UAE reports drop in cyber attacks in first half of 2019

Officials at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority say incidents are down 43 per cent

epa07294580 (FILE) - ILLUSTRATION - A person sits in front of a computer screen in Moers, Germany, 04 January 2019 (reissued 19 Jauary 2019). Media reports on 17 January 2019 state that a record with numerous stolen user data has been published on the Internet. The collection named Collection #1 contained almost 773 million different email addresses, more than 21 million different passwords and more than a billion combinations of credentials, according to a Australian IT security expert. Internet users shall be affected worldwide. EPA/SASCHA STEINBACH

The TRA said 113 cyberattacks occurred between January and May 2019 against 199 in the same period in 2018. EPA

Jun 23, 2019

The UAE’s telecoms authority has reported a 43 per cent drop in cyber attacks on government and private sector companies during the first five months of this year.

Officials from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said 113 cyber attacks occurred between January and May 2019 against 199 in the same period in 2018.

Seven of the offensives were categorised as critically harmful, 11 were of medium damage and seven of low impact, the regulator said.

Activity included attempts to deface and block government websites, as well as fraud and identity and document theft. No further details were given.

The authority has been behind recent awareness campaigns aimed at highlighting the dangers of cyber attacks.

Experts have held a series of seminars and workshops to promote best practice in tackling the issue.

In a report released this month, DarkMatter, a private cyber security firm based in the UAE, said it had documented “growing incidence of cyber attacks across the UAE and the wider Middle East”.

“As cyber criminals keep abreast of emerging developments in technology, they are striking in ever more sophisticated ways and aiming their weapons where they are likely to cause the most damage,” the report said.