What UAE law says about cybercrimes, penalties

UAE Cybercrime Law No. 5 of 2012, issued by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa, includes a range of violations and penalties.

The UAE has clear - and strict - laws against cybercrimes, with various penalties that can include lengthy prison terms and fines of up to Dh3 million.
UAE Cybercrime Law No. 5 of 2012, which was issued by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, includes a range of violations and penalties, with fines ranging between Dh50,000 and Dh3 million depending on the type and severity of offence.
· Those caught gaining access to a website, network or system without authorisation are to be imprisoned and fined at least Dh50,000, but fines can go as high as Dh1 million if personal information is stolen or deleted.
· Those caught using technology to invade someone else's privacy - which can even include eavesdropping, copying photos or publishing news - can be jailed for six months and face fines of between Dh150,000 and Dh300,000.
· The most severe penalty - five years in jail and a Dh3 million fine - is reserved for those who run malicious software that causes a network or IT system to stop functioning 'or results in crashing, deletion, omission, destruction and alteration of the programme, system, website, data or information'.
· Additionally, the law stipulates various penalties for a number of other cybercrimes, including insulting religions and their rituals, slandering public officials, forging electronic official documents, sending or re-publishing pornographic materials, reproducing credit or debit card data, and obtaining secret pin codes or passwords.
The full 10-page text of the law can be found at: http://ejustice.gov.ae/downloads/latest_laws/cybercrimes_5_2012_en.pdf.

• UAE