ABU DHABI // Officials from the Ministry of Justice have called for more stringent laws to tackle cybercrimes.
They said the UAE must also rely on international laws – which tend to be more comprehensive – to bring offenders to justice no matter their location.
Dr Omar Al Ghoul, a chief judge at the federal courts in Kalba, said the internet was causing legal and legislative issues, and that Emirati laws presented investigative difficulties.
Symantec, a United States information protection firm, found cyberattacks in the Middle East had increased.
Most incidents involved the use of a specific malware system that controls computer networks in the region. Several groups were found to have used the malware to target regional governments.
Mohammed Alhammadi, a legal counsellor at the ministry, said the Arab world was facing greater risks as its contacts with the world increased.
“We have to fill the gaps internally by issuing new legislations that can continuously regulate the UAE’s modernising and update of laws,” he said at an international cybercrimes conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
“Such types of crimes need an international cooperation that can establish methods of catching offenders by bilateral or multilateral agreements.”
Dr Al Ghoul said the biggest challenge in the UAE was the application of punitive measures.
“Not knowing who the offender is is a big problem because it can be difficult,” he said.
“Cybercrimes are transnational, and sometimes offenders are outside the state. So maybe countries could extradite them to the UAE. There should be a number of international agreements to regulate such issues.”
He said such cooperation could be conducted under the aegis of the United Nations or the Arab League.
Maj Rashid Lootah, the Dubai Police’s director of cyberforensics, said previous laws on cybercrimes were very limited.
“Nowadays, cybercrimes are worsening,” he said.
“They are much more tangible, so the punishment for such crimes should be adequate.”
He suggested international cooperation in collecting data and evidence in the field.
“Cloud computing is an issue we face,” he said. “We’re facing problems with equipment and systems that don’t store information if the crime is committed outside our borders, so the system should be able to store necessary data and information.”
With the Government moving steadily online, the risks are high. “Telecommunication companies should work with us to detect the offenders,” said Ahmed Al Dhanhani, the chief prosecutor at the State Security Public Prosecution. “Nowadays we use all these smart applications in all our transactions in the government, and we have a number of legislations working on taking into account these electronic means.”
He also said modernising and updating data was crucial.
Mohammed Al Kuwaiti of the National Electronic Security Authority said the challenges were legal and technological.
“We need to upgrade our systems and use the latest technologies available to find solutions to locate offenders,” he said.
“We’d like counsellors and experts to take this into account and international cooperation can help a lot. All government sectors should be involved in it.”
Mr Al Kuwaiti said society should be protected from terrorists and extremists.
“The UAE realised the dangers of these electronic threats in cybercrimes, so we look forward to developing laws to deal with them because anybody can reach any child in any home,” he said.
cmalek@thenational.ae
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The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Power: 480kW
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Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
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Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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