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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

Cybercrimes in the UAE – phishing, hacking and data leaks

30 January 2018

According to the Economist, the world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data. The aim of cybercrimes such as phishing and hacking is essentially to gain access to the data of companies and individuals, including sensitive details like bank accounts and other personal information.

The scale of cybercrimes is increasing each year. 2017 saw some of the biggest hacking incidents with worldwide impact, the most prominent being the Wannacry ransomware attack which shut down governments, hospitals and businesses for days. In the UAE, consumers alone lost USD 1.3 billion to cybercrimes. This does not take into account organisational losses which are likely to be many times more.

In the UAE, there are specific laws that deal with phishing, hacking and data leaks which we discuss in this note. We also discuss some best practices for companies to adopt to prevent and manage cyberattacks and the importance of prioritising cybersecurity as a board agenda item and not simply as a matter for the IT department.

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