As AI adoption accelerates, organisations move beyond compliance to focus on data readiness, integrity, sovereignty, and rapid recovery.
As the UAE marks Data Privacy Week 2026, the country’s data protection priorities are entering a new phase shaped by rising cyber threats and the rapid integration of AI into national digital ecosystems. The focus is shifting from meeting regulatory requirements to ensuring AI‑ready, sovereign, and resilient data foundations that can withstand increasingly sophisticated cyber risks.
Recent cyber incidents across the Middle East have underscored this reality, revealing that attackers are no longer targeting only systems they are going directly after the data fueling critical services. From government platforms to private-sector digital infrastructure, the integrity and recoverability of data have become key determinants of operational continuity.
“The question is no longer what organisations can do with AI, but whether their data is ready for AI to be used responsibly and legally.”
— Gregg Petersen, Regional Director,Middle East, Cohesity
“Cybercriminals are no longer just targeting systems they’re targeting the data that underpins organisations and public services,” says Gregg Petersen, Regional Director for the Middle East at Cohesity. “As AI becomes embedded into everyday operations, this shift is forcing organisations to rethink how sensitive data is governed, protected, and recovered.”
Compliance Isn’t Enough Resilience Is the New Benchmark
Cohesity’s recent UAE research reveals a growing gap between compliance obligations and real-world operational readiness. While 66% of UAE organisations report full compliance with national data protection laws, one‑third still struggle to keep pace with evolving regulation. More tellingly, 62% now actively monitor compliance across cloud and third‑party providers, signalling a shift from simple adherence to continuous governance.
“Data sovereignty and AI governance have moved from policy discussions to operational priorities,” Petersen notes.
AI Is Growing Faster Than Data Maturity
With the UAE pushing aggressively toward generative and autonomous AI across sectors, organisations face an urgent question: Is the underlying data mature and trustworthy enough to support responsible AI at scale?
Petersen explains: “The question is whether their data is ready where it resides, what is sensitive, and how it can be accessed or recovered.”
Without this foundation, AI systems risk amplifying errors, embedding bias, or exposing sensitive information.
Sovereign AI Gains Momentum
To mitigate these risks, UAE organisations are increasingly exploring sovereign AI models architectures that provide strict control over data location, governance, access, and recovery, while still enabling innovation.
Petersen adds: “A sovereignty‑first approach strengthens compliance and trust, but it must be balanced with frameworks that still allow innovation and collaboration to scale.”
Privacy by Design Meets Recovery by Design
By 2026, the UAE’s data privacy strategy is evolving into a broader operational doctrine built on three pillars:
- Protection: ensuring sensitive data is secured end‑to‑end
- Integrity: verifying the trustworthiness of data feeding AI
- Recovery: restoring operations quickly during disruptions
“Data privacy will be measured by an organisation’s ability to protect data, verify its integrity, and recover quickly in the event of disruption,” Petersen says. “Those that embed privacy and resilience by design will be best positioned to benefit from AI without increasing risk.”
