The increasing access to internet (18 percent of the population according to 2011 census) has resulted in the proliferation of cyber crimes in Nepal. But even though there have been incidents of fraud, extortion, threats, theft of intellectual property, and many other types of cybercrimes, the most widespread cybercrime in Nepal, according to police records, is character assassination through fake Facebook profiles. Several such incidents were reported recently, aimed at defaming politicians, models, celebrities, and school-going children. [break]
When the internet was an amorphous place, cybercrimes were easier to commit because of the anonymity it provided. Technology now allows tracing of most internet posts back to users. Even so, Nepal Police has been found wanting when it comes to taking on cybercriminals. Many police officers lack expertise, or even familiarity, with the internet. Also, the skills of hackers have increased, and they can easily jump between aliases when police are on their trail. The fact that cybercriminals are often children or are located outside the geographical jurisdictions of law enforcement authorities creates new complications. Earlier, cybercrimes were dealt with under the Public Offences Act. But as it became clear that both the law and traditional policing were inadequate to deal with increasingly sophisticated hackers, the Electronic Transaction and Digital Signature Act, also known as Nepal’s cyber law, was enacted in 2006.
Though this Act clearly set the parameters for financial crimes, its nebulous wording left several subjective questions unanswered. For example, expressions on the internet, like any other expression, are protected by right to free speech. That makes it difficult to make a strong case against the kind of cybercrimes prevalent in Nepal, however defamatory they may be.
Then there is the question of privacy. The case of Edward Snowden, and previously, of Julian Assange, has put this issue in the spotlight: how much investigation by state is permissible, and which step breaches privacy? Can a citizen protest against the state’s invasion of his/her privacy?
With increasing access and decreasing cost, internet is becoming more popular in Nepal. More and more business and state functions will be conducted over the net in the future.
It is easy to predict that cybercrimes are here to stay, but in the face of international trends, not so easy to foretell how Nepal is going to deal with it. As the world debates whether Snowden is a terrorist for leaking information about the US government’s mass surveillance of email and other internet content, Nepal too is struggling to resolve such questions, which have been surfacing with alarming frequency. Nepal Police’s Communication, Information and Technology Crime Cell that was set up in 2009 has a long way to go before it can make the World Wide Web safe for Nepalis. Unlike the US where the state has poured its resources into advanced surveillance systems, Nepal government has yet to develop any kind of capacity to handle cybercrimes. However, the silver lining is that unlike in many western countries, the Nepali state has not yet begun eavesdropping on the private conversations of its citizens.
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