By Jean Christou
In the first three months of this year, the Police Unit Combating Cyber Crime has handled 79 cases of child pornography compared to 106 cases in 2014 and 23 cases in 2013, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Tuesday.
The minister was addressing a workshop in Nicosia on cybercrime, which was aimed at the judiciary, police authorities, lawyers and other parties interested in drawing up training programmes to fight the phenomenon.
“The fact is that our everyday life has changed dramatically in recent years because of the speed with which the technology and internet sectors have developed,” he said.
“These changes, in addition to easing access in communication, have generally enhanced freedom of expression and public debate but also unfortunately have brought risks which we must know to protect ourselves from.”
Nicolaou said all users of the internet, without exception, could be faced at any time with threats and this applied not only to individuals and businesses but also entire countries.
“Threats can come from various sources and consist of cyber attacks that may be motivated by criminals or terrorists or even caused by human error,” he said. “Therefore, it is now clear that there should be maximum security when it comes to internet usage.”
Nicolaou said that as part of the effort to tackle the threats presented in cyberspace, Cyprus had adopted the National Cybersecurity Strategy – Network and Information Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Information.
These involve the the organisation of various bodies, creating a comprehensive legal framework, formulating technical and organisational measures and procedures to increase safety, and creating mechanisms for rapid response to events.
“The strategy is the reduction and prevention of cybercrime, as it is not only growing but also constantly takes different forms, from sexual exploitation of minors and child pornography, to blackmail, economic scams and data theft,” said Nicolaou.
“The measures to tackle crime on the internet should be taken collectively with the contribution of both the public and private sectors, the public themselves and especially young people.”
Nicolaou said the threat from terrorist organisations or ‘lone wolves’ could not be ignored either from planning attacks to the use of propaganda for the purposes of recruitment, which was recently discussed in Brussels in view of the Islamic Sate threat.
He said the police had identified priority areas for the prevention and reduction of cybercrime and had strengthened the reporting system for the public. Equipment and software had also been upgraded so that cases could be investigated more effectively.
“As you know, a major obstacle to the successful investigation of such cases are the rapid changes in technology, where new illegal applications and software are developed quickly by aspiring criminals,” Nicolaou said.
“Our aim should be to safeguard the internet and the opportunities it offers us as a means of communication and dissemination of information and prevent its transformation into an uncontrollable arena for prospective criminals.”
