A raft of new penalties, including fines of up to Dh1 million and jail terms of five years, have been passed in the UAE in response to growing online cryptocurrency fraud that has left people around the world out of pocket by hundreds of millions. Al Rowaad Advocates Managing Partner Dr Hassan Elhais explained the new provisions to The National newspaper, including the application against anyone promoting e-currency without a proper license and separately against anyone using ‘bots’ to circulate crypto scams. In 2018, two Dubai residents were sentenced to more than 500 years in jail for fraud of almost $500 million in one such scheme.
As technology develops the laws that govern its use are usually a pace or two behind. The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has recently clarified the position on VPN use in the country, as outlined by this Arabian Business article. Acknowledging VPNs are often essential for the safe and secure transmission of data by companies, the authority has said it is only illegal to a use a VPN if it is being used to cover up or obscure an illegal activity. The penalty for doing so, as laid down by the country’s Cyber Crimes laws, is a fine of between Dh500,000 and Dh2 million and a term of imprisonment.
I offer my legal opinion in an article over the warning from the UAE's Attorney General Dr Hamad Al Shamsi that rumours and misinformation spread by people in the UAE about the Coronavirus pandemic will lead to legal consequences. I am quoted affirming Dr Al Shamsi's words that such behaviour could be punished under threats to national security or cybercrime laws, explaining that any action that contribute to public fear or panic will be penalized. The article also clarifies that some people in the UAE had already faced legal action as a result of such activity.
I contribute to an article in The National newspaper warning residents to not spread rumours about the coronavirus outbreak that could incite public panic. As the virus spreads, the prevalence of alarmist social media posts containing misinformation have been growing, including one inaccurate post claiming three people in Dubai have died from the illness. The newspaper quotes my legal advice that circulating hoax news that contribute to public fear and panic could be penalized with a prison sentence of between one month and three years. I also explain that it is important that UAE authorities take such incidents seriously.
This week in my column in The National newspaper, I advise a reader who writes in about recently being accosted by a man after she took photos in public that may have included him or his family. The reader deleted the photos but wanted to know what the law says. I explain that it is not illegal to take photos in public in the UAE but there are strong cyber crime laws that protect privacy - punishable by up to six months imprisonment and a fine of up to Dh5,000. I advise the reader not to take photos of people in public without their consent.
In an article in the Khaleej Times newspaper, two of our lawyers explain what new amendments to UAE Information Technology crime laws mean. Hassan Elhais clarifies that online insults and threats may no longer lead to jail time or deportation, but judges have discretion - whereas they previously did not. Awatif Mohammed explains that there is a limitation to this, with sexual crimes and hate crimes still attracting the same punishments - which can even include the death penalty. However, she reveals the use of electronic probation measures is a region-first and shows the country is developing a sophisticated judicial system.
I give an explanation about the significant rise of bank account hacking in an article published by Khaleej Times newspaper. The article reports on official figures from Dubai Police which show cybercrime grew from 268 registered cases in 2016 to 649 in 2018. Out of all cybercrime, 711 crimes related to the hacking of bank accounts. I explain a common method of hacking is for criminals to forge documents that enable them to then apply for new SIM cards with the telecommunications companies and proceed to hack accounts. I encourage more stringency in issuing new SIM cards to curb this growing criminal trend.
In my publication this week, I discussed about the necessity of understanding the pertinent laws of cyber-crime in United Arab Emirates, which can help the general public to escape from any complication related to this subject.
In my publication this week, I discussed the aggravating circumstances in a Cyber Crime.
In this publication, I successfully filed a case on behalf of my client whose money was transferred (without authority) to a company based in Dubai for conducting financial services. I obtained a court order in the amount of USD 250,000, including 9% legal interest, to be paid in favour of my client.
In this publication, I discussed about the development of various information technology laws and regulations to combat attacks on information system networks in the UAE. I further discussed about applicable penalties for the breach of attacks on those sophisticated systems.
In my interview this week in Gulf News newspaper, I explained about the issue of identity theft. I spoke about who the usual victims in such cases are and the manner in which fraudsters operate to extract personal information.
Total Publications: 12
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