In line with its commitment to spread awareness to UAE students and youth on the safe and secure usage of the information and telecommunication technology tools within the telecommunications sector in the country, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), represented by the Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) organized a session on cyber safety and security at Rashid School for Boys in Dubai.

The awareness session, led by a TRA delegation headed by Meshal bin Hussain - Operation Manager and Ahmed Al Ketbi- Forensics Analysts, addressed a number of topics by including a general overview about the aeCERT, its tasks, and its mechanisms used to protect the telecommunications sector in the country. The session also presented useful information on how to achieve the highest level of cyber safety and security when using cell phones, the internet, and advanced communication tools in the digital world.

Commenting on the session, H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General said: “The cell phones and internet user base continues to grow day-by-day, both horizontally and vertically to include younger age groups within the society. To achieve cyber security in the telecommunications sector, we are required to spread awareness on this topic to this particular user base. This enables us to establish an intact structure of users equipped with knowledge necessary to protect themselves from piracy and breaches into their private data. Our motive behind organizing this session was to enable the younger user groups to protect themselves from cyber threat by extending knowledge and guidance to them.”

“At the TRA, we focus on organizing such events that achieve a wide spectrum of our goals. On one hand this session fits within the framework of our social responsibilities to protect society; digital protection in this era is certainly an essential element in protecting individuals and the society. On the other hand, these activities create a knowledge base among users that helps us to deliver a secure cyber environment which is one of the TRA’s most strategic goals,” Al Ghanim added.

The aeCERT team delivered a presentation which included points and guidelines on ways to guarantee cyber security. The presentation highlighted issues related to choosing passwords by giving examples on how users can strengthen their passwords. Furthermore, the session explained how to deal with emails, for example, discussing how to handle spam emails simply by not responding to them. Additionally, it addressed how to detect phishing messages and how to avoid them. The aeCERT team also focused on the importance of using anti-virus software discussing how to carefully choose the right software and the necessity to update it in order to guarantee proper protection. The session also highlighted that proper set-up and initial configurations were essential to achieve the highest levels of protection.

Regarding user security and safety on social networks, the aeCERT brought attention to the importance of choosing friends carefully, keeping private information secret and unpublicized, and limited to friends in addition to avoiding any links sent by anonymous persons, in addition to other advice addressing computer configurations.

The session also shed light on cyber security and safety on cell phones. A presentation focused on keeping information secret and being careful when downloading smartphone applications. The session also asserted on the usage of antivirus programs, seeking caution when sending and receiving data via Bluetooth and to avoid responding to phishing SMSs received on the cell phone.

The session witnessed a significant interaction from students, all of whom showed great interest in the discussed topics. They also asked many questions that showed their ability to comprehend the importance of the cyber security. The students expressed their willingness to implement all the advice and guidelines presented to them regarding their email and social network accounts.