Cyber security pioneer urges more vigilance

Eugene Kaspersky urged authorities in the UAE and elsewhere in the region to be increasingly vigilant and alert to threats to key infrastructure, including power grids and nascent smart cities initiatives such as Smart Dubai.

Eugene Kaspersky says UAE authorities ‘understand the threat perfectly’. Delores Johnson / The National
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Authorities in the UAE have become increasingly alert to the threat posed by cyber threats such as the WannaCry ransomware attack that hit 99 countries worldwide, including Arabian Gulf states, according to internet security pioneer Eugene Kaspersky.

However Mr Kaspersky, the founder of Kaspersky Lab, urged authorities in the UAE and elsewhere in the region to be increasingly vigilant and alert to threats to key infrastructure, including power grids and nascent smart cities initiatives such as Smart Dubai.

High-profile regional cyber attacks, including the recent deployment of the Shamoon virus against Saudi government authorities, have put governments on guard against future threats, Mr Kaspersky told The National in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

“In the past I had to explain to state representatives the risk that [cyber] attacks posed for critical infrastructure such as power grids and water pumps that are so critical here in the Emirates. Not anymore,” he said.

“Now, they understand the threat perfectly, so we’re working to help guarantee their extra security for infrastructure, particularly for the industrial section.”

“It’s not a calm region, and it’s not a calm season here,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s ministry of labour said in January that it had been the target of a cyber attack, using a variation of the Shamoon virus that first appeared in the country in 2012, crippling 35,000 computers at Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer.

In 2012, a virus also was found in the office computer network of Qatar’s RasGas, a producer of liquified natural gas in the Arabian Gulf state.

A variation of the Shamoon virus was also deployed late last year against the headquarters of the country’s general authority of civil aviation and other government agencies.

Adequate defences against cyber attacks were especially key for power grid operators, smart city initiatives and freight and logistics infrastructure, said Mr Kaspersky. “The worst case scenarios are really scary,” he said.

“For cities that have automated traffic light systems, if you break just one little thing, you can bring disaster. In a seaport, if you change two containers [on a system], it can break an entire database.”

“We’re living in a cyber age, we depend on cyber, and unfortunately [the systems that are being used] are not immune to attack.”

Mr Kaspersky spoke to The National hours before news spread of the worldwide WannaCry ransomware attack.

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab recorded more than 45,000 attacks in 74 countries worldwide by Friday evening, including the UK, UAE, Spain, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Major companies affected included FedEx and Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica, together with public institutions including the UK’s National Health Service.

“It’s another case demonstrating how vulnerable are the cyber systems we depend on,” Mr Kaspersky said in a statement following the attacks.

“It also shows that cybercriminals have no moral limits in choosing targets for their attacks. And I’m afraid that it also demonstrates the seriousness of the risk of cyberterrorism attacks in the future against such vital institutions.”

jeverington@thenational.ae

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