Security News > 2007 > March > Kuwait hacker haven

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=9900 By Sameh Mohammed Special to the Arab Times 8th Mar 2007 KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait has the highest percentage of Internet hacking in the world, says the Chairman of a seminar on Internet Hackers organized by Kuwait Information Technology Society. Within two days of Communications Minister Dr Maasouma Al-Mubarak vowing to fight hackers, websites of several government departments were hacked, he adds. Information Technology activist Ahmed Al-Ibrahim said hackers can be grouped into three categories including those who steal personal information, others who break passwords and people who hack as a daily business, adding in Kuwait the last category has spread widely. Sometimes these hackers send political messages to the public. Indicating Kuwait does not have any law against hackers, Attorney Mohammed Al-Dalaal said the private sector has been demanding the government to law down some rules against such crimes for a long time. Currently, the country has only one law and two ministerial decisions to deal with electronic crimes and even they are not directly related to hacking, he noted. He also said the United States has been exerting pressure on Kuwait to amend its Intellectual Property Rights Law, which has many loopholes. Claiming the Ministry of Communications has instructed Internet Service Providers (ISP) to ensure the confidentiality and security of information, Al-Dalaal said this ministry has also instructed all ISPs in the country to block websites which have unethical information. Praising the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for its efforts to get the Electronic Transactions Law approved, he said this law should be approved by the concerned authorities as early as possible. Former member of the e-Government Committee Jassem Al-Mutawa said private companies have been incurring heavy loses due to the havoc wreaked by hackers. _________________________________________ Visit the InfoSec News Security Bookstore http://www.shopinfosecnews.org

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http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=9900