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THE INSTITUTE OF FINANCE MANAGEMENT IN

COLLABORATION WITH AVINASHILINGAM


DEEMED UNIVERSITY

MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN IT AND MANAGEMENT

Cyber law and cybercrimes: A global perspective

Participants
1) Gasper Martina
2) Idris Nuran
3) Mironge Veronica
4) Ngatunga Elizabeth
5) Tessua Emmanuel

INTRODUCTION:
The level of connectivity has been on the rise in the past few years. Today,
an increasing number of people are connected to the internet. In 2011, at
least 2.3 billion people, the equivalent of more than one third of the worlds
total population, had access to the internet. Over 60 per cent of all internet
users are in developing countries, with 45 per cent of all internet users
below the age of 25 years. [1]
There is a unanimous agreement across various researchers across the
board that the growth in internet use is directly linked to the growth in
criminal activities exploiting the computer and internet. One such
researcher contends that, Unfortunately, this level of globalization that is
being facilitated by ICTs has also simultaneously raised the specter of new
criminal activities arising to exploit them. The internet has become a
double-edged sword providing opportunities for individuals and
organizations and also bringing with it an increased information security
risk. [2]
There is no one specific definition of cyber-crimes; this has been due to the
fact that the concept in itself is multiple faceted. UNODLC refers to this
concept as computer-related acts for personal or financial gain or harm,
including forms of identity-related crime, and computer content-related
acts [1]. On the other hand, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Agreement refers to cyber-crimes as offence relating to computer
information further classifies this type of crimes as a criminal act of which
the target is computer information [1]. Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Agreement defines information offences as the use of information
resources and (or) the impact on them in the informational sphere for illegal
purposes. [1]
The common themes in these proposed definitions of the term have
provided insights to the authors of this paper to refer to cyber-crimes as
acts conducted using computer systems to cause harm to individuals or
organizations, or to gain unauthorized access of information stored via
electronic means.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF CYBER-CRIMES
Due to the nature of cyber-crimes, a report conducted for the United
Nations Office on Drugs and cyber-crime cyber-crimes has categorized into
three main groups based on the nature of acts conducted.
1. Acts against the confidentiality and availability of computer data or systems

This category refers to the crimes conducted by illegally accessing


computer systems with the objective of accessing the information or data
stored therein. Examples of these acts include:

Illegal access to a computer system


Illegal access, interception or acquisition of computer data
Illegal interference with a computer system or computer data
Production, distribution or possession of computer misuse tools

Breach of privacy or data protection measures

2.

Computer related acts for personal or financial gain or harm


Computer related fraud or forgery
Computer related identity offences
Computer related copyright or trademark offences
Sending or controlling sending of Spam
Computer related acts causing personal harm
Computer related solicitation or 'grooming' of children

These types of crimes occur when companies or individuals personify other


individuals with the aim of gaining illegal access to financial resources.
Such acts have proliferated especially in the Northern African region of
Nigeria where hackers of email accounts send emails to individuals claiming
that they have won certain amounts of cash thus prompting individuals to
send personal information or funds to claim the won prize.
3. Computer contentrelated acts
4.
Computer related acts involving hate speech
Computer related production, distribution or possession of child
pornography
Computer related acts in support of terrorism offences

CYBER LAW
Cyber law is in turn being considered as the body of laws that govern the
conduct of people and organizations online with the objective of
appropriately prosecuting cyber-crimes.
The need of creation of cyber laws is increasingly becoming evident due to
the increasing nature of such crimes which are cyber in nature. These laws
are needed by individual countries to govern the transactions and business
operations that are conducted online. Enaction of laws will ensure that all
activities are regulated and punitive actions are taken to those who breach
these laws.

Implementing such resolutions at the country level is one such mechanism


that can be implemented to resolve this situation. However having
individual country laws is insufficient due to the interconnected nature of
the globe and as such the internet transactions.
This has been visualized and in response regional and multilateral
organizations have made attempts to create laws that bind a group of
countries with similar objectives. Typical examples can be cited from
economic community of west African countries that adapted the Directive
CIDIR. 1/08/11 on fighting cybercrime; the southern African Development
Community has developed model laws on e-commerce and cybercrime; the
East African Community has EAC Legal Framework for Cyberlaws EAC 1
and EAC 2; the African Union has a Draft convention on the establishment
of a credible legal framework for cyber security in Africa. [3]
There is still room for countries to form international organizations that can
set regulations that can govern and punish crimes conducted in the cyber
space.

CONCLUSION
Several countries and regional organizations have attempted to create body
of laws that will govern the new spectrum of crimes. These efforts have
however been slower in Eastern African region resulting in the proliferation
of cyber activities in the East African countries. Cyber criminals in East
Africa take advantage of weaknesses in cybercrime legislation and the
nascent systems of law enforcement leading to a proliferation of illicit
activities. Like the rest of the African continent, these illicit activities have
afflicted the East African region (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Uganda) necessitating the development of international collaborative
networks aimed to facilitate proactive crime prevention programs and the
promulgation of effective cybercrime legislation. [3]
However in some countries a number of cyber-crimes are yet to be
captured by national laws. For example, in Brazil hacking alone is not a
crime, and under the law, fraud needs to be proved in order to prosecute
(BBC, 2004). [4]

Works Cited
[1] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Comprehensive Study on Cyber Crime (Draft),"
United Nations, New York, 2013.
[2] T. Magele, "E-security in South Africa," in ForgeAhead e-Security event, 2005.
[3] P. Mwaita and M. Owor, "Workshop Report on Effective CyberCrime Legistlation in Eastern
Africa," Dar es Salaam, 2013.
[4] R. Boateng, L. Olumide, R. S. Isabalija and J. Budu, "Sakawa - Cybercrime and Criminality
in Ghana," Journal of Information Technology Impact, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 85-100, 2011.

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