UAE: Posting high-resolution photos on social media could put you at risk; here's why

Khaleej Times

17-03-2025

Enjoy sharing high-quality photographs on social media platforms? Here's why you should take a step back — UAE residents have been warned against posting high-resolution images online, as they could be exploited for identity theft, SIM swapping, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.
"If you have two high-resolution images on social media, scammers can identify figure prints, and they can create digital identity or image to create a bank account or create an e-SIM," said Ashraf Koheil, regional sales director for Meta, Group-IB.
Social media penetration in the UAE is relatively high, as an average resident has more than one social media account, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube. Cybersecurity experts warn that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting Friday nights, knowing that security operations are not running at full capacity on that day.
"They could manipulate digital identity and date of birth and create a crypto account and use that account for money laundering and terror financing," he said. Koheil also added that students from financially sound backgrounds are often targeted.
SIM swapping, MITM attacks
Although criminals could use high-res images for facial recognition or create deepfakes, this is not the most significant security concern, said Andreas Hassellöf, CEO of Ombori.
"The real risks stem from sharing personal data — such as email addresses, phone numbers and other sensitive details — that can directly be exploited. It's still important to be mindful of your digital footprint and limit sharing personal information; however, the focus should be on defending against more immediate threats like phishing, SIM swapping, and other forms of identity theft that are much more prevalent and dangerous in today's digital landscape," he said.
Hassellöf noted that threats like SIM swapping, phishing, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks are more significant and immediate risks.
A SIM swap scam happens when criminals take control of someone's phone by tricking his carrier to connect his phone number to a SIM card. In an MITM attack, a perpetrator gets in the middle of communication to eavesdrop or impersonate.
"While facial recognition technology is advancing, the real-world application of this in terms of stealing identities for financial gain is still quite distant. These are much more plausible ways in which someone's bank account or personal information can be compromised. In fact, voice cloning and deepfakes are far more of a threat, and they do have real-world examples where people have been tricked or scammed out of significant sums of money," he added.
More attacks on Fridays
Ashraf Koheil elaborated that attackers try to hide in high-traffic waves. "For example, a telecom firm is running a back-to-school holiday promotion. This is when they start bombarding messages. Second, they do geofencing. For instance, if you log in from a website in the UAE, you may be able to see Salik. If you log in from Saudi Arabia, you may see a local service provider; if you log in from Egypt, you may see another local company. So, they are making it very difficult for technology vendors to detect.
"They start phishing attacks on Friday night because they know that security operations are relaxed on the weekend," Koheil added.
As a result of these challenges, security firms that could usually detect and stop an attack within an hour may take up to four hours.
"Just like we study them, they study us as well," Koheil said.
Multi-factor authentication
To address threats of SIM swapping and MITM attacks, Andreas Hassellöf of Ombori suggested that the solution lies in implementing multi-factor authentication to add layers of security, using AI-driven technologies to detect manipulated images, and leveraging blockchain-based identity management for tamper-proof protection.
"While the fear of biometric misuse is understandable, the focus should remain on addressing the more realistic and pressing security vulnerabilities," he added.