There is a new bogeyman, and it is called cyber warfare. Like the other threats that now routinely disrupt the rhythm of everyday life, it is real but possibly exaggerated.
Last week, we learnt that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the US stock exchanges have turned to the security services for help after cyberattacks that sought to wreak havoc across global financial markets. The LSE did not deny the reports but was at pains to point out that its systems were less vulnerable to attack because they were not web-based, as its US competitors' systems are.
On both sides of the Atlantic, cyber warfare is now the new front in national security. And the protection of key economic assets - whether stock exchanges or critical infrastructure such as power stations - is as urgent a priority as conventional terrorism.
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Editor's Pick - Cyber criminals targeting the UAE
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In the past couple of years, the number of cyberattacks on British businesses has soared. While Iain Lobben, the director of the UK's Government Communications Headquarters, said last year that the spy communications agency had picked up 20,000 malicious e-mails a month sent to government departments. Of these, about 1,000 were targeted attacks.
In the past, many of these threats came from amateur hackers. The number of sophisticated attacks by criminal gangs or state-sponsored entities is said to be on the rise.
The US IT security giant Symantec says that because so-called attack kits, which hackers can use to get into networks, are becoming easier to use, cybercrime is no longer limited to those with advanced programming skills. Those whose expertise has been in traditional criminal activities such as, say, money laundering are also turning to cybercrime with a consequent increase in the number of attacks.
There is no doubt that malicious code attacks are profitable. A ring of cyber criminals arrested in the US last September after using the Zeus botnet, which targets small businesses, had stolen more than US$70 million (Dh257.1m) from online banking and trading accounts in 18 months.
But this is more than just an economic crime, as the involvement of the intelligence services on both sides of the Atlantic shows.
According to the The Times of London, the US intelligence services have traced the source of one cyberattack on a US stock exchange to Russia.
That fits with a parliamentary report in the UK last year that said states such as Russia and China posed the greatest threat of electronic attack on the UK.
In the weeks before Russia's military invasion of Georgia in 2008, computer viruses attacked Georgian websites.
Google claimed last year that China tried to hack into Gmail.
And a security report for the US Congress, published in November, claimed that a state-owned Chinese telecommunications company hijacked almost 15 per cent of all web traffic through its own servers on April 8.
It was suggested that China might have re-routed traffic to harvest sensitive information from e-mails or to test a cyber weapon developed to disrupt internet traffic from foreign servers. The Chinese have denied this.
So in this supposedly new war, the West has found two old enemies.
That is depressingly predictable. Military and intelligence heads now seem to be working with the corporate sector to inflate the cyber warfare bogeyman.
But just last month the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said that "very few single cyber-related events have the capacity to cause a global shock". Yet, the authors argued, there was still a high and growing risk of "localised misery" caused by cyber attacks.
Whom should we believe? Whoever turns out to be right, playing the China and Russian cards certainly feeds into present day neuroses. Now there is a new reason to fear the East.
business@thenational.ae
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Schedule
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READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
RESULTS
West Asia Premiership
Thursday
Jebel Ali Dragons 13-34 Dubai Exiles
Friday
Dubai Knights Eagles 16-27 Dubai Tigers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
