[SecurityRatty] tag: dubai

Links List 11.17.08

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:35:52 +0000

Wow. I think we all know that we can take or leave surveys – numbers don’t mean a lot without context. In this case the “context” is the current economic meltdown. The Society for Information Management (SIM) released the results of their 2008 IT Trends Survey – predicting an “upbeat” forecast for IT jobs; the HUGE caveat here is that the study was conducted before all the recent economic woes. Apparently organizations are using IT to drive efficiencies, streamline operations, and cut costs rather than just slashing the IT budget to save money during the downturn. What would be a nice follow-up: a quick second survey comparing responses before and after. Regardless Jerry Luftman, SIM vice president of academic affairs, still says the survey results demonstrate “that the overall state of IT remains very strong.”

The sky is falling! Trip Chowdhry, the analyst with Global Equities Research who claimed Red Hat was ‘rubbish and the entire LAMP stack is potty, too’ published some eye-opening predictions, predominantly negative, about tech business in Silicon Valley. Now Chowdhry claims that “almost every VC funded open-source company is struggling and will run out of money within the next six months.” (Probably not the most unbiased guy about open source) Matt Asay argues that organizations in general are struggling, but open-source companies are not that high on the list. (But are they high on the VC “axe” list??) He notes Alfresco, Pentaho and JasperSoft are some of the players with ‘millions in the bank and growing revenue.’ Asay also says Chowdhry has a responsibility to do real due diligence and not create myths. Take that, Chicken Little! (img from Disney-Clipart)

We’re not as far behind as we thought we were. Google presented the results of a study they conducted about how IPv6- capable “ordinary users” are at the RIPE meeting in Dubai a few weeks ago. Turns out Apple Macs drive IPv6 penetration in the US. Fifty-two percent of all IPv6 users in the U.S. own a Mac and use 6to4 (creating IPv6 addresses from an IPv4 address and tunneling packets) – making the US fifth in the list of countries using IPv6. Russia and France took first and second place with .76 and .65 percent IPv6-enabled traffic . The US is at .45 percent. Worldwide, 0.238 percent of Google users’ systems are IPv6-enabled and prefer to use IPv6 over IPv4.

Obama’s win = Google’s win? Apparently Google CEO Eric Schmidt and President-Elect Obama are very good buddies and “this terrifies Microsoft”. Now competitors are more on guard against Google’s growing empire and popularity. Although Schmidt was mentioned as a possible candidate for the country’s new national CTO position, he said he would not accept the post if asked. I guess that’s one less thing Microsoft has to worry about.

Censorship in Dubai

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:56:09 +0000

I was in Dubai last weekend for the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda. (I was on the "Future of the Internet" council; fellow council members Ethan Zuckerman and Jeff Jarvis have written about the event.)

As part of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai censors the Internet:

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pervasively filters Web sites that contain pornography or relate to alcohol and drug use, gay and lesbian issues, or online dating or gambling. Web-based applications and religious and political sites are also filtered, though less extensively. Additionally, legal controls limit free expression and behavior, restricting political discourse and dissent online.

More detail here.

What was interesting to me about how reasonable the execution of the policy was. Unlike some countries -- China for example -- that simply block objectionable content, the UAE displays a screen indicating that the URL has been blocked and offers information about its appeals process.

The Lingua Franca of Information Security

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Working across the EMEA region and being employed by an American-headquartered company, I’m fortunate (and occasionally unfortunate!) to encounter the many cultural differences which unite and divide us. Today for example, I’m speaking at our EMC Forum in Moscow, earlier in the week I was in Sweden, and just last week I was with customers and colleagues in the somewhat sunnier climes of Dubai. It’s interesting then to note what changes, but perhaps more importantly the many more things that stay the same as you talk information security strategy throughout the region…...

You could drink a "sex on the beach" in Dubai, but doing the real thing could land you in Jail

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:50:00 +0000

This Yahoo news story highlights what can happen when Westerners forget that Dubai is not like other cities.

Just because non-muslims are allowed to purchase and consume alcohol in hotel bars, doesn't mean that the authorities take kindly to drunkeness. Now, couple an afternoon of binge drinking with hanky-panky on the beach in a muslim country and you have the makings of a jail-house cocktail.

This type of behaviour is one of the reasons why we have decided to conduct executive security training in the U.A.E. Our security agents need to know exactly what type of behaviour is permitted and allowed in a society and by the citizens of that society when they travel abroad.

Inexperienced agents or those who have not been properly trained could cause a client to cancel a contract or at the vry least make it uncomfortable fr that agent during the course of the engagement. Security employers owe it to their employees to enkighten them as to the ways of their clients even if foreign tavel is not anticipated.

TV Website Of Saudi-owned Satellite Channel Al-Arabiya Hit By Cyber Attack

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:05:43 +0000

Computer hackers claiming to be Shiite shut down the website of Saudi-owned satellite channel Al-Arabiya on Friday, a month after Iran reported similar attacks on many of its websites by hardline Sunnis. The website of the Dubai-based channel was taken over by the hackers who displayed a message which warned that “if attacks on Shiite [...]

Female Bodyguards Get the Job Done.

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Those who think that Bodyguarding is a job best left to men - think again.

The Dublin City Herald recently ran a story about Lisa Baldwin, from Dublin, who is a female Personal Protection/Close Protection Specialist based in the U.K. Ms. Baldwin is in high demand by Middle Eastern clients who wish to have their women and children protected by female agents.

That is exactly why SEXTON EXECUTIVE SECURITY(www.sextonsecurity.com)designed a Middle East E.P./C.P. course that will be held in the U.A.E. from the 11th of October through the 18th. The President, John Sexton summed it up as follows; "We saw the need for agents from all over the world to be able to train in the Middle East and to experience the culture,tradition and religion first hand". "Middle Eastern clients are extremely important to our industry", he added "and it behooves all agents involved in providing safety for these families to become conversant with every aspect of their lives in order to be able to offer the best protection possible".

SEXTON will also have a group of female trainees attending their Executive Protection course in San Diego, California in December. Lisa Baldwin is described in the Herald as being "one of the world's few female bodyguards". Many women around the world now recognize that by undergoing professional training like Ms. Baldwin, they can be assigned to prestigious contracts and make a very lucrative living.

Ms. Baldwin's petite stature does not prevent her from succeeding in a mostly male-dominated industry. "You realise you're not in Iraq, you're in London", she advises. Very true. Smart protectors understand that the Art of Personal Protection is about using your mind and not your brawn. The differences between working in Iraq and London/New York/Dubai are like night and day.

Unfortunately, if the agent does not receive proper training, they may very well fail to realise the difference. There is one type of training needed for a Hostile environment such as Iraq or Afghanistan and a completely different one for the corporate/private sector. A security contractor coming fresh out of a hostile environment will often find it extremely difficult providing protection in a covert, "grey man" style.

Fortunately for them, Sexton Executive Security's focus is on private clients and their E.P./C.P. corporate training program can help those returning form overseas contracts to make the transition smooth and profitable.

In the corporate/private family world, you don't have heavy weaponry to rely upon but as Ms. Baldwin states; "Its all about the mind and prevention". Like the old saying goes; "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

"Would you feel safe with this man looking after you?

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:44:00 +0000

That was the caption under the picture of Rocker,Ted Nugent, in last Tuesday's Guardian. Nugent had volunteered to be Sir Paul McCartney's "Bodyguard" when he played a concert in Israel.

Unfortunately,this is what our industry has to tolerate. Many people, from broken down celebrity deer hunters to jail guards think that if you know how to shoot a rifle or open a gate for inmates to go to the yard, it automatically follows that you know everything about protecting the life of a executive.

So, Ted Nugent knows how to play guitar and shoot deer. Just what part of that background would equip him to keep the former Beetle safe in the Middle East? It is certainly not like Mr. Nugent is trying to pull the wool over our eyes when it comes to any specialized training he may have received. "I'm Dirty Harry with a ponytail", claims the singer.

First of all Mr. Nugent, "Dirty Harry" was a film produced by Hollywood to entertain people, not a "training aid". Secondly, even if we were to stretch our imaginations and consider Harry Callaghan's actions, we would recall that the character was a Police Detective and as such, would have undergone rigourous training at a professional Police Academy.

Refering to reported Islamic Extremist Death Threats made against McCartney if he insisted on playing the concert, Nugent informed us that he "will not bend or waiver to Voodoo Religions or Whackjobs".

It is unknown whether or not Mr. Nugent thinks that Islamic Extremists come from Haiti, but if he is serious about a future career in Executive Protection, we would advise him to attend our upcoming course in Dubai next month where he will not only learn first hand the Art of Personal Protection, but he will also learn about Middle Eastern Cultures, Tradition and Religion.

Unfortunately, there's no way of predicting how much culture we may be able to pass on to Mr. Nugent, as the course is only a little over a week long. We will also be teaching etiquette and which knife and fork to use when attending a formal event with your Principal. That's right Ted, you don't get to tear the meat from the bone with your hands.

Someone call the U.A.E. and let the Hilton know that we may have to stay longer than planned.

How safe is "safe"?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:56:00 +0000

Everybody talks about how safe it is in Dubai. Yet the murder of Lebanese pop singer, Suzanne Tamim would indicate otherwise.

The unfortunate singer appears to have been the victm of a well orchestrated murder plot. It is believed that her killer, alleged to be a former Policeman, was paid $2 million to kill her. If the local rumours are true, then she would have had an idea that the person behind it was capable of such an act.

One wonders why people who are in the public eye sometimes do not consider their personal safety. No doubt, denial has much to do with it. Some probably refuse to believe that they are that "important" to require personal protection, while others have difficuly believing that anyone would want to harm them.

I would hazzard a guess that the latter is what happened to John Lennon. Lennon was the epitome of peace and love, yet a crazed lunatic saw fit to shoot him in the back for no reason other than he knew it would bring him fame.

Sometimes it is detrimental to overthink things. Just because we have noble thoughts, does not mean that the rest of the world thinks in a similar manner. We literally need to always watch our backs.

Danger in Dubai?

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Those who come to Dubai could be forgiven for thinking that this is an Oasis in a peaceful desert. In reality though, they would do well to remember that this Oasis is located in the middle of a volatile region.

I came to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates a week ago to promote an International Executive Protection course that we are holding here later in the summer. While it is true that most citizens in the U.A.E. are law abiding, there is potential here for opportunists to turn that around. Anyone who spends anytime here, especially in the vicinity of Dubai, will see that it is an extremely wealthy area.

I was talking to an ex-pat business man last night at dinner and he made the comment that a friend of his could not get the attention of the Valets at a local club recently because he was "only driving a Porsche 911". The valets were too busy finding premium parking spots for the Bentleys, Aston Martins and Ferraris. This is why Sexton Executive Security is opening an office in the U.A.E. We believe it is only a matter of time before cunning criminals realize how much money they could make from kidnappings, stealing luxury cars/chop shops and a host of other crimes.

Then yesterday morning something else happened. One of the Embassies released a terrorist alert warning for the U.A.E. Despite the fact that this is the Middle East, alerts like this are not common. Afteralll, this is a shopper's paradise where vistors can spend thousands of dollars on a hotel suite for the night. Now we have begun to compile a list of Executive Protection Specialists with current passports who are available for International assignments.

Don't let the bright lights fool you. This is not Kansas Dorothy. Keep your eyes open and like they used to say on Hill Street Blues; "let's be careful out there."

Worry Over Fate Of Nuke Bomb Data

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:51:59 +0000

Um, yipes?

From Seattle Times:

Four years after Abdul Qadeer Khan, the leader of the world’s largest atomic black market, was put under house arrest and his operation declared over, international inspectors and Western officials were confronting a new mystery left by him, this time over who might have received blueprints for a sophisticated and compact nuclear weapon found on his network’s computers.

Working in secret for two years, investigators have tracked the digitized blueprints to Khan computers in Switzerland, Dubai, Malaysia and Thailand. The blueprints are electronic and could be rapidly reproducible for creating a weapon relatively small and easy to hide, making it attractive to terrorists.

The revelation over the weekend that the Khan operation even had such a blueprint underscores the questions that remain about what the Pakistani metallurgist and the father of Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program, was selling and to whom.

It also raises the possibility he may still have sensitive material in his possession.

Read on.

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