Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council, recently issued a stark warning regarding the evolving landscape of digital threats, noting that the country faced a staggering 640,000 cyberattacks in a single day. Speaking at the Arab Media Summit, Al Kuwaiti highlighted that modern "fifth-generation" warfare has shifted its focus from merely disabling infrastructure like power and water grids to manipulating human thought and societal values. He pointed to the rise of decentralised attacks, where lone actors use deepfakes and misinformation to influence public opinion, potentially causing far more permanent damage than temporary system outages. A tragic example shared was that of a student who was forced to drop out of school for a year due to psychological trauma inflicted by deepfake-driven bullying, underscoring the severe human cost of digital misuse.

To combat these challenges, Al Kuwaiti emphasized that awareness is our strongest defense, urging both the public and media outlets to prioritize the verification of information before sharing it. He noted that while artificial intelligence offers immense potential for progress, it acts like a "genie out of the bottle" that requires robust governance and ethical oversight. Rather than avoiding technology, he argued for a collective approach involving governments, the private sector, and individuals to foster responsible digital habits. By focusing on critical thinking and official sources, society can better navigate the dangers of misinformation, which Al Kuwaiti described as a far more dangerous form of paralysis than a simple system shutdown.