The United States and United Arab Emirates (UAE) finalized an agreement to work together to safeguard the financial sector from cyberattacks.

The U.S. Treasury’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UAE announced Monday mirrors an agreement between the United States and Israel reached in August 2022 after U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo visited both countries in November 2021.

The visit “established a bilateral partnership to protect critical infrastructure in the financial sector and recognized the importance of deepening cooperation on cybersecurity to protect the integrity of the international financial system,” said the Treasury in a press release.

The MOU enhances cooperation in the following areas:

  • Information sharing regarding cybersecurity information on incidents and threats;
  • Staff training and study visits to promote cooperation in cybersecurity; and
  • Competency-building activities like cross-border cybersecurity exercises.

“As cyberattacks and ransomware attacks become more complex, close cooperation is essential to prevent these attacks from impacting the international financial system,” Adeyemo said in the release. “We are pleased to have the government of the United Arab Emirates as partners in our global effort to combat these threats and look forward to expanding our partnership.”

Jeff Dale is Managing Editor, Editorial Projects and Analytics, at Compliance Week. He previously served as Compliance Week's Digital Editor and has worked as a copy editor at the Boston Herald and city editor at The Hour Publishing Co. in Norwalk, Conn.View full Profile

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