Dubai: Protect your privacy. Stop posting every meal, every event, and every action you take. Stop checking in. Nothing is private on the internet.
This is the advice that the Telecom Regulation Authority (TRA) and Al Ameen Service want every resident of the UAE to understand and abide by to the best of their ability.
In a special session on cyber security and threats held at Gulf News, Nouri Safwan, Network Security Engineer and Awareness Specialist from TRA, talked about what people should protect themselves against. Read the story
Video: Stop checking in. Nothing is private on the internet.This is the advice that the Telecom Regulation Authority (TRA) and Al Ameen Service want every resident of the UAE to understand and abide by to the best of their ability. Posted by Gulf News on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
He urged everybody to read terms and conditions of all apps before accepting them, especially “third party apps”. People should apply logic as to why an app needs access to their photos, accounts and other elements for a particular service.
“Do not post sensitive information on your mobile. Do not post personal pictures. Ensure geo location is not on, unless needed. On the internet, nothing is secure – everything is accessible. The biggest issue is not looking into privacy.”
Safwan said that posting every minute detail of your life just gives cyber thieves all the necessary information to make you a target without much effort. Blackmail becomes an easy second step for them.
He also talked about issues such as reposting. “Do not repost unless you are sure of the source.” Putting up content from unknown sources will make a person liable, especially if what he or she has posted is of a dubious nature. “People have to be responsible.”
This brings us to the various rumours that make the rounds, especially recent ones that said that people who might make remarks of a negative nature about the UAE, such as stating that the temperature is too hot, would see him or her fined immediately to the sum of Dh5,000 by the CID.
Safwan rubbished the idea. He said: “The CID would not arrest people without reason. There are rules and laws, they would need to go to the Public Prosecution…there should be a procedure.”
However, people saying malicious things about the country that can have impact, affect and cause damage will be treated in an extremely serious manner, which is true of any nation in the world.
Safwan urged people to write in if you have any queries for him. Post it below and we’ll take it to him for you. You can also email us on readers@gulfnews.com or send us a tweet on @gulf_news.
