Residents and expatriates in the UAE are reminded that misusing virtual private networks (VPNs) can be fined by up to AED2 million.
While the use of VPN per se is not illegal in the UAE, its misuse—such as using it to commit a crime—is punishable by fine of at least AED500,000 but not more than AED2 million.
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It can also result in imprisonment, as per the UAE Cyber Law.
Irene Corpuz, head of information security at an Abu Dhabi government entity, earlier said that there are unsecured and unreliable VPN apps that may have embedded Malware virus or hidden tracking that can allow a third party to listen and watch its users.
Data from the US-based Atlas VPN showed that UAE is the second highest country in the world in terms of the percentage of its population using VPN, reported Khaleej Times.
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Qatar ranked first at 44.47 percent, followed by the UAE at 39.91 percent, Singapore at 29.59 percent, India at 25.27 percent, and Oman with 24.79 percent.
The data shows that 3.9 million VPN applications were downloaded in the UAE in the first six months of 2021. (NM)
