The head of UAE cybersecurity has said he expects a surge in attempted cyber crime after the visit of US President Donald Trump.
Online criminals tend to focus their attention on geopolitical events, said Dr Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council, who expects Mr Trump's trip to the Emirates to be no different.
Criminals tend to launch disinformation campaigns on social media as well as co-ordinate attacks on critical infrastructure, Dr Al Kuwaiti told the World Police Summit taking place this week at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Mr Trump arrived in the UAE on Thursday for the final leg of his Gulf tour, which will conclude today.
Dr Al Kuwaiti pointed out that “the geopolitical events that happen around us”, such as Mr Trump’s Middle East tour, tend to shape cyber attacks, with malicious actors taking advantage of the global attention and heightened tension.
"We have more than 200,000 attacks on a daily basis. And this is an average, depending on many of those aspects that we actually have, depending on the geopolitical things that happen around us.
"For example, we have the visit of President Donald Trump. You will see there are many of those attacks, not only on the infrastructure itself, but on social media. Those who follow social media, they will see the misinformation, the disinformation.
“Critical infrastructure is the essence of our lives whether it’s energy, water, electricity, aviation, education or health care," he said. "Protecting these sectors is vital to our national security and must remain a top priority.”
Dr Al Kuwaiti called for deeper international collaboration and more awareness to confront the mounting risks posed by criminals online.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
AI threats to security
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) was a double-edged sword in cyber security as it was being used both to defend against and perpetrate attacks, Dr Al Kuwaiti said.
Criminals are using AI to uncover vulnerabilities, launch phishing campaigns and find zero-day exploits, a term used to describe security weaknesses previously unknown to a system's developers.
On the other hand, advanced AI tools are also being used to protect against these threats at the National Security Operations Centre, Dr Al Kuwaiti added.
“These AI tools offer speed, accuracy and efficient pattern recognition,” he said. “They operate autonomously and help analysts focus on more complex tasks by handling repetitive processes.”
Cybercrime alone caused $9.4 trillion in damages globally in 2023, he said, with estimates that figure could reach $10 trillion this year.
“We need society to be our first line of defence,” Dr Al Kuwaiti said. Recent updates to the Ministry of Education’s curriculum now include AI and cybersecurity, which he described as a significant step towards building national digital resilience.
“Our message is clear and simple," he added. "Let’s spread the cyber security culture. Let’s work together in really taking down any of those adversaries who wants harm in this technology.”
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The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
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SUNDERLAND 2005-06
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HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
