As a leading maker of anti-virus software, it is not surprising that Norton is keen to emphasise the severity of the cybercrime threat in the UAE.
But the brand went a little too far in that mission yesterday, by making an exaggerated claim about the problem of computer viruses, online scams and phishing attacks in the Emirates.
Symantec, which makes Norton by Symantec anti-virus software, yesterday issued a statement claiming that "76 per cent of UAE residents have fallen victim to cybercrime in the last year".
That statement does not seem to ring true, according to an analysis of the research by The National.
Internet experts based in the UAE agreed that Norton's figure is unusually high.
"That number seems excessive, given that the UAE doesn't even have a 75 per cent internet penetration rate," said Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, the chief executive of the digital agency Flip Media, based in Dubai.
"There's a high percentage of residents who have no access to smart phones or the internet," he added.
The Norton Cybercrime Report was carried out by a third-party research firm, which questioned a total of 20,000 respondents globally. But Norton representatives were unable to provide a figure for the sample size in the UAE.
While the 76 per cent figure was used as a headline statistic by Norton, a closer analysis of the report finds that the true figure is 55 per cent.
A representative of the firm said it would not retract the 76 per cent statement, saying that the methodology behind the figure had been explained to media.
But other online experts based in the UAE objected to Norton's general definition of what constitutes 'cybercrime', saying that it is too broad.
The most common form of attack in the UAE was via computer viruses, followed by online scams and phishing, according to the report.
But the definition of 'cybercrime' used by Norton does not necessarily imply a financial loss. It also includes cases of viruses infecting a computer, users replying to a scam message or unspecified "online harassment".
Omar Kassim, the founder of the Dubai-based retail portal JadoPado, who is based in Dubai, said the 76 per cent figure was "headline grabbing".
"I question the definition of 'cybercrime'. You could say every guy out there with a laptop is effected," he said. "I would question whether it's a truly independent definition."
