By IANS,
Dubai : Internet users in the Middle East are under increasing threat from cyber crimes, prompting large spending on web security, WAM reported Thursday quoting experts.
Web threats peaked in March to 50 million incidents of hacking from approximately 15 million in December 2007, a study by Internet security firm Trend Micro said.
Cyber criminals hacked thousands of web pages belonging to some of the largest companies in the region, as well as government agencies, educational institutions and other well-known sites that experience heavy traffic, the security firm said.
The International Data Corp. (IDC) has estimated that the total Internet security spending for the region will touch $9.3m by 2009, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain as the top five investors.
The threat to corporate networks on the Internet will dominate discussions at the Gitex Technology Week, which will be held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), Oct 19-23.
Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai World Trade Centre organising the meet, said: “Security is becoming a bigger concern for companies and individual users as the level of threats increases and the range of methods to breach security becomes more sophisticated.”
The Gitex convention would focus on the specific challenges facing the region, Almarri said.