The UAE recorded a steep increase in the number of emails that contain phishing threats in the second quarter of 2023.
With the volume of such mails increasing by 77 per cent quarter over quarter, a new report from Kaspersky suggests that these illicit tactics are becoming more sophisticated.
The figure is a significant jump with phishing emails using mainly four methods, the cybersecurity company said in the study released on Wednesday.
These methods, which are prevalent in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, include mails involving undelivered parcels, know-your-customer messages, free money and unusual email login activity.
These tactics are known as social engineering techniques, which are built on how people think and act. In the case of electronic communications, it involves an email or text message pretending to be from a trusted source.
They are part of the broader scope of spam emails, which carry potentially more than one threat – malware and ransomware among the most notable – and pose significant danger to users, be they individuals or enterprises.
Spam emails are unsolicited messages sent in bulk that potentially carry malicious content, while phishing involves fake emails that appear to be from a reputable source with the aim of securing personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Emails about undelivered parcels, in particular, increased greatly in the UAE this year.
In January, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority warned consumers to be alert for unexpected text messages that appear to be from well-known courier companies, including Emirates Post, Aramex and DHL Express, as they could be phishing scams.
Etisalat by e&, the UAE's biggest telecoms operator, and Dubai Police issued similar warnings this year over fake rewards and bogus fine payments, respectively.
"Once a cybercriminal understands what motivates an individual’s actions, they try to exploit their lack of knowledge and manipulate their behaviour to meet the end goal," Kaspersky said in Wednesday's report.
Cybersecurity attacks can cause reputational and financial damages to individuals and companies. The global average for a data breach in 2022 was $4.35 million, up from $4.24 million the previous year, according to the latest edition of IBM's Cost of a Data Breach report.
IBM's study included exploits resulting from emails that are of the spam, phishing, malware and ransomware types, among several other threats.
Last year, nearly half of all emails worldwide were spam, which was a more than 3 per cent increase over 2021, Kaspersky said in its spam and phishing report for 2022.
Spam and phishing attacks soared in 2021 as cyber criminals lured users by focusing on topics related to lucrative investments, online streaming of box-office hits including the James Bond film No Time to Die, and themes related to the pandemic, Kaspersky said previously.
In 2022, the trend continued, this time with threat actors using the new season of Netflix's Stranger Things, The Batman movie, Academy Awards and the Fifa World Cup in Qatar as a cover for their illegal operations, the company said.
“There is no aspect of our life that cyber criminals cannot exploit. Human behaviour and emotion is no exception," Maher Yamout, lead security researcher at Kaspersky, wrote in the report.
The four methods meant in the latest study are all incredibly dangerous. The free money technique is a long-running scam that tries to convince users to provide sensitive details to receive a cash deposit.
The KYC tactic, meanwhile, involves bogus messages posing as prominent banks requesting people to complete verification to comply with financial regulations or avoid suspension of transactions, while unusual email account log-in activity techniques flag false sign-in activity that prompts a user to report the activity via a link.
In all cases, cyber criminals are trying to manipulate user emotions, including by using terms such as urgent, trying to instil fear in them, or entice them so that they will be coerced to fall victim to these tactics.
"These scams are a result of manipulation based on fear, curiosity and greed. The key takeaway is to pay attention to basic details in emails before responding, even if they are from trusted sources, because one wrong click can lead to harsh consequences," the report said.
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
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
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
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Pathaan
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Honeymoonish
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The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Not Dark Yet
Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer
Four stars
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
