider StormWall, Saudi Arabia was the most heavily targeted, accounting for 22pc of all attacks. It was followed by the UAE (17pc) and Iran (12pc).
Bahrain now accounts for 9 per cent of all DDoS activity in the region. While the kingdom saw a slight relative decrease from its 10pc share in 2024, it remains a focal point for digital extortionists and hacktivists.
The report highlights a particularly worrying trend for the local economy: Finance remains the most targeted sector for the second consecutive year, bearing the brunt of 19pc of all regional attacks. Within this vertical, Bahrain is a primary target, accounting for 12pc of all hits on financial institutions in the Mena region.
The nature of the threat has evolved significantly over the past 12 months. While the first half of 2025 was dominated by hacktivist activity linked to regional geopolitical tensions, the latter half saw a sharp pivot towards commercially motivated crime.
Extortion campaigns and business-disruption operations are now primary drivers, with attackers utilising increasingly sophisticated methods. Multi-vector attacks – which force security teams to defend against several simultaneous threats – grew by 92pc year-over-year.
The report also warns of a massive increase in the sheer power of these digital assaults.
The average number of devices in botnets increased fourfold, rising from 7,000 in 2024 to 28,000 in 2025.
The most powerful attack mitigated by StormWall in the region reached a peak of 1.4 Tbps during the second quarter.
Experts noted the rise of malicious AI tools such as WarmGPT, which allow attackers to build and control infrastructure using natural-language commands.
“At this pace, it’s not unreasonable to predict that 60-70pc of companies will be targeted by 2026,” the report states, noting that operating without dedicated protection has become “extremely risky” in the current environment.
For Bahraini enterprises, particularly in the retail and entertainment sectors – which saw regional attack volumes grow by 118pc and 97pc respectively – the message is clear: vigilance and robust cyber defences are no longer optional.
“Mena countries are rapidly digitalising and are often early adopters of new technologies, investing heavily in projecting a forward-looking national image through innovation. That visibility makes the region an attractive target for opportunistic attackers,” says Ramil Khantimirov, chief executive officer and co-founder of StormWall. “That visibility attracts opportunistic attackers, and we’re already seeing adversaries use increasingly advanced tools and techniques. For businesses operating in Mena, basic DDoS protection is no longer sufficient.”
The outlook for 2026 remains challenging, with StormWall analysts predicting that the number of mitigated attacks could surpass six million by the end of next year.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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