ABU DHABI // An Emirati cyber security researcher is calling on academic institutions to play a greater role in researching potential threats to the UAE.
Mohammed bin Haider Almarashda, a doctoral candidate and researcher in cyber security at Bournemouth University in the UK, said academia could provide up-to-date and accurate research to assist the decision-making process at government level, instead of relying mostly on private sector consultants and foreign companies.
“The education sector is the primary area to build the country in various fields, it plays many important and critical roles,” he said.
“It’s also clear that cyber security is vital to keeping governments, private-sector employers, and citizen’s information safe from malicious hacking, state-sponsored economic espionage, and worse.”
He said academia had the ability to play a greater role in cyber-security research “to build a robust and protected framework from any attack”.
“In the UAE there is a varied and vital environment for conducting research, especially in cyber security,” he said.
“Universities need to focus and aim their strategies and research patterns to be parallel with government strategies.
“In the GCC, we lack this type of research in this domain.”
Cyber security was in the spotlight last month during the RSA conference in Abu Dhabi, which featured a keynote address by Richard Clarke, a former cyber-security adviser to the White House.
He warned future attacks on infrastructure, such as desalination and power plants, in the UAE were a distinct possibility. Greater effort would be required to prevent such attacks from occurring.
At a conference in April, Mr Almarashda said the Government had allocated Dh5.5 billion to battle cyber threats and to secure data. He added academia could provide government with research into areas where required, such as current threats, developments in the field, vulnerabilities, prevention and response.
In higher education, the UAE has made efforts to direct youth into careers in technology, which appears to have paid off in terms of knowledge of cyber-security issues. But many other in the GCC were less likely to consider a career in the field, according to a recent poll.
According to survey commissioned by defence firm Raytheon and the US government’s National Cyber Security Alliance, 70 per cent of UAE youth were found to be more confident in their knowledge and education in cyber-related issues than in the rest of the world (65 per cent).
However, 42 per cent of adults in the GCC were less likely to consider a career in the field, compared with 16 per cent globally.
“The GCC has a growing reservoir of talent whose skills can be well utilised in cyber-security positions,” said Shahzad Zafar, Raytheon’s director of cyber security.
esamoglou@thenational.ae
How to wear a kandura
Dos
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- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
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Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
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Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
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
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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