Briton Accused of Hacking Into UAE Internet

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://news.excite.com/news/r/000622/04/net-emirates-hacker-dc

Updated 4:55 AM ET June 22, 2000

DUBAI (Reuters) - A British man has been arrested on suspicion of
hacking into the United Arab Emirates' Internet system and could be
charged with damaging the country's economy, local newspapers said on
Thursday.

The reports said the 26-year-old man, who works as a senior computer
engineer in Dubai, was arrested last week after he was traced by
Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) network security staff.

The man, who was released on bail a day after his arrest, is believed
to be the first person in the Middle East to be arrested on suspicion
of computer hacking, the newspapers said.

Dubai police chief Major General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted as
saying he could be charged with damaging the UAE economy if it is
proved that he destroyed information in the Internet system.

Etisalat President and CEO Ali Salim Owais had said earlier this week
that the offence could carry a maximum jail term of 10 years.

But Dubai Attorney General Ibrahim Bu Melha said there were no
specific laws in Dubai concerning computer hacking.

"It has become urgent to issue legislation which classifies high
technology crimes and stipulates penalties for them," Melha was quoted
in the Gulf News daily as saying.

Officials were not immediately available to comment.

Etisalat, which is 60 percent owned by the Dubai government, runs the
UAE's Internet services through its subsidiary Emirates Internet and
Multimedia, and has a monopoly on both telecoms and Internet services
in the country.

Etisalat officials blamed the suspected hacker for much of the
disruption that has been experienced by local Internet subscribers in
the past two weeks.

The issue will be an especially pertinent one for Dubai because of its
drive to become a regional hub for information technology and
electronic commerce.

Last year, the Dubai government announced plans to invest $200 million
in setting up a free-trade zone for e-commerce and technology, to be
called Dubai Internet City. It is due to open later this year.

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