Dubai Prosecutor Urges Creation of Special Cybercrime Court Amid Rise in Online Scams

Recent cases of people falling prey to con artists on the Internet have raised concern in Dubai to the level that a senior prosecutor has asked for the setting up of a cyber crime court for handling such cases. Dubai Prosecution’s First Chief Prosecutor Dr. Khalid Ali Al Junaibi also insisted on the necessity to establish an appropriate judicial system for digital crimes like hacking and fraud.

The speaker described his experience during a senate symposium on Thursday, in which the current judiciary has significant difficulties in comprehending the legislation of cybercrime. He also expressed that legal system and hacking is a very confronting field because the judges themselves, most of the time, do not understand the working of penetration and digital evidence. He mentioned that it would be more appropriate to have new courts with judges who understand the IT issues like cybersecurity and digital forensics given the new age cases.

Specialized Cybercrime Courts

The prosecutor also pointed out that specialized judges for cybercrime and dedicated offices for prosecution of cybercrimes are also mandatory. As for Al Junaibi, he said this would help more efficiently examine, pursue, and try cybercriminality in Dubai. Other symposium participants also backed his idea such as, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai.

Symposium Highlights

The subject of the symposium was “Future Crime and Cyber Security in the 4th Industrial Revolution” and the topics included; Crime relating to artificial intelligence and deep fake crimes etc. These topics included the necessity to constitute separate teams to accumulate data regarding security aspects and to produce informational materials regarding cybercrimes for the general public. National strategy for quantum computing, as well as refining the current legislation to meet new AI and remote technologies’ developments, were also suggested.

Collaborative Efforts

Speaking at the forum, the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Lieutenant General Tamim stated the necessity of integration with all the sectors and governmental institutions to improve cybersecurity and catering tailored solutions. “It is now our social and legal responsibility to take all the necessary measures to shield society from the dangers of employing_ modern technologies in perpetrating crimes that attract the full force of the law through cyber space,” he said.

Dr Saeed Al Dhaheri from the Centre for Future Studies, University of Dubai stressed the fact that artificial intelligence can either be a friend or foe in cyber security. Yet, the use of AI increases the effectiveness of safety features but, at the same time, becomes a tool of hackers. He called for more prevention to be prepared for other upcoming incidents.