DUBAI // A hacker who disabled Virgin Radio Dubai’s website says he was motivated by patriotism.
The man hacked into the pop music station site yesterday morning and left a message in grey text protesting at the “bling, bling” culture of international singers and dancers coming to the UAE.
“Your database is with me,” his message read. “I’ll sell the admin login script in the black market to get some cash. No files have been deleted from your server.”
Below the statement was a link to a YouTube video of the Islamic preacher Khalid Yasin criticising celebrity culture.
The hacker, who calls himself OxAlien, says he is an Emirati and targeted the station because it had a history of sponsoring events that brought western singers to perform in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“Virgin has gone too far, really,” he said. He said they were giving the UAE a bad reputation and claimed most Emiratis agreed.
“Just log in to Twitter whenever there is a celebrity in the UAE and read the tweets from the citizens of the UAE. You’ll find that 95 per cent of them are angry because of this.”
No one from Virgin Radio Dubai or its parent company, Arabian Radio Network, was willing to comment. The site was still offline last night.
OxAlien said he learnt how to hack on the internet.
“Of course I’m concerned about getting caught,” he said. “They will catch me if I have made mistakes when hacking into the website. Maybe I forgot to erase evidence. Only time will tell.”
He said he felt it was important to disable the site to get his message out that some performers should not be allowed into the country.
“We all know the UAE is a major tourist destination and we are welcoming people from diverse races,” OxAlien said.
"I have no problem with that. I myself have Jewish and Christian friends. We treat each other with respect.
"But let's not forget that the UAE has been and will always be a Muslim country and people should respect it for what it is."
David Michaux, from the cyber-security company Whispering Bell, said such hacking was rare in the UAE.
"Hacking and then defacing a website tends to be done more to attract attention and a bit of glamour for the hacker," he said.
“If the hacker is in the UAE then they could be in serious trouble as this country has some strict cyber laws. If he has stolen a database from the website and is now selling it, it falls into criminality.”
nhanif@thenational.ae
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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if you go
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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