http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=27370 Ras Al Khaimah |By Nasouh Nazzal | 26-09-2001 There were 5,000 attempts by professional hackers to invade the Dubai Police computer network in the two hours prior to a visit by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, to the Officers Club on June 15, a senior officer has revealed. Issa Salem Al Jalaf, head of police Strategic Planning, said that by the time of Sheikh Mohammed's visit, when all car number plates had been stored in the network, hackers attempted to invade it. Al Jalaf, who is General Coordinator of Dubai e-government, said the full resources of the police and Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) were used to foil the hackers. Al Jalaf was speaking at the Ras Al Khaimah Police Officers Club during a seminar on "The Security of Information and Computer Crimes". About eight per cent of the hackers are employed by UAE companies. Many of them planned post-graduate studies to become as professional as possible in their destructive activities, he said. Many UAE companies have lost billions of dirhams as a result of hacking. Yet the UAE does not have a law specifically banning hacking, although the Ministry of Justice is preparing one. Hackers are charged on the basis of laws dealing with comparable crimes, he said. Most large companies have no security systems to protect their computer files, and those which do have installed them haphazardly. Numerous companies have fallen victim to hackers, many of whom are thieves seeking financial gain. Others are spies, collecting national or industrial information. Others are company employees seeking revenge, and still others are motivated by a desire for notoriety, he said. The authorities should work with high-tech security companies, but only after laws upholding security of information have been adopted, he said. Nobody can create a 100 per cent secure network. It is only possible to make it difficult for hackers to gain access. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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