Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi authorities have arrested 38 members of gang who siphoned off Dh635 million from a local bank account, according to a press release issued by Abu Dhabi Judicial Department on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi Pubic Funds Prosecution, in coordination with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Abu Dhabi Police, succeeded in solving the cybercrime by the 44-member gang, using advanced cyber technology.
The prosecution and the CID, in coordination with the UAE Central Bank, recovered Dh625 million within 24 hours and arrested 38 suspects of Asian and European nationalities before the latter could leave the UAE.
Police are looking for six other suspects in the gang, who are still at large.
The gang purchased 6,000 mobile phones for Dh10 million, which were also confiscated by the authorities, said the press release.
The investigation started when the affected bank reported to the Central Bank about certain suspicious transactions of large sums of money. The public funds prosecution immediately ordered freezing of the suspicious transactions and investigators found that a bank employee had wired Dh635 million to overseas bank accounts of five companies. The employee who made the transactions did not have the authority to do so but he had stolen the username and password of another employee.
The investigators found that the companies which received the money had subsidiaries or branches in the UAE and it came to light that a network of 44 cyber criminals, including the bank employee, were involved in the crime.
Ali Mohammad Al Beloushi of the General Prosecution of Abu Dhabi said the crime was uncovered thanks to the efficient coordination among various official agencies. He praised the rapid response and action on the part of investigation agencies and official bodies. This has also helped Abu Dhabi achieve the reputation as an important investment destination in the region, he said.
The official said the accused would face charges of misappropriation of bank funds under Federal Penal Code No. 7 of 2016 and Federal Law No. 5 of 2012 on cybercrimes. According to the recent amendments in this law, bank funds are considered public funds in certain circumstances, said the press release.
A cyber security expert told Gulf News that the development proved the UAE was one of the leaders in cyber security. “In the present scenario, the probability of catching cyber criminals is very low,” said Rami Shaath, Cyber Forensic Incident responder at Malcrove LLC, a cyber security consultancy in Dubai.
It is not technology but skilled people who are crucial to ensure a foolproof cyber security, he said. However, such skilled resources are not sufficiently available in this region. That’s why the immediate detection of the reported crime and arrest of culprits gains much relevance, Shaath said.
Another expert said the reported cybercrime and immediate arrest of the culprits proved the UAE’s advancement in adapting to cyber security technologies and maturity of cyber security and incident response processes.
Mohan Raj, vice-president at Paramount Computer Systems, a cyber security solutions provider in the GCC, said cyber security is a combination of people, process and technology. Here, the bank probably had a matured system and processes to detect the exploitation and address it immediately, he said.
“The reality is that cyber security is a complex mix of the three factors I mentioned and all of them need to work in synergy to protect systems and information. In this case, the robust process and technology must have enabled a swift response.”
This margin of identifying a threat or attack and reacting to it is important to stem the intensity of a breach, Raj said. However, the key is not only prevention, but also detection of a breach and responding to it, he added.
“With the recent spate of cyber attacks — be it ransom ware attacks or large scale breaches — the underlying message is that the need of the hour is a well-thought-out cyber security plan and it’s certainly a necessity,” Raj said.
