Confronting the perils of cyber security
Some universities in the UAE offer programmes on cyber security, but there is increased need to improve the curriculum
If recent events are any indication, then cyber threats worldwide have become more real and eminent. Norton Cybersecurity Insights reported that in 2016 more than 2.5 million UAE residents fell victim to some form of cybercrime and that the total financial cost resulting from cybercrime last year totalled $1.4 billion. Kaspersky Lab placed the UAE 19th globally among countries facing the greatest risk of online infection in 2015 positioning it as a “high risk” country.
Cyberspace continues to pervade ever more deeply into every function of modern societies around the world. It connects more than half of humanity and is an indispensable component of political, social, economic and military power worldwide. This digital domain is in constant flux and evolves based on the ingenuity and creativity of users themselves. It does not only introduce constant innovation but also creates unforeseen vulnerabilities and security risks. The rise of cyber power has also empowered individuals, organisations and non-state actors, allowing them a global reach, a form of global influence, previously reserved for states. It is also a form of social networking. Two billion people, for example, around the world are known to be Facebook users.
Cyberspace, however, also represents a special category of risk. New possibilities offered by the emergence of the eeconomy have produced new crimes unique to cyberspace, such as phishing attacks, spam, malware and cyber-espionage to name a few. While cybercrimes pose a significant danger, there might be other, more pressing issues, which are actually more threating to state security forces and government officials. One such threat is terrorism. One view holds that cyber crimes and cyber warfare are not as severe a security threat, since there is no precedent or incident of an event that has lead to an actual war and human fatalities. That, however, does not mean that cyber attacks do not have a potential to cause grave harm, and eventual military response.
One major challenge in dealing with cyber threats is determining attribution, as it is extremely difficult to trace the origins of a malware developer or a direct cyberattack. Many cybercrimes are committed from outside the country being hacked. In the UAE, for example, there is no legislation that addresses how to deal with cyber criminals emanating from abroad in the domestic legislation. The concept of universal cyber crime jurisdiction is problematic since acts in some countries that are legal may be illegal in other states.
The UAE government a long time ago foresaw the potential danger that cybercrime can pose. In 2006 it passed law that focuses on all types of technological crime. Late in 2012, the UAE updated its existing cyber crime law with a number of enhancements that addressed loopholes and corroborated that many ‘real world’ offences would also be criminal acts if they occurred electronically. Consequently, the cyber crime legislation in the UAE is one of the most comprehensive in the region.
In addition, the UAE has already recognised the importance of securing against cyber threats. It established the aeCERT (United Arab Emirates Computer Emergency Response Team) that provides four main services, namely, monitoring cyberattacks, research and analysis in the field of cybersecurity, security awareness for the general public and information security quality services. The UAE is ahead of many other countries in the region as it has allocated a generous budget for the specific purpose of cyber security.
Just recently, Dubai, under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the ‘Dubai Cyber Security Strategy’ that aims to further strengthen Dubai’s position as a world leader in innovation, safety and security. Dubai Electronic Security Centre cooperates with all government agencies in the emirate to ensure that the level of electronic security is upgraded and that precautionary measures are taken to ensure that information security systems are in line with international standards.
The UAE public and private sectors are in need of having to recruit more cyber security professionals that are in high demand and to train up to 100,000 cyber security specialists in the next few years.
According to a 2016 report by PwC “... it can be a challenge to recruit top talent in the region, and digital is an area where the global demand exceeds supply”. While select universities in the UAE offer programmes or specific courses on cyber security, there is increased need to expand the curriculum in the field of academia.
Cyber threats can seem confusing, technical, and shrouded in secrecy, perhaps better left to the experts. Yet, many of the security difficulties and vulnerabilities emerge from a lack of known security precautions, such as installing basic anti-virus software, spam filters and refusing to open suspicious files or files from unknown senders, protecting passwords and files when using public computer sites or accepting copied files from other than trusted persons or sites.