Cyberattacks in the Middle East are on the rise, according to a new report.

The Middle East region, and especially the United Arab Emirates, saw a growing number of attacks in the six months leading to March this year, according to DarkMatter, a cybersecurity firm based in the UAE.

In particular, those operations targeted the oil and gas sector, telecommunications, governments and other critical infrastructure, said the firm, which recorded those incidents from October to March 2019.

"Oil and Gas in particular, a pillar of the UAE's economy that is of strategic importance to the world, faces the greatest risks," the report said.

In fact, half of all cyberattacks in the Middle East target the oil and gas sector, according to DarkMatter, which cited findings from a Siemens and Ponemon Institute report.

Cyber-espionage and sabotage are the chief motivations for groups carrying out such attacks, according to the report. Their preferred mode of duping targets is through spear phishing, a practice of sending emails from ostensibly a trusted sender in order to trick them into revealing information.