Combating cybercrime requires public awareness, legal deterrence — experts

AMMAN — Raising public awareness and establishing more deterrent penalties are essential to counter cybercrime amid the rapid digital transformation during the past few years, according to experts. 

A report issued by the Public Security Directorate (PSD) in July showed a notable increase in cybercrime within the last five years, which the directorate attributed to the growth of e-commerce as well as citizens’ rising awareness of cybercrime, which increases the likelihood of official reports.

According to the report, the Cybercrime Unit received 1,742 complaints during June and July of this year. It received 1,181 complaints during the same period in 2018, and 1,196 complaints in the same period of 2019. 

The unit also recorded a notable rise in the same period of 2020, with 1,727 complaints, followed by a slight decline in the same period of 2021, with 1,603 complaints. 

Hussam Khattab, an expert in technology and cybersecurity, noted that the economic digital transformation is one of the main reasons for the rise in cybercrime. 

This transformation, which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been accompanied by an increase in the number of users who rely on digital services, he told The Jordan Times. 

The growing digital dependency that occurred during the pandemic has left both users and businesses more susceptible to cyberattacks, Khattab continued, noting that services such as e-payment, e-learning and telehealth were very limited five years ago. 

He also pointed out that the “lack of awareness” is the main reason victims of cybercrime don’t file complaints or resort to the authorities. 

According to Khattab, countering cybercrime requires launching more awareness-raising campaigns that target those most vulnerable to cyberattacks, as well as “enhancing protection measures for the users of the e-services of businesses and public institutions, which would provide them under a strict legal framework”. 

He added that while cybercrime “isn’t linked to a particular gender or education level, although some categories of society, such as children, might be more vulnerable to it than others”.

Tareq Alqudah, a lawyer, partly attributed the increase in cybercrime to “non-deterrent laws”.

“The rapid technological developments and digital transformations have made cyberattacks easier and more common, which requires instituting stricter penalties against perpetrators of these crimes in the Jordanian Penal Code,” he told The Jordan Times.

He added that the gap in technological knowledge between different segments of society, in addition to the anonymity and distance provided by the Internet, are also contributing factors to this increase.