Cyber security is a major concern for Arabian Gulf countries and a growing consideration in their budgets. Reuters
Cyber security is a major concern for Arabian Gulf countries and a growing consideration in their budgets. Reuters
Cyber security is a major concern for Arabian Gulf countries and a growing consideration in their budgets. Reuters
Cyber security is a major concern for Arabian Gulf countries and a growing consideration in their budgets. Reuters

Technology

Quicktake: How to check if your digital identity is compromised

Last week, data of more than 533 million Facebook users was uploaded on an online hacking forum

Alkesh Sharma
Alkesh Sharma

April 11, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

With a series of data breaches hitting the social networking site Facebook and the world’s largest professional network LinkedIn, it is difficult to determine if your sensitive data has been compromised or not.

The National looks at recent leaks and explores potential tools to find out if your digital identity is safe.

Facebook and LinkedIn leaks

The data of more than 533 million Facebook users resurfaced on an online hacking forum on April 3. The data, which was first leaked in 2019, included millions of files containing users' personal information.

On Tuesday, data from more than 500 million LinkedIn profiles was put up for sale on another hacker forum, according to CyberNews, an online publication.

"It is unknown whether the [LinkedIn] leak data is new or old … it may not be a leak at all but rather a bot that has scraped the information and built a massive database," Morey Haber, chief technology officer and chief information security officer at Georgia-based BeyondTrust, told The National.

Have I been pwned

Users can check if their email addresses or phone numbers are part of the data leaks within a few seconds by logging into haveibeenpwned.com.

"Data breaches are rampant and many people don't appreciate the scale or frequency with which they occur," Brisbane-based security researcher Troy Hunt, who runs HIBP, said.

"There’s rather a lot of leaked data floating around at the moment."

The primary value of the recent Facebook data breach is the association of phone numbers to identities, HIBP said on its website.

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"Each stolen record include phone number but only 2.5 million contained an email address. Most records contained names and genders with many also including dates of birth, location, relationship status and employer," it added.

Facebook has no plans to notify half a billion compromised users

Though Facebook admitted that the recent resurfacing of leaked files dated back to a 2019 incident, the company is not planning to notify the users’ whose details are stolen.

The California-based company said malicious actors obtained this data not through hacking its systems, but by scraping it from its platform prior to September 2019. Scraping is a common tactic that often relies on automated software to lift public information from the internet.

"We have teams dedicated to addressing these kinds of issues and understand the impact they can have on the people who use our services," it said in a statement.

What experts advice?

Facebook users need to take "control and ownership" of their online identity, Sam Curry, chief security officer at Boston-based cyber security firm Cybereason, told The National.

"Consumers should check their credit card bills regularly, run a credit report, monitor their credit and consider putting a voluntary freeze on their credit."

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"If something is free ... remember that consumers are most likely the product, not the customer. Many consumers might not value their behavioural and personal data, but someone else values it enough to pay for it," he added.

Industry experts said while some platforms promote the verification for users to confirm if their identities were compromised, but its scope is very limited and sometimes the process could be "malicious".

"Tools like HIBP will allow you to search if your email address has been associated with a breach ... [but] not all breaches involve email-addresses as part of the criteria exposed, which is true in Facebook’s case as well," Ammar Enaya, regional director for Middle East, Turkey and North Africa at cyber security firm Vectra AI, said.

Italian and Irish agencies started probe

An Italian privacy watchdog has started a probe against the Microsoft-owned LinkedIn following the leak. The regulator warned that anyone getting hold of such data and using it could face sanctions.

Ireland’s privacy authority said it was looking into Facebook breach.

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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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.


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Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

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The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:

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  • All tax invoices and tax credit notes
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Camelpox

Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.

Falconpox

Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.

Houbarapox

Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.

Citizenship-by-investment programmes

United Kingdom

The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).

All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.

The Caribbean

Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport. 

Portugal

The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.

“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.

Greece

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.

Spain

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.

Cyprus

Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.

Malta

The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.

The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.

Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.

Egypt 

A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.

Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

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The biog

Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Favourite holiday destination: Spain

Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody

Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa

Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19

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1. Fasting 

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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.

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