Security News > 2008 > September > 'Lack of Cyber laws makes it impossible to fight Net crimes'

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=21784&ccid=9 By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo Arab Times Staff September 04, 2008 KUWAIT CITY - Internet-related crimes are on the rise in Kuwait and the lack of Cyber laws makes it impossible to tackle such fraudulent practices, says a Kuwaiti lawyer. Speaking to the Arab Times on Wednesday, Labeed Abdal added that hackers are increasingly targeting Kuwait and many other countries, knowing full well that they can get away with their crimes. He went on to explain that some people send abusive emails to settle personal scores and that the law enforcement agencies are unable to act on such matters due to non-existence of Cyber laws, “which must be in tune with the latest changes in the Internet domain.” Citing an example, he said, recently a woman approached a police station to file complaint with regards to a derogatory email but the police refused to entertain her complaint. “In such a scenario, we cannot blame the security authorities. There is an exigent need to establish what can be called as Cyber Police which will enable to monitor online activities, besides tracking down the source of abusive emails. In other words, the police will only register a complaint provided a person admits to his or her crime, thereby referring the case to prosecution.” Confess “Supposing a person refuses to confess to his crime, then it becomes impossible for the authorities to register a complaint for the simple reason that they do not posses the required know-how and equipment to track down the source of an email, especially if the sender uses only his initials or if the mail is anonymous,” he added. Asked to comment on the decision of some prosecutors to draft a law with regards to Internet crimes, Abdal said he was unable to comment on the issue as he was yet to see the contents of the draft, which must be submitted to the parliament before being reviewed by the legislative committee. Stressing that many unsolicited emails were originating from Africa, particularly from Nigeria, Abdal noted that one Kuwaiti lady was recently duped by some unscrupulous elements after she fell prey to a fraudulent email. [...]

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