Cybercriminals usually requested ransoms ranging from half a million dollars all the way up to US$21 million. Some attackers also upped the ante by carrying out double-extortion attacks, where they pilfer data from the victims’ systems before going on to encrypt them with ransomware … which would lead to embarrassment and stock devaluation at best, and to huge regulation penalties.

To reduce the environmental impact of construction, the industry must broaden its awareness of sustainability, which includes examining the quantity of waste produced which is expected to only rise in future. Out of total solid wastes generated in the UAE, the construction and demolition wastes or (C&D wastes) account for 70% of the total weight of solid wastes.

Fady Younes said: “Many operators have limited technical knowledge but still can operate RATs or information-stealers – posing a significant risk to corporations given the right conditions. In this case, what appeared to be simple campaign was, in fact, a continuous operation that has been active for years – targeting a whole industry with commodity malware hidden with different crypters.”

His Excellency Nicola Lener, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE said, “Over the last 5 years, the international community has relied heavily on Italy’s expertise and experience in aeronautics, space, naval and land defence resulting in continuous increase in turnover (from Euro 15.5 billion to Euro 17 billion over the last 2 years) and innovation”.