Germany-based insurer Allianz Life on Sunday confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber security breach and data of the majority of its 1.4 million customers in North America has been compromised.
The company, a part of the global financial services conglomerate Allianz Group, is the latest among the fast-growing list of big corporations - a large number of which are household names - falling victim to cyber attacks.
Tech giant Microsoft being hit by a wave of activity also made headlines this month, with the list of its affected clients still growing.
Cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated, especially with artificial intelligence providing offenders with more ways of infiltrating systems and breaching layers of security.
About 560,000 new malware pieces are discovered on average every day, according to San Francisco-based security company DeepStrike, which has an office in Dubai.
The National takes a look at some of the biggest names that have been targeted by the digital underworld, on a monthly basis this year.
January: 7 attacks
Twenty-one data breaches were recorded in January, according to the industry watchdog Cyber Management Alliance (CMA), most notably an attack on the UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, which revealed at the time it was investigating a new threat.
Seven ransomware attacks were detected during the month, including on Japanese watch maker Casio and India's Tata Technologies.
February: $9.5m in crypto
Each day presents new threats and February escalated worries in the cyber realm, the CMA said.
Five ransomware attacks were recorded during the month, while data breach-related incidents were also reported. Among the victims were companies including US delivery service GrubHub. The attack impacted personal information of a part of its customer base.
However, arguably the most damaging attack was the one that befell on decentralised money lender zkLend, which said it lost $9.5 million worth of crypto to hackers - continuing the concerns over digital assets despite some "acts of Genius" from the US government to regulate them.
March: X takes big hit
Not even a company run by the world's wealthiest person is safe. Elon Musk's X - formerly Twitter - fell victim to what he described as a "massive" breach, which was later was termed a distributed denial-of-service attack.
That was one of 13 cyber attacks for the month, plus six ransomware incidents that included one that hit Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport, wherein the government rejected a $10 million ransom demand.
Meanwhile, 18 data breaches were recorded, including one at Oracle in which six million data records were taken.
April: No fooling around
Major British retailer Marks & Spencer headlined April's cyber attacks, hitting its deliveries, online transactions and gift card processing.
Twenty major data breaches were recorded by the CMA, including one from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which revealed the discovery of unauthorised access to emails of employees and senior executives, and Britain's Royal Mail, involving about 144GB of stolen data.
On the other hand, 11 ransomware attacks were noted - although six were from inconclusive sources.
May: Coinbase extortion
Retail majors Coca-Cola, M&S peer Harrods, Adidas, Victoria's Secret and Peter Green Chilled, a logistics company that serves British grocery chains, all suffered one form of attack.
However, the most notable was the attack on crypto platform Coinbase, which said an "unknown threat actor" demanded a $20 million ransom. The company offered the same bounty to identify the extortionist.
May was, by far, the most busy month in terms of attacked, with 20 and 21 recorded incidents for data breaches and cyber attacks, respectively, according to CMA data.
June: Retail bonanza
Aside from six ransomware attacks, June was a month when retailers remained a prime target, including outdoor gear maker North Face and luxury brand Cartier.
The big names that suffered include attacks include Washington Post, where a cyber attack compromised its journalists' accounts, and Canada's WestJet, where flight operations were disrupted.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
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
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
AndhaDhun
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Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
