ABU DHABI // A significant proportion of UAE residents have been victims of online hacking, fraud or identity theft, a new survey indicates.
Of 751 residents questioned for Al Aan TV's Nabd al Arab ("Arabs' Pulse") programme by YouGov Siraj, 24 per cent had been victims of hacking, 13pc of identity theft and 22pc of online fraud.
The result is widespread concern about the risks of social networks, with two in five (40pc) saying they were somewhat or extremely unsafe.
Perhaps because it is the most widely used, Facebook is also the site about which there are most safety concerns, with a third (35pc) of respondents saying it was the least safe social network.
And 42pc of respondents were concerned that Facebook’s new facial recognition feature posed a “big security risk”.
When asked if they would consider deactivating their Facebook account because of the new facial recognition feature, nine per cent said they would, 44 per cent said they might, and most of the rest (47pc) said they would not.
The new technology would make it easier for users to “tag” people in their photos by using its vast database to recognise those people. Ultimately it could allow users to search for people by using a photo. A writer at the PCWorld website last week called the technology “creepy” and “terrifying”.
To opt out of facial recognition, Facebook users can go to Account> Account Settings > Privacy > Customize Settings > Things Others Share and disable “Suggest photos of me to friends”.
Despite the doubts around facial recognition, the director of Zayed University’s advanced cyber forensic research laboratory in Abu Dhabi said Facebook has been shoring up its security.
“Facebook, of course, has launched some privacy settings, which is a good step in the right direction,” Dr Ibrahim Baggili said. “But are most people aware of these and know how to configure their settings themselves?”
Dr Baggili can vouch for the risks inherent in social networks.
“From a technological standpoint, there has been vulnerability that has been found on Facebook, Twitter, and all the social networking websites and even Gmail,” he noted. “There’s always going to be hackers and most of the time, someone is being targeted. I’ve been targeted myself recently.”
In the survey for Al Aan TV, respondents spelt out the risks.
Two-thirds (65pc) said many people online pretend to be someone they were not, while 43 per cent were concerned about the many reported cases of identity theft. Still, nearly half (47pc) thought social networks were safe.
The survey was conducted from June 14 to 22 and had a margin of error of four per cent. Forty-five per cent of the respondents were Asians, 35pc Arab expats, 14pc Emiratis, 5pc westerners and 2pc others.
Dr Baggili said privacy was in peril because members of social networks tend to tell a lot about themselves online.
“Over the last six or seven years, people have been extremely comfortable putting all this personal information online,” he said. “A lot of people had their Facebook accounts hacked and they lost a lot of their personal data, which they don’t want to share with anyone.”
Twenty-nine per cent said they were concerned about being online in general, but far more (63pc) were not, saying they were careful and knew how to keep themselves secure online.
Sixty per cent visit or use social networks, while nine per cent were not members of any social network.
The most popular, by a long way, was Facebook, used by 82 per cent of respondents. It was popular with all nationality groups: Asians (86pc), westerners (67pc) Emiratis (80pc) and Arab expatriates (78pc).
Three quarters of Facebook users said they use the site every day.
Other sites caused far less security concern than Facebook, with none being cited by more than four per cent of respondents.
Twitter was the next most widely used site, with 30 per cent saying they had an account. Even then, it was used less often than Facebook; only 40 per cent said they used it every day.
“It is not really about how secure a site is,” Dr Baggili said. “It’s about how willing you are to expose yourself to other people. Are we posting something in there that will cause our privacy to be compromised? That’s the question that people should be asking themselves.”
He said identity fraud – where hackers obtain personal information and use it to impersonate the owner of the account – continued to thrive on social networks.
“One can create an e-mail address and impersonate that person,” he said. “Identity fraud can also be used to blackmail people.”
Social network users can also fall prey to phishing scams when they click on a link to a bogus site and are asked to log in again, giving their user names and passwords.
“Whatever you post online should be stuff that you don’t care about,” Dr Baggili said. “You shouldn’t care who’s seeing it. Unfortunately, people don’t follow this golden rule, including myself.”
Dana Shadid, a producer on Nabd al Arab, said: "People should be careful who they add on websites such as Facebook because adding random people is a security hazard. The best thing is to ensure that they fully log out of their pages – and they should carefully read any pop-up window that gives them the option to save their username and password."
rruiz@thenational.ae
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
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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
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
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SANCTIONED
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- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
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Director: Jessica M Thompson
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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
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
