UAE ministry warns of malicious files sent over WhatsApp, emails

The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) has on Monday warned against malicious PDF files sent from anonymous parties through WhatsApp and emails, which may steal a user's personal data and render the smartphones and electronic devices nonfunctional.

The national PC emergency response team at the TRA earlier announced that it managed to ward off about 615 attacks in 10 months this year. The cyber-attacks had targeted many websites of government and semi government bodies as well as those of the private sector.

The TRA called upon the users of electronic devices, be individuals or institutions, to beware while dealing with such malicious files that are sent from untrusted sources.

In such an attack, the malicious PDF file, which contains an anti-security virus, is sent to the person or the body targeted, and when it is opened to be read the anti-security virus is activated and hack the adobe reader programme, which could enable the attacker to have a full control of the victim's system.