A wide gamut of law enforcers including the chief of cybersecurity in UAE, an anti-child trafficking specialist with Interpol and a senior officer of Uttar Pradesh police have called for increased global cooperation in reining in cybercrime including ransomware and child exploitation.
Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, the head of cybersecurity of the UAE government, who delivered a keynote address at the 14th c0c0n conclave on Saturday, said cybersecurity is no longer a one-nation or one-organisation issue, but a global one that required greater collaboration in law enforcement. He called for imbibing the strategy of cyberattackers who have learnt to embrace new technologies and work together to target specific entities. UAE which has been undergoing massive digital transformation, Dr. Al-Kuwaiti said, has witnessed an increase in cyber threats of over 250% across all sectors. Ransomware attacks have severely hit many sectors.
Failure to nab offenders
Cecilia Wallin, a former criminal intelligence officer with Interpol who was the team leader for the Asian region of its Crimes against Children unit, elaborated how the images of child sexual abuse survivors circulate for several years across continents without law enforcement agencies managing to nab the offenders.
Triveni Singh, SP, Cybercrime, Uttar Pradesh police, who spoke of the emerging trends in cybercrime, lamented the absence of an international cooperation framework that has often led to investigations meeting dead-ends.
Uttar Pradesh, which has recorded over 70,000 cybercrime in the last two years, has been witnessing a spate of ransomware attacks that has targeted corporates and high-profile individuals. The use of AI-enabled cybercrime that generate synthetic data is also on the rise, the official said.
