Countering cybercrime on the agenda

The issue of increasing the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, other interested bodies and organizations in preventing, detecting and suppressing high-tech crimes was considered at the agenda of the regular meeting of the coordination council for combating crime and corruption in the Vitebsk region.

It was noted that countering the spread of cybercrime has recently become one of the important areas of activity for the region's law enforcement system and other interested departments.

In 2020, the number of registered crimes of this type in the region increased by almost three times (from 1132 to 3021; +166.9%). In general, across the Republic of Belarus, their number increased by 142.5% (from 10539 to 25,561).

The specified negative trend continued in the current year; in just 2 months of the current year, the number of crimes in the Vitebsk region increased more than twofold. As of March 30, 2021, 600 high-tech crimes were registered in the region.

The growth of high-tech crime in 2020 occurred in almost all regions of the area. In the current year, the most significant growth was observed in the Orsha and Polotsk regions and the city of Novopolotsk.

In 2020, high-tech crimes accounted for 28.1% of the total volume of all types of crimes and almost approached the most common type of crime, theft, the share of which in overall crime was only 1% higher – 29.3%.

By types of high-tech crimes, the largest share falls on theft using computer equipment (Article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) – their share was 90.4%. The number of crimes of this type increased more than twofold (235.5% from 815 to 2734).

It was established that in most cases, bank card details are provided by the victims themselves during a phone call with a "fake bank representative" or on fake websites on the Internet.

An analysis of the methods of committing theft using computer equipment indicates that the largest number of them

committed through "vishing" and "phishing," while computer system breaches are isolated incidents.

One of the most common methods of theft is the posting of fake advertisements for goods on Internet resources such as "Kufar," "VKontakte," and "Avito," followed by the misappropriation of funds. This also includes hacking and creating duplicate social media pages, with subsequent correspondence by intruders impersonating acquaintances and requesting money transfers. In cases of extortion, an unidentified person, having gained access to a social media page, demands funds under the threat of disseminating information that the victims wish to keep private.

A large number of crimes in this area of legal relations are aimed not at infringing upon information security, but at other objects of criminal law protection, most often at the right of ownership, the privacy of personal life, or the foundations of the constitutional system and state security.

To eliminate the causes and conditions for committing this type of crime, it is necessary to combine the efforts of state bodies, public associations, and civic initiatives aimed at increasing the level of computer literacy and digital security of citizens, popularizing basic rules for protecting personal data of owners, and conducting a series of preventive measures.

Given the significant increase in high-tech crimes, with the support of banking institutions, post offices, and regional radio and television companies, work should be immediately intensified to disseminate to the general public material describing social engineering methods used for unauthorized access to bank payment cards, as well as basic recommendations for identifying intruders and preventing crimes in this area.

Based on the results of the meeting, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the Department of Internal Affairs of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the Department of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region, the Main

The Department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region, other state bodies and departments have developed mandatory instructions aimed at preventing this type of crime, increasing their detection rate and the compensation of damages caused.

Head of the Department for Supervision of Inquiry

and Operational-Investigative Activities

of the Regional Prosecutor's Office

Vasily Parusov