Month: October 2013

24/10/2013

Cyber attacks have become a growing threat for individuals and businesses in recent times, particularly in light of the increasing reliance on modern technology in fields like telecommunications, administration, banking and finance, which are the prime targets for cyber criminals. In this context, the recent report by Symantec, a data and information Security specialized firm, showed that the UAE’s financial losses resulting from electronic attacks totaled AED 1.8 billion in the past 12 months ending in September 2013. 55% of the losses amounting at AED 1.046 billion were the share of individual internet users, while losses of businesses were more than AED 790 million during the same period.

The UAE is among the countries that are highly vulnerable to cyber attacks in the region, especially that it comes at the top in terms of internet usage, adoption of digital technology and e-readiness as part of its drive towards knowledge economy, enablement of digital culture and dissemination of eTransactions across ministries and government entities to keep pace with developments in the modern world. This played role in making the UAE a target for cyber hackers who take advantage of some people’s lack of awareness of the techniques used in the cyber attacks. Those techniques are mainly focused on hacking credit card numbers and bank fraud attempts using sophisticated methods in order to illegally withdraw money by faking certain documents or hacking the bank’s code or PINs of customers’ accounts.

There is no doubt that cyber attacks had negative impacts on individuals and business climate in the UAE. However, what eases the fear is that there are parallel formal and semi-formal movements to provide a more secure space for eTransactions and maintain a digital environment that strengthens trust in these transactions. The UAE’s various government entities have accelerated the adoption of the most sophisticated digital applications and the latest techniques and solutions related to network security in their integrated bases. Moreover, the active efforts by security services and the police are capable of addressing these cyber crimes with a high degree of efficiency and professionalism as they continuously develop and upgrade their physical and technical capabilities and potentials as well as improve their human resources’ performance. They are also keen to keep up with the different technological and electronic developments in the world in relation to combating cybercrimes and Electronic Forensic Science in order to find expertise in the field of information security to address the different types of cyber attacks and swiftly track the attackers.

As individuals are the main targets of cyber attacks in the UAE, it has become very important to work on raising their awareness of the new methods used in electronic fraud and how to combat them. Although the Ministry of Interior launched several awareness-raising initiatives to warn people and companies against such crimes, it is still important for all concerned entities and authorities to participate in increasing public awareness of this phenomenon in order to effectively combat it and eliminate its impacts as much as possible.

 

Oct 21, 2013

The UAE’s digital ID card project has been a successful experience at all levels. It adopts the highest levels of excellence and quality and implements the world’s best practices. This helped make the Authority a reference for many countries and international entities. Highlights in this regard, is the memorandum of understanding recently signed between the Emirates Identity Authority and the United Nations based on which the UN will benefit from UAE’s experience in developing advanced identity programs globally. Under the MoU, Emirates ID and the UN will implement joint initiatives and projects in the field of sustainable development and boost knowledge society on the global level through organizing international conferences and workshops and conducting specialized researches.

There is no doubt that the attention given by the UAE to the digital ID project reflects the priority given to building up the information and statistics sector  in the country’s total development strategy. It also reflects the serious efforts exerted to convert plans, strategies and objectives in this respect into tangible actions on grounds. The progress witnessed by the UAE today requires development of IT and statistics sectors being vital elements linked to the different development plans and strategies.

The digital ID project with its integrated civil electronic biometric database, the world’s largest database within its population register, is very significant as it boosts UAE’s global position, helps achieve the UAE Vision 2021 aiming for UAE to become one the best countries in the world and contributes in realizing the objectives of the comprehensive and sustainable development. The database, standard procedures and comprehensive and accurate information provided by the project should help the country’s institutions and entities to organize their policies and set up their various plans that require availability of a highly authenticated information, particularly those related to workforces and demography, keeping up to the requirements of economic development and its plans in various sectors.

The Emirates Identity Authority has become a model for excellence and success. It  has won several local and international awards and certificates in recognition of its successes and innovations in the smart identity and information security fields. Among the awards was the ‘BIZZ 2013 Award’ granted annually by the World Confederation of Business in appreciation for its role in establishing a modern population database for the UAE that supports streamlining services of both public and private sectors. Emirates ID has also won the ‘Quality Achievements Award’ granted by the European Society for Quality based in Switzerland, and the ‘ICT Leadership Award’, part of the Middle East Business Leaders Summit and Awards during the 4th edition of the Middle East Business Leaders Summit and Awards 2013 held in Abu Dhabi. In September 2013, His Highness General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the UAE and Chairman of Emirates ID, received, on behalf of Emirates ID, 3 ISO certificates issued by the British Standards Institution: (ISO 9001 – Quality Management System), (ISO 27001 – Information Security Management System) and (The International Customer Service Standard TICSS).

19/10/2013

The UAE under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (may Allah save him) is distinguished by its ongoing quest to excel and pioneer in all areas. Therefore, the UAE always promotes the culture of excellence, creativity and innovation as a methodology of work at all government institutions across the country.

To this extent, His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said in his speech launching the “Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Forum (ADEF) 2013”: “the UAE boasts of possessing all the elements of pioneering and is committed to providing a general climate that encourages leadership, initiative and innovation and brings growth and progress the entire nation”. ADEF was recently organized by “Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development” under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Today, the UAE realizes that establishing a society based on innovation and creativity has become a must in order to transform into knowledge economy and achieve the goals of the comprehensive and sustainable development, while also achieving excellence and leadership in all areas regionally and globally. For that reason, UAE adopted several initiatives to encourage creativity and innovation, particularly setting up the Technical Innovation City in Abu Dhabi, with support from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to be a center for education, research and technology transfer. Besides, the UAE government sponsored a number of awards to encourage research and creativity, such as the “Young Emirati Innovators” Award, the Patent Award, and “Zayed Future Energy Prize”, the biggest prize worldwide which targets development of innovative solutions to create sustainable energy future. This complements the big attention given by the UAE government to scientific research based on innovation and creativity aiming to prepare national cadres possessing the tools of modern knowledge and capable of utilizing these tools to serve the objectives of development in all sectors.

The UAE’s keen interest to build up a society of innovation and creativity has become a tangible reality whose positive results began to reflect in its excellence in the global competitiveness indexes. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (2013-2014) issued in September 2013, UAE was ranked 19th overall on the Global Competitiveness Index beating many advanced countries such as France, Ireland and Australia. On some key sub-indexes the UAE was among the top countries in the world, where it ranked 1^st in roads quality, absence of organized crimes and containment of the effects of inflation.

The report clearly showed that for the eighth consecutive years the UAE has maintained its presence among the “Creativity-and-Innovation-based Economies); the highest growth level of global economies.

The progress that has been achieved by the UAE in this field resulted from the adoption of creativity and innovation methodology by government institutions across the country. In this context, the ‘Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research’ (ECSSR) played an outstanding role in promoting the culture of creativity and innovation through its various activities and events. ECSSR has organized last month the 4^th Education Annual Conference titled “Future of Education in the UAE: Innovation and Knowledge Production’. The conference addressed the relationship between innovation-based education and the development process. H.E. Dr. Jamal Sanad Al Suwaidi, Director General of ECSSR, stressed that the new pillars of today’s economy rely heavily on science and innovation.. The society that produces knowledge and use it to serve the development process is the one to prevail on the world’s competitiveness map.

01/10/2013

“Akhbar Al-Sa’ah” bulletin highlighted UAE’s keenness to consistently and directly communicate with its citizens, pay attention to their views and ideas and learn about their needs in order to achieve the interaction and cohesion that should lead to security and stability in the country.

In its editorial entitled “Cohesion between leadership and people is the source of stability”, the bulletin referred to the statement of His Highness Lt.-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Vice-Chairman of the Emirates Identity Authority, when he said that the unique cohesion between the prudent leadership and the UAE people is the cornerstone of the unique stability, security and welfare enjoyed in the UAE today under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheikh Saif made his remarks in a lecture on national security at the National Defence College in Abu Dhabi.

The bulletin, issued by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, clarified that the creative interaction between UAE’s leadership and citizens is one of the key characteristics of the country since its inception.

Over the past decades, this cohesion was the protecting fence to UAE’s unity experience and the solid basis for realizing miraculous achievements in the different fields of development. UAE’s wise leadership is always keen, since the days of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to directly communicate with its citizens, listen to their views and ideas and keep their doors open to them. No barriers between the leadership and people exist and no obstacles to hinder their interaction and cohesion, which is a live and practical embodiment of the meaning of democracy and the philosophy behind its objectives.

The bulletin added that the model given by our wise leadership in its relationship with the citizens has been protecting UAE’s safety and stability. It has been making the UAE’s society immune against any infiltration attempts by any extremist groups whatever their theme may be and whichever pretexts they may hide behind in order to achieve their suspected objectives that have nothing to do with the society’s values and beliefs.

The bulletin went on saying that the UAE is moving ahead towards the future full of confidence that it had established a correct and strong political and social structure, and with absolute faith that any attempts to trigger chaos in the society will fail in front of the deeply rooted belonging and loyalty Emiratis carry to their country, their full allegiance to their leadership and the values of tolerance, integration and moderation they believe in and which are being promoted and consolidated by the wise leadership’s sayings and deeds.

The article referred to the recent statements by the Secretary General of the GCC, Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani, when he emphasized that the spirit of tolerance, love and moderation which characterizes Gulf societies, particularly in the UAE, had given them the ability to protect their countries and preserve their achievements.

The editorial concluded that the UAE adopts a comprehensive vision of the national security with citizen as its core because the citizen is a partner in building and protecting this security and is its main target. This stems from the pivotal position and utmost priority given to citizens by the prudent leadership in their policies, plans, current and future visions in a framework of the stage of empowerment launched by His Highness, the President, in 2005. The goal of the stage of empowerment is the creation of innovative environment to enable people to acquire the necessary elements of power in order to increase their participation and contribution to the various social, political, economic, and intellectual aspects of life.