UAE ups its battle against cybercrime

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.emirates247.com/business/technology/uae-ups-its-battle-against-cybercrime-2011-10-04-1.421776

By Bindu Suresh Rai
Emirates 24/7
October 04, 2011

Forget your laptops and PCs, cybercrime has now wormed its way into your 
pockets and purses, with industry experts revealing that mobile security 
threats are growing at an alarming rate in the UAE.

Speaking at a GITEX Technology Week media event, Lt Colonel Faisal 
Alshamari, Abu Dhabi Police and Ministry of Interior, revealed in the 
last one year alone, cyber crime reports in the country have 
increasingly shunned your traditional platforms to find a leap in 
hackers targeting mobile phone users.

“Everyone is online these days, with your BlackBerrys, iPhones and other 
smartphones allowing users to access the internet instantaneously,” said 
Alshamari. “Hackers have smartened up and have realised a weak link, 
giving many the opportunity to exploit users who are caught unawares or 
simply haven’t taken the necessary precaution to protect themselves.”

Cybercrime in the UAE has tightened its noose around end users in recent 
years, with last year alone seeing $600 million spent in the country to 
combat this very threat.

Quiz Alshamari though and he says the number is much higher.

He said: “The $600m is a very rough estimate, which doesn’t even begin 
to include the operational cost that goes into fighting cybercrime 
annually. I would put that estimate at much higher, even double.”

[...]

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