‘Home gadgets could be spies’

‘Hackers not to be feared only’

“IT LOOKS like the well-known Wikileaks agency is specialized in revealing millions of documents exposing the method that has been followed by the United States of America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concerning spying and wiretapping on individuals, institutions and the governments,” columnist, the Dean of the Technological Studies College at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) and the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Heritage Revival Society (IHRS)

wrote for daily. “In this connection, we say the Wikileaks has managed to leak a lot of documents exposing the CIA’s methods of eavesdropping and spying. The site has hinted that CIA is capable of deciphering the applications of various communication outlets including the WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal because of the security gaps in the Android and Apple systems although these systems are immune to any type of breakthroughs.

“Wikileaks has also announced its intention to work with major technological firms to bridge the gaps that may enable the CIA to spy on the users.

“In this context, we say the statement that has been attributed to founder of Wikileaks agency Julian Assange said he will cooperate with the various technological companies to provide the latter with all available tools and instruments that are being ‘used’ to penetrate the personal telephones, PCs and even the smart TV systems.

“As a matter of fact, Wikileaks has published only a small part of the documents and the data which is currently in its possession. In this context, we say the reports which were published recently say smart apparatuses used by people everywhere such as the smart telephones and the smart TVs can be used for spying on the users.

“It will be possible to eavesdrop or wiretap conversations inside the rooms or at any place and eventually convey the same to a third party and this has resulted in some commentators describing the phones and TVs as espionage gadgets not smart anymore.

“For its part, the Samsung Company counsels the users of its apparatuses to close down the service of personal orders and use the remote control apparatuses to control the smart TVs, particularly when it comes to some personal information or important data.

“The company has also warned that the TV continues recording the voices even if the users have stopped the use of this technology that had been designed to identify the voices.

“On the other hand, the Russian newspaper ‘The Verge’ warned the smart TVs produced by LG Company has been equipped with the necessary technology through which these TVs can spy on the users and this can be realized through these TVs capability to record and collect important data preferably by the users including the programs, movies and an electronic websites.

“However, anyone who enters into the realm of the Internet, will find a lot of advertisements promoting programs that shall allow the person to spy on his wife and children through the smart telephones, WhatsApp and smart TVs.

“Given the above, we conclude that we are actually living in a world where our homes and even our bedrooms are subjected to spying and knowing the secrets of what is happening behind closed doors.

“In other words, we no longer fear only the hackers who break into our personal accounts but we have begun to fear the appliances which we are using in our homes because they are capable of penetrating our personal affairs and secrets. It is a strange world indeed.”

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Al-Hassawi

“As a matter of fact, the UN Security Council represents the millstone in terms of dealing with and managing the global politics, because this Council is internationally authorized to issue binding resolutions on all countries and the member nations are expected to abide by them,” columnist and former MP wrote for daily.

“However, based on the UN charter, any nation that has the veto power in the Security Council reserves the right to use this right to impede and nullifying any resolution that may contravene their interests.

“In this context, we refer to US, the UK and France — the countries which have resorted to cast the veto individually or jointly.

“But during the recent past, both Russia and China have used the veto either individually or jointly against any resolution of the UN Security Council on the issue of Syria and this represents a new political behavior for both Moscow and Beijing.

“This reflects an unprecedented harmony between them in terms of defending the government of an Arab country which is currently facing a fierce attack supported by the Western governments.

“But the question is, why these two countries — Russia and China — are supporting the Syrian government although they have political and commercial relations with all Arab states including those which are currently against the Syrian government and are striving to topple this regime by all means.

“However, some observers say Russia and China are striving to encounter the US influence in their geopolitical spheres. These observers say Russia is currently encountering the US in many European countries, while China encounters the US influence in Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

“Hence, both Russia and China are in harmony in terms of their policy to encounter the US influence in Syria, particularly if Washington hastens to exert any attempt to topple the regime because the latter at the moment is a strong ally of Russia and China.

“Given the above, we understand the nature of cooperation of both Russia and China with Iran and because the latter encounters the US influence in the Arabian Gulf.

“Such being the case, this harmony among the three countries — Russia, China and Iran — with Syria has created some kind of joint background among them to encounter the US expansion in the Levant and foil Washington’s attempts to topple a regime that can be classified as a friend of the three countries.

“In the meantime, we have observed that supporting this regime, has created some kind of power that resulted in encouraging both Russia and China to reinforce their efforts and this was evident through the usage of the veto power in the UN Security Council to foil any Western resolution to weaken the Syrian regime.

“As a matter of fact, we suggest the Arab countries must at the moment close their ranks and put in place a new policy of reunification among the Arab decision-making process which currently is shared between the two great powers, Washington and Moscow, while the latter is striving to strength their own interests even at the expense of the Arabs.

“In conclusion, we wonder, will the Arabs realize this fact or will they go ahead and allow others to exploit this disunity among the Arab countries in a prelude to create a stronghold for them in the Arab territories due to various grounds.”

“At the moment we are living in the era of ‘the Gulf Vision’ which we hope will help achieve a quantum leap in the quality of lifestyle, economy and culture of the Gulf countries,” columnist

wrote for daily. “Kuwait is seeking to be an international commercial and financial hub by 2035, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has put up an ambitious vision for radical transformation of the economy by 2030. Qatar has a similar vision.

“There is no doubt these visions need more than just projects and plans. It needs legislations and laws that go along with the rapid changes in economic relations around the world especially with regard to the opening of markets for investment. Quality education is a key player in addition to guarantees given to investors. Above all we need to enable the society to adjust and embrace the radical rapid changes that will occur.

“In theory everything is possible, but when it comes to practical implementation, the obstacles appear especially when it comes to the Gulf countries that solely depend on oil as a source of income.

“The oil has lost its value over the past years and we saw the imposition of austerity policies that are negatively affecting this vision. The expected taxes will scare off investors and use of local financial capital.

“It’s possible for the Gulf countries to confront these obstacles through legislative initiatives and rectifying the negativities but from today until 2035 the situation in the world will not remain like it is today. The question the Gulf countries did not take into consideration is ‘What if the vision fails, what are the alternative plans’?”

“Those overwhelmed by the Western culture among our people, who live in a state of psychological defeat, always urge us to copy the West without differentiating between what is appropriate and contradictory to our religious beliefs,”

wrote for daily. “While we mark the International Women Day on March 8 of every year, we see many Arabs and Muslims agitating for the restoration of their lost and denied rights, as they claim, which makes the Western women unique compared to Arab women. The situation has reached a stage where some of them are clamoring for equality between men and women in everything including inheritance!

“This means the agitators want distribution of inheritance done in a manner contrary to the tenet of Islam. There is no doubt that a reasonable Muslim will never make such a call. There is no other religion that honors women like Islam and preserves their prestige, position and rights, irrespective of whether she is a daughter, wife or sister.”

“There is no doubt that the users of social media are currently leading a fierce battle against corruption. Thanks to them, the massive corruption nestled inside governmental departments has been exposed,”

wrote for daily. “With absolutely no exaggeration, the size of corruption widespread currently is unprecedented in all levels. Remarkable steps are being taken by brave people who are ringing the alarm to fight the collapse of moral values everywhere around us. Corruption has destroyed all ethical virtues, and broken civilian ties as well as national unity and democratic development. It has also destroyed the level of achieved transparency and the sympathy felt towards weaker categories.

“The distinguished efforts exerted by the corruption fighters have contributed in raising societal awareness concerning the corruption issue and creating clearer vision for Kuwaiti public opinion about the seriousness of the lesion caused by corruption. We can clearly notice the apparent superiority and influence of the corrupt people compared to public and semi-government institutions, which indicate the inability to eliminate corruption and limit its effects.”

“Even though Kuwait is teeming with skilled minds that are able to record achievements and success, it is suffering from the lack of scientific and research centers to attract such mentalities and offer necessary scientific and physical facilities to support them in an adequate manner so that their requirements can be met,” wrote for daily.

“Everyday we hear or read news about a new invention or some medical or scientific discovery by Kuwaiti citizens who are loyal to their homeland and work. However, these innovations and scientific discoveries lack suitable support. For instance, the Kuwaiti medical team in Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital affiliated to Ministry of Health succeeded in removing kidney stones in an Asian patient in Kuwait by melting them using a new and unique technique. This helped in decreasing the length of the recovery period and restoring the patient’s health quickly.

“Without the diligence and tremendous efforts exerted by the sons of Kuwait, this technique would not have seen light. In short, any individual efforts exerted by scholars, scientists and inventors in Kuwait should be met with moral and physical support in order to help the inventors and innovators with their inventions and ensure a suitable atmosphere for encouraging them to produce more creations. We should not just focus on two or three centers but we must build more research centers in all governorates that can provide necessary support to the inventors and innovators in order to serve their research projects as well as their homeland.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb