Abu Dhabi: The UAE has launched a major reform of its court system to cope with the growth of the internet and the rising global investment in the country.
A ministerial resolution was taken to create special courts specifically dedicated to cybercrimes, it was announced on Monday.
Dr Hadef Bin Jua'an Al Daheri, Minister of Justice, said the rapid growth and advancement of the UAE in all financial and economic areas as well as IT and communication must be matched by similar advances in the judicial system.
"This prompted the establishment of specialised courts for cybercrimes to speed up litigation and serve litigants more effectively."
Dr Al Daheri added that the UAE had issued a law to combat cybercrimes in 2006 (Federal Law No. (2) of 2006 on the Prevention of Information Technology Crimes) because computers and IT, which have huge potential for good can also be a dangerous force when used for crimes.
Specialist judges
Al Daheri said the country has specialist judges with PhDs in the area of cybercrime, IT and related legislations. He stressed that these crimes pose huge threats to government institutions and private companies the world over.
The minister said as technology continues to evolve and cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated, the UAE must remain focused and be one step ahead.
The motivation of many cybercriminals had shifted from penetrating government networks to financial gain. They are targeting personal finances and defrauding people in elaborate internet schemes.
Cybersecurity in the country has become tighter following the creation of the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team in 2007.
The UAE's Telecom Regulatory Authority has tasked this new group, which will start operations this year, with fighting cybercrime in the country.
Ever since, the UAE counteracted many attacks, mainly website defacement, phishing attacks which caused immense damage to the businesses.
The UAE lately has been the focus of attention regarding cybercrime in the Gulf, as a large cyberfraud gang offering bogus services from the Dubai International Finance Centre was dismantled.
The authorities also thwarted a hacking attempt on the Dubai eGovernment computer network, and the UAE are regional leaders in terms of sheer numbers of cyber attacks.
— With inputs from WAM
Have you been a victim of cyber crime? Have you reported it to the authorities? T
