Latest news with #Koheil
Khaleej Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Posting high-resolution photos on social media could put you at risk; here's why
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.
Khaleej Times
13-03-2025
- Khaleej Times
Gulf countries to consider restricting social media access for teens
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are discussing with technology companies how to monitor and restrict social media usage for teens. "Governments in the GCC are looking to regulate social media access for teenagers. There are discussions now in the region that we need to regulate social media usage for people under 16 or 18. Similar to the ongoing debate in Egypt about the age,' said Ashraf Koheil, regional sales director for Meta, at a conference in Dubai. While speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Group-IB's latest High-Tech Crime Trends Report 2025, Koheil said he would visit Australia to share information related to the topic. He stressed that there are solutions to monitor and restrict teenagers from social media usage with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and other identity management solutions. Many countries have introduced social media restrictions on young people as smartphones become ubiquitous and teenagers spend hours online, surfing social media platforms, which exposes them to cybercriminals. In November 2024, Australia approved a social media ban for children aged under 16. Similarly, France and some US states have passed laws to restrict access for minors without a parent's permission The European Union also forbade technology giants from targeting children with personalised advertisements and asked them to send reminders to teenagers to take breaks and turn off autoplay. China also rolled out its Cybersecurity Law and Minor Protection Law, putting restrictions on what can be shown to kids online and imposes time limits on daily usage of online services. Netherlands has also put a ban on smart devices — mobile phones, smartwatches and tablets — in primary and secondary schools as these gadgets cause 'distractions' and hinder academic performances of students. Public schools in the UAE don't allow students to bring mobile phones to school to protect their safety and privacy. In a directive issued in November last year, the Ministry of Education warned that repeated instances of being caught with phones in school would result in the devices being confiscated for a month. Private schools across the country have either banned the use of phones in school or strongly regulated their use. Some schools allow senior students to carry mobile phones but under strict conditions. School networks typically have filters that block access to social media sites. UAE residents, on average, have more than one social media account. The average daily time spent on social media by people of all age groups is nearly three hours a day, according to Global Media Insights. It said a large percentage of Instagram's 6.67 million users in the UAE are young, especially teenagers. In the GCC, over 50 per cent of the local youth population is under the age of 25. UAE leads The High-Tech Crime Trends Report 2025 revealed that internet services were the most frequently targeted sector for phishing in the Middle East and Africa. Telecommunications and financial services followed closely, with professional services and logistics also facing notable threats amid the region's expanding digital system, said Dmitry Volkov, CEO and co-founder of Group-IB. Craig Jones, former director of cybercrime at Interpol, said the UAE is a regional leader when it comes to cybersecurity. 'The UAE is pretty good in what it is doing. There's a good reporting mechanism in place. There's an online reporting portal now for victims of cybercrime to report that to the police. There's very good cooperation between the government entities as well,' said Jones. 'The UAE is seen as one of the leaders regionally. For example, the UAE is part of the counter-ransomware initiative. The UAE is part of the solution in trying to solve that problem and already recognises that information sharing is important to combat cybercrimes.
