Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, The Institute of Training and Judicial Studies, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) represented by the Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT), and Business Software Alliance (BSA), organized the Fourth International Conference on Cyber Crimes on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011, at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

The organization of this conference comes as a result of the growing interest for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to combat cyber-crimes, especially as the country is the first Arab state to enact a special law for such crimes under the Federal Law No. 2 of 2006 which addresses combating crimes of information technology.

Commenting on the event, H. E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General – TRA, said: “We are pleased and honored to participate in the fourth edition of this conference, and we would like to assert on the increasing role of such conferences in facing the digital revolution the world is witnessing, and in which UAE is taking a significant part. The Fourth International Conference on Cyber Crimes has given us the opportunity to demonstrate the role that aeCERT is playing in combating crimes of information technology. It also serves as a platform through which participants are able to share expertise and information, as well as a being a means to unearth the experiences of other countries as they endeavor to minimize these crimes.”

The conference hosted a number of law experts and specialists over three sessions addressing the cyber crimes situation in the UAE and the practices and procedures that governmental entities, both legislative and executive, could take to put an end to these crimes. The conference, through its sessions and presented papers, focused on members of the legislative authorities, police and security authorities, as well as legal advisors in both governmental and non-governmental entities. The conference also targeted university professors, law and IT students as academic institutions play an important role in this field. The conference also highlighted the importance of government and private technology institutions and the organizers of the media program which focuses on this topic and distributes the latest information regarding cyber-crimes through different mass media.

Commenting on the conference, Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Al Kamali, Director-General of the Institute of Judicial Training and Studies, said: “ICT tools have penetrated all aspects of our daily lives; making it difficult now to manage our day-to-day affairs without them. Due to the fact that crime intelligence utilizes all possible means to misuse ICT, the Legislator was obliged to set rules and regulations to protect users and deter those criminals. The introduction of legal proceedings which have been adopted to detect cybercrimes, identifying what constitutes a cybercriminal, and understanding the interrogation and prosecution process requires more definition and explanation on cybercrimes. Therefore, we are convening at this important international conference, and we are confident that we will reach desired results from our efforts here today.”

“Our participation in this conference comes in line with the directives of H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, aimed at focusing on the preventive aspect of countering crime and enforcing security, stability, and public safety efforts among citizens and residents of the UAE. This directive follows the UAE 2021 vision which is in line with the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision aimed at implementing the best e-governance concepts making Abu Dhabi one of five best e-governments in the world. Participating in the organization of this event develops strategic partnerships with major partners who share the same concern of the increasing threats of this type of crimes. It also enriches connectivity and dialogue between legislators, law makers, security personnel, police forces, and professionals in related sectors.” H.E. Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Director General of Central Operations of Abu Dhabi Police said.

The first session was headed by Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Abdoul, Chief of the UAE Federal Supreme Court, who discussed a number of important topics presented by law experts and officers. The papers that were discussed contained the following topics: the UAE’s position in combating crimes of information technology; rules of improvement to protect children from crimes of information technology; the children between the technology hammer and the crime anvil; and the Dubai Police’s experiences in combating crimes of information technology.

The second session, headed by Abdallah Al Jabbar Al Majid, Chargé D’Affaires for the Assistant Secretary, in the Assisting Services department, of the Ministry of Justice focused on the efforts made by aeCERT in fighting cyber-crimes, and the role research plays in this field.

Jawad Al Redha, Director of Intellectual Property at "Microsoft Gulf" said: “We hope to continue efforts on countering cybercrime and eliminating hacking in the region in such a manner that illustrates the priority placed on this issue by governments, and demonstrates our partnerships with concerned authorities such as the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, and other governmental entities that endeavor to prevent and counter cybercrimes. We are ready to cooperate with all related parties and use all potential means we have to reach our desired goals.”

The third session, headed by Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Al Kamali, Director-General of the Institute of Judicial Training and Studies, hosted a number of experts from UK, Spain, Jordan, and KSA focusing on the experiences of other countries in the cyber-crimes field.

The conference aims to make participants aware of the legal procedures followed in detecting crimes resulting from the usage of the modern technologies, and how to investigate, control, and inspect these crimes. The conference also addressed the concept of IT criminals and how to deal with them, as well discussing investigations and court procedures taken against these crimes, and how to deal with the digital evidence, and the experiences of other countries in this regard.