THREE CYBER LAWS TO BE TABLED IN THE NEXT PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

Hon. J.Y Makamba

In order to combat cybercrimes, Cyber laws cannot be ignored. This goes together with well trained Judges that will be able to understand them and act on them accordingly. Most of the countries have been working on cyber laws – Initiates new ones and reviews the ones existed in order to update for them to go along with the current situations.

Among the issue discussed during the “CYBERCON AFRICA 2014” was the need of legal framework to facilitate the fight against cybercrimes. We all agreed there is a lot to be done. Countries in Africa are still struggling when it comes to legal framework which makes the fight against cybercrime to be harder than expected.

Three cyber laws bills in Tanzania that will provide legal framework for the criminalization of cyber and network related offences will be tabled in the next parliamentary session, the government announced.

Deputy Minister for communication, science and technology – Honorable, January Makamba made the announcement in the parliament naming the bills as the cyber security law, Personal data protection law and the computer and cybercrime law.

According to the deputy minister, the bills have both been presented before the cabinet and secretariat for recommendations. He made the announcement when responding to a question from Nkenge MP assumpter Mshana (CCM).

The MP wanted to know when the government will curb cybercrimes and how many suspects have been booked in connection with cybercrimes. Makamba detailed that available statistics indicate that for the period of January 2012 to September 2014 a total of 999 cybercrimes were reported at the police centers around the country.

WAHALIFU MTANDAO WATEGEMEWA KUELEKEZA NGUVU ZAO BARANI AFRIKA

Itakumbukwa katika mkutano uliofanyika  mapema mwezi huu  jijini "CAIRO" hofu ya ukuwaji wa uhalifu mtandao unaoweza kurudisha nyuma uchumi wa mataifa ya Afrika  ulipata kujadiliwa kwa kina huku nchi ya Misri ikionyesha washiriki wa mkutano huo jitihada inayoendelea nayo katika kukabiliana na uhalifu mtandao.

Ime ripotiwa na Mtandao wa "MGAFRICA - IN ENGLISH" kuhusiana na kilichojiri katika mkutano uliokamilika jijini Johannesburg, Afrika kusini wa maswala ya usalama mitandao ambapo Bara la Afrika limetabiriwa kuwa na ukuaji wa uhalifu mtandao kutokana na mikakati daifu ya kujiweka salama huku ikiwapatia wahalifu mtandao urahisi mkubwa wa kuleta maafa siku za usoni.

Kumeendelea kuwa na wimbi kubwa la uhalifu mitandao ingawa jitihada za kukabiliana na uhalifu huo zimeendelea  kugharimu mataifa mengi hivi sasa. Mataifa yamekua yakiwekeza kwenye maswala ya usalama mitandao lakini bado wahalifu mtandao wameonekana kuendelea kutamba.

Mkutano huo wa maswala ya  usalama mitandao uliangazia kwa karibu  sababu za ukuaji wa uhalifu mtandao na nini kifanyike kwa mataifa ili kuweza kupiga hatua ya kubaki salama kimtandao. Wataalam wa maswala Mtandao kutoka katika mataifa mbali mbali walikutana  kuyajadili mambo hayo kama ifuatavyo:-

Swala la kukuza uwelewa kwa watumiaji mtandao kuhusu matumizi salama ya mitandao lilionekana bado ni changmoto katika mataifa mengi. Na njia rafiki za kuhakiki kampeni hii ya kuamasisha uma juu ya matumizi salama ilipelekea mambo mengi kuangaziwa macho huku "TOVUTI" maalum kwa ajili ya uelewa wa matumizi salama mitandao ikipata kuzinduliwa.

THERE WERE 30 MIL. CYBER BULLING CASES IN ISRAEL FOR THE PAST 10 MONTHS

There were some 30 million cases of cyber bullying in Israel in the first 10 months of this year, victimizing about 387,000 people 20 or older, according to a survey by the Public Security Ministry. This works out to 63 cases of cyber bullying every minute.

Yet the police have opened an average of only 712 cyber-bullying cases a year over the past four years, accounting for a mere 0.19 percent of all police cases opened during this period. This is the situation even though a police source said the force assumes that “cyber bullying causes much more severe damage than physical bullying, and its ramifications are deeper and broader.”

The ministry’s survey dealt only with men and women over 20, so the numbers don’t cover cyber bullying targeting minors. But in a survey of thousands of students aged 13 to 18 earlier this year, 65 percent said they had been the victim of cyber bullying at least once.

The police define cyber bullying as repeated, deliberate attacks committed via computer, cellphone, camera or any other digital device. Cyber bullying can include harassment, disseminating rumors, humiliation, mockery, defamation, impersonating someone, misleading someone, disseminating someone’s personal information, ostracism, intimidation, threats and extortion.

The survey found that one reason the police open so few cyber-bullying cases is that relatively few such crimes are ever reported. Only 16.5 percent of victims turned to an agency such as the police, the welfare authorities or the Communications Ministry.

KONGAMANO LA MASWALA YA TEHAMA AFRIKA LA TAZAMIA MASWALA YA USALAMA MITANDAO

Baada ya Mwezi Oktoba kuisha ambapo kubwa lilikua ni kukuza uelewa juu ya matumizi salama ya mitandao, Taarifa ya kumalizika kwa mwezi huo inaweza kusomeka "HAPA" Mambo mengi tuliyo yajadili yameonekana kuangaziwa tena kwenye kongamano la maswala ya TEHAMA Jijini Cairo Nchini Misri. Muundo wa kongamano hili ulihusisha meza kuu inayo fungua mijadala na wasikilizaji kuchangia na kuuliza mwaswali pamoja na kupata njia ya kufikia malengo kupitia mada tofauti tofauti.

Naibu Waziri wa Mawasiliano Sayansi na Teknolojia Mh. January Makamba, Katika Meza kuu ya Mjadala alio husisshwa alipata kuzungumzia jinsi teknolojia ya habari na mawasiliano inavyo patiwa kipaumbele cha mwishoni na idara za fedha katika mataifa mbali mbali ingawa ni sekta ambayo ina nafasi kubwa sana katika kuleta mabadiliko na kukuza kwa haraka uchumi wan chi yeyote kama itatumika vizuri.

Aidha, Kwenye Meza kuu ambayo Nilikua nimehusika tulipata kuangazia maswala mbali mbali na huku nikizungumzia kwa kina jinsi usalama mitandao utakapo achwa kupewa kipaumbele unavyo weza kurudisha nyuma jitihada za dhati za kutumika vizuri kwa teknolojia ya Habari ili kukuza uchumi wan chi mbali mbali.

Pia nilipata kuzungumzia umuhimu mkubwa wa kuhakikisha mataifa ya Afrika yanaongeza jitihada ili kuhakiki Mafunzo yahusuyo usalama mitandao yanakuzwa kwa kasi ili kuhakiika wataalam wa kutosha wanapatikana na kusababisha watumiao vibaya teknolojia ya habari na mawasiliano wanaweza kuangazwa kiurahisi na kudhibitiwa kwa manufaa ya kukuza uchumi wan chi yoyote duniani.

Katika Mkutano Huu ambao Pia ulihudhuriwa na Mkuu wa  Intel  bwana John E. Davies, Kama anavyo onekana kwenye picha akiwa na Mkuu wa Intel katika Nchi ya Misri, Sikusita kukutana nao na kujadili maswala mbali mbali yahusuyo usalama mitandao huku nikitaka kujua jinsi gani Intel inajipanga kuhakiki uinzi mtandao unakua na nafasi nzuri.

A MAN RECEIVES TWO-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE FOR CYBER CRIMES AGAINST AKIKO SEYOUM

In Ethiopia, a Federal First Instance Court sentenced Yonas Kassahun to two years in jail for hacking into the email account of Akiko Seyoum,  general manager of the Orchid Business Group. This happened On October 22, 2014. In a separate civil lawsuit, Yonas also seeks 42 million Br from Akiko. Progress remains unclear on "evidence" of money laundering by Akiko which Yonas claims to have passed to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) nearly a year ago.

The Court passed a guilty verdict against Yonas, a member of the Ethiopian diaspora from Germany, and sentenced him to two years in prison and a 5,000-Br fine for the cyber crime he was said to have committed against Akiko.

The public prosecutor filed charges in June 2013, claiming Yonas had illegally accessed the email account of Akiko, a businesswoman, a year earlier. Yonas allegedly transferred documents to his personal account, shared the documents with a third person, Girma Gelaw (Eng) and then deleted the documents from Akiko's electronic inbox. The prosecutor, Tolemariam Megerssa, told the court that Yonas used the data he acquired to blackmail Akiko into paying him 50 million Br if she wanted to get back her business data, which included information exchanged with her foreign and local clients.

However, in July 2012, a month after the alleged hacking incident, and 11 months before the prosecutor raised charges, Yonas and his lawyer, Amha Mekonnen, had passed a document to the MoJ, which they claimed proved Akiko was involved in money laundering by arranging payment to a Dubai based company, Soldan International Trading, for work done in Ethiopia.