Cybercrime and laws (Brazil\Canada)

Cybercrime is generally considered as crime that is committed using information technology equipment over a computer network. Given that the most popular computer network is the internet, it makes sense that a large proportion of cybercrime is carried out on the internet. Due to the fact that laws differ from country to country what is considered cybercrime in one county might not be considered as cybercrime in another. For example, given that encryption is illegal in some countries, sending encrypted data over the internet can be considered a form of cybercrime.

Consider Brazil which has one of the highest cybercrime rates in the world. Brazil is reported to lose a whopping $8 billion in recent years to internet related crime.  The most unique thing about cybercrime in Brazil is the level of openness with which cybercrime is perpetuated in the country.  Cyber criminals are so brazen to the extent of offering fraud and hacking training online for a fee. Given the rate and magnitude of cybercrime in Brazil, the question becomes what is the government doing to combat cybercrime and what laws do they have in place? Some have blamed outdated cyber laws for the situation in Brazil. Current laws threaten fines and up to 2 years in prison for cybercrimes. This is considered an insufficient deterrent compared to laws in other countries. Another factor is the unavailability of sufficiently trained law enforcement personnel to combat cybercrime. In recent times the Brazilian government has started making efforts to introduce new legislation to combat cybercrime. Such legislation include Marco Civil da Internet or Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. The Marco civil. This law was introduced to protect the fundamental rights of Brazilians in this new digital age. Another similar Brazilian legislation is the Draft bill which defines laws pertaining to protection of personal data. These laws are still fairly new and the effects may not yet be fully felt. The hope is that these laws and similar ones will help counteract cybercrime in Brazil.

Canada is like every other country has its own battles with cybercrime but not quite at the same levels with countries like Brazil and Nigeria.  The Canadian government and the RCMP have put considerable effort into combating cybercrime.  An example of such effort is the introduction of the “Protecting Canadians from Online Crime” act.  Organizations such as the Canadian antifraud center have also been set up to specifically tackle fraudulent activities resulting from cybercrime and other methods.

Looking at things from an ethical perspective, cybercrime is not an isolated form of crime. This is saying that countries with higher crime rates tend to have higher rates of cybercrime as well.

References

http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities---threats/the-cybercrime-carnival-in-brazil-loose-cyberlaws-make-for-loose-cybercriminals/a/d-id/1320441

http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/budding-brazilian-hackers-online/

http://insights.ethisphere.com/brazils-internet-governance-and-data-protection-legislation/

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/cc-report-rapport-cc-eng.htm