NEWS: CYbercrimes on the rise

Calls for dedicated court to handle such cases

By STEVEN PATRICK

PETALING JAYA: National ­ cybersecurity specialist CyberSecurity Malaysia says the nation needs a dedicated “cybercourt” in view of the huge increase in cybercrimes in the ­country last year.

Lt Col (retired) Husin Jazri, CyberSecurity chief executive ­officer, told In.Tech the number of cybercrimes reported to them had more than doubled in 2008. The situation is expected to get worse.

“Last year we handled a total of 2,123 incidents which is higher than a 100% increase compared to 2007 when we handled 1,038 incidents,” he said.

Almost half of the reported ­incidents involved fraud and the remainder were about intrusions and malicious code.

Husin was commenting on a recent call by Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor for a ­dedicated cybercourt — a court that handles only cases involving ­cybercrimes.

In a Bernama report on Jan 6, Datuk Shaziman said Malaysia needs a cybercourt in view of the increasing number of such cases.

“If in future we cannot cope anymore, we may need to have a cybercourt,” he was quoted in the report.

Husin said that as the country’s cyberpopulation increases, the number of online transactions or other activities will increase in tandem, which will likely mean more incidents of cybercrime.

“It is a natural phenomena. There will inevitably be more criminals taking advantage of the situation to conduct their crimes online.

“Increases in wireless and ­broadband capacity make it easier and faster to use the Internet. Unfortunately these facilities can be also used as a medium for ­cybercrimes,” he said.

The current economic situation, in which the global economy is heading towards a recession, will also contribute to an increase in cybercrimes, he added.

Babes in woods

According to Husin, there is still insufficient cybersecurity awareness or Internet-safety practices among Malaysians using the Web.

“For example, some people are not updating their antivirus ­software and some don’t have a unique password,” he said.

CyberSecurity has a ­cybercomplaints centre, called Cyber999, where the public can e-mail or call to report incidents or complain about cyberissues such as malware infections, intrusions, online harassment, spam, malicious websites, etc.

“After we receive a report, we validate the complaint and refer the complainant to the police or help him or her lodge a complaint with the service provider or website concerned,” he said.

Husin was attending the Organisation of Islamic Conferences-Computer Emergency Response Team (OIC-CERT) Seminar 2009 in the capital recently.

He said the purpose of the ­seminar is to enable research collaboration among Islamic ­countries to deal with cyberthreats.

The idea is to share information, Husin said. “If for instance there are cyberattacks in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, they can notify us in Malaysia so we can be better prepared,” he said.

CyberSecurity comes under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. It is a one-stop co-ordination centre for national cybersecurity initiatives.

NEWS: 廣州90%小學生上網過暑假

（中國）據最新的“廣州市小學生暑期上網情況問卷調查”結果顯示：逾90%小學生選擇上網過暑假，其中32%首選上網玩遊戲。令人堪憂的是，有39%的小學生每天上網時間超過4小時。

由廣州市少年宮、都市人成長雜誌和廣州電信局聯合公佈的“廣州市小學生暑期上網情況問卷調查” 顯示：91%小學生在暑假會上網，過半數小學生每天上網時間2至3小時，24%每天上網4至6小時，15%者每天泡在網上超過6小時。值得關注的是，有 14%的小學生每次都要家長提醒才會下線，更有4%的“網蟲”家長提醒後也不下線。

在回答“你上網最喜歡幹什麼時”，選擇網路遊戲者佔32%，聊天佔29%，還有人上網最喜歡查詢資訊、瀏覽網頁、看電影等。

調查還顯示，家長未能正確引導孩子健康上網，56%的家長很少就上網問題與孩子交流，16%的家長對孩子上網不管不問。

放假不上學的日子，有些小網蟲半夜兩三點鐘還在網上玩遊戲、和同學聊天，泡在網上至淩晨才睡覺，中午才起床，生活規律完全打亂。

隨著中國互聯網快速普及，青少年沉迷上網已成為普遍存在的社會問題。有網路專家指出，避免染上 網癮關鍵在於防範，家長應把孩子每天上網時間控制在一小時之內。而對於那些已經上癮的孩子，戒網癮工作則要循序漸進，起初階段控制在三小時內就算達到目 的，然後再逐漸減少上網時間。（中新社）

NEWS: Monitoring kids for a safer online experience

HAVING the Internet at home is bliss, but having children who can’t seem to get offline, is obviously not.

This phenomenon is happening everywhere across the globe.

In some countries, the situation is turning from bad to worse.

In Britain, for example, the rise of the so-called “raised online” generation of children is getting parents and child experts more concerned than ever.

These are kids who spend more than 20 hours a week online, most of it at social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and Bebo.

According to a survey from the Institute for Public Policy Research, four out of five children aged five to 15 in Britain have access to the Internet at home, with 40 per cent of eight- to 11-year-olds and 71 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds saying they browse the Web on their own. A bigger concern is that contact with some form of online pornography was reported by 57 per cent.

Addressing Net addiction among kids is a big challenge these days, and parents need to do a lot more to monitor their Internet activities to help them gain more positive online experiences.

The explosion in social networking sites, which allow users to chat online and exchange personal details and photographs, has highlighted the need for scrutiny. This is more so with the increase in content that are considered harmful on the Internet, and also the presence of people who roam the cyberspace with bad intentions.

Having said that, it is encouraging to hear a number of online social networking sites are doing their bit to help make the Internet a safer place for users, especially the young ones.

MySpace, for example, has agreed to set up new security measures in an effort to protect children online, and rid the Internet of inappropriate images such as pornography.

Facebook, which is also popular among the youth, meanwhile, has introduced new privacy measures, which include privacy controls based on friend lists.

And search engine company Google recently unveiled a Web site featuring tips to protect children online. The effort is designed to protect kids in the wake of a proliferation of sexual material on the Internet and the occasional predator.

Hopefully, all these measures and guidelines will help to create a safer place for children to work and play in cyberspace.

But it should not make parents less vigilant, and allowing the Internet to take their place to nurture and raise their kids.