LAHORE The Punjab government has made the decision to establish its own branch to address the growing number of cybercrime occurrences in the state because it is dissatisfied with the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency’s (NCCIA) performance.
Chief Minister Mariyam Nawaz presided over the meeting where the decision was made on Monday. The meeting concluded that “the Cybercrime Wing will be established in Punjab to curb the misuse of digital platforms.”
According to a senior official who spoke to Dawn, Punjab had been having problems since the NCCIA did not adequately handle its concerns and frequently took too long to resolve them.
“Punjab feels the need to have a separate wing to deal with the menace, given the sharp rise in cybercrime in the country’s most populous province,” he stated.
The Punjab government attempted to build a “working relationship” with the federal authority following the establishment of the NCCIA in May of this year, which replaced the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing. However, this effort was unsuccessful.
The Sharif family has been singled out by political rivals on social media, which has presented the Punjab administration with more and more difficulties. The NCCIA has received complaints from provincial ministers, such as Information Minister Azma Bokhari, against those engaged in online character assassination.
Ms. Bokhari has declared her intention to file a defamation lawsuit under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) with the NCCIA against TV anchor Mubasher Lucman.
However, there are concerns about whether the planned provincial cybercrime wing is meant to target political opponents.
As thousands of complaints come in every month, the NCCIA itself has been dealing with acute staff shortages. The authority has been unable to handle cases effectively due to a significant backlog and a lack of resources.
Every month, thousands of complaints are received by the NCCIA. The majority have to do with financial fraud, harassment, and account hacking, an official told Dawn.
Many harassment cases involve the sharing of offensive images or films to blackmail victims, sometimes by ex-husbands, ex-fiancés, or boyfriends. However, the NCCIA lacks the personnel and assets required to manage such a large volume.
According to him, gathering proof is still very difficult because several social media sites, like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, and Gmail, don’t cooperate.
These companies are not legally required to share data with the NCCIA because there is no treaty between them and the government. They only react quickly in situations involving ransom or life threats. Additionally, the authority lacks the most recent technologies needed to track down and validate digital evidence, he continued.
The amount of cybercrime complaints has skyrocketed in recent years, but the government hasn’t done anything to improve the investigating agency’s capabilities, such as training officers in nations with sophisticated cybercrime systems.
According to the official, “the government should build the cybercrime setup on the pattern of the FBI.”
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
