Mastercard has released its inaugural Cyber Pulse report, providing a comprehensive assessment of the evolving cyber threat landscape across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) over the past year.
The report integrates regional threat intelligence from Mastercard’s Cyber Insights platform with organizational cyber health assessments from RiskRecon, alongside advanced intelligence from Recorded Future, which Mastercard acquired in December 2024. Recorded Future continuously analyzes global data to detect emerging cyber threats and evolving risk patterns in real time.
The Cyber Pulse report translates cyber risk into actionable insights relevant to operational resilience, economic stability, and long-term trust in the digital economy by combining visibility into threat activity with measurable impacts on organizations.
Global research cited in the report highlights the growing financial burden of cybercrime. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, the average cost of a data breach in the Middle East stands at nearly US$7.29 million per incident—64% higher than the global average, underscoring why cyber resilience has become a board-level priority for businesses.
The findings show that cybercrime activity across EEMEA rose in early 2026 following a period of geopolitical instability, signaling a shift from basic awareness to sustained readiness and resilience. Financially motivated and disruptive attacks account for 71% of observed cybercrime activity in the region.
“Cyber resilience is synonymous with business resilience and operational wellbeing. Our first Cyber Pulse report highlights the importance for organizations adopting a proactive and integrated approach to cybersecurity alongside consistent vigilance,” said Selin Bahadirli, Executive Vice President, Services, EEMEA at Mastercard. “At Mastercard, we are committed to empowering our partners and customers with the intelligence, tools, and expertise they need to navigate the complex cyber landscape, secure their digital assets, and build a more secure digital future for everyone who engages in the digital economy.”
The report shows that attackers predominantly target business systems, customer data, and physical infrastructure, which together account for 66% of all identified targets. Most attacks are designed to disrupt operations, enable fraud, or inflict physical damage.
Sector-wise, public services, technology, and financial institutions account for 44% of targeted industries in EEMEA, driven by the high value of their data and their critical role in digital and economic ecosystems.
Common attack methods such as malware, ransomware, and email-based social engineering continue to dominate across the region. While baseline cyber hygiene remains relatively strong in some markets, gaps persist in application security and web encryption.
The report recommends that organizations strengthen vulnerability management and improve application-level security to reduce exposure to repeatable attack vectors.
Expanding cyber resilience for businesses of all sizes
Cybersecurity challenges are no longer limited to large enterprises. The report emphasizes the importance of protecting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which form the backbone of digital economic participation across EEMEA.
Mastercard has already surpassed its goal of bringing 50 million MSMEs into the digital economy and is now targeting 500 million individuals and small businesses by 2030, reinforcing its focus on inclusive digital growth and resilience.
Since 2019, the company has invested approximately $12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovation. In 2025 alone, Mastercard processed 175 billion transactions, leveraging advanced analytics to detect vulnerabilities and threats with greater speed and accuracy.
Through its cybersecurity advisory services and global partnerships, Mastercard continues to expand its intelligence-led security ecosystem. This includes Recorded Future, which provides real-time threat visibility to help organizations identify risks earlier and respond more effectively.
Alongside tools such as Cyber Insights, CyberQuant, and RiskRecon, Mastercard enables organizations to assess exposure, anticipate threat evolution, and convert intelligence into practical security action that strengthens trust and operational continuity.
The full Mastercard Cyber Pulse report is available here.
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