Consumers in the UAE now can insure themselves against cybercrimes such as cyberattacks, extortion theft and online scams for safer browsing.

The UAE’s largest telecom operator etisalat by e&’s EasyInsurnace scheme can insure UAE residents’ phones, laptops and tablets against different types of cyber risks.

“With Easy Insurance, we provide you with a simple way to insure your household devices and raise any claims. Personal cyber insurance from etisalat which covers you against online banking and credit card fraud, loss of internet purchases, cyber extortion or identity theft and direct economic losses,” the telecom giant said on its website.

The telecom firm already offers insurance for travel, health, automobile and pet as the company diversifies its portfolio in order to expand its revenue base.

The UAE residents can insure their devices through four different insurance packages with annual coverage of up to $12,000 (Dh 44,000) including theft of funds, data restoration or cyberbullying.

Its Platinum Insurance Plan costs $100 for theft of funds; identity theft; data restoration/malware decontamination; cyberbullying, cyberstalking and loss of reputation; and online shopping and it covers up to $10,000 in damages.

According to the latest figures from cybersecurity leader SonicWall reveal, the UAE recorded a 14 per cent drop in total malware attacks in 2022 but the number of attacks in 2022 in the UAE (71 million) was more than the combined total in 2019 and 2020 (37.3 million and 19 million, respectively).

Officials say that crimes such as bullying, blackmailing, extortion, hacking and even ransomware have increased manifold during the digital transformation.

Dr Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, head of cybersecurity in the government of UAE, earlier warned that the UAE residents who use the same password as in their office computer, mobile phone or home WiFi are more vulnerable to cyberattacks, hence, they should have separate passwords for each device and network to improve safety.

In March, Etisalat joined hands with Cyberint to enhance its cybersecurity infrastructure with real-time intelligence and monitoring solutions.

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