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Editorial

Startling rise in cybercrime cases

Deploy cybersecurity watchdogs and equip them with advanced technology


Bangladeshpost
Published : 17 Jan 2023 08:50 PM

According to officials working at the Cyber Police Centre of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), while they used to receive around 1,500 cybercrime complaints every month on an average in the past, the number has now risen to 2,500. Cybercrime is diverse and ever evolving. Cybercrimes that are commonly prevalent in social media are cyber obscenity pornography, cyber stalking, hacking, cyber defamation, and privacy infringement. Reportedly, 70 percent of cyber crime victims in Bangladesh are women and this highlights the vulnerability of women in Bangladesh no matter where they go, what they do, and how they dress and speak. Women are today and in the future going to be the main victims of cybercrime in Bangladesh. 

This is both threat and opportunity for legislators and those working to protect women in physical as well as cyberspace. We must work together for the betterment of half the population, a goal well worth striving towards.

The government should 

formulate and implement 

prudent policies and cyber

 laws that will make cyberspace 

a safer place for all

The news of frequent victimisation of women and children in cyberspace is not surprising indeed especially in a country like Bangladesh where most of the online users are amateur in computer literacy. Because of sheer lack of awareness about cybercrime, thousands of online users are becoming victims of cybercrimes. Experts assert that the main challenge in dealing with such cases and arresting the culprits is the delay in reporting to police. Many victims do not want to go to the law enforcers fearing that their identities would be revealed.

Considering the emerging number of online users and continued efforts on affordable access, cybersecurity needs to be integrated in every aspect of policy and planning. The government should look forward to playing an effective role in making the digital world safer.

It  is time to frame appropriate and updated cybersecurity policy, create adequate infrastructure and foster closer collaboration among all the stakeholders involved to ensure a safe cyberspace. As cybercrime is an emerging threat and no one is fully secure these days, focus should be given on how we can control cybercrimes with continuous monitoring. The government should formulate and implement prudent policies and cyber laws that will make cyberspace a safer place for all. We need to deploy cybersecurity watchdogs and equip them with advanced technology. Last but not least, mechanisms so far used to safeguard cyberspace should be made more inclusive, and the question of rights and freedom in cyberspace needs to be duly addressed as well.