1 week Ago By Shayal Devi
Tapping into the digital market has borne multiple benefits for the modern age. However, shady, and unlawful dealings have also cropped up as connectivity has grown, giving rise to a new form of crime that the Pacific often struggles to catch up to. A report on transnational crime, titled Transnational Organised Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges and Impact, was compiled by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and released last week.
One of the worrying aspects of the report stated various cyber-related crimes, from child sex tourism, to romance scams perpetuated using social media. “While not at the same rate as the rest of the world, smartphone adoption, internet availability and affordability is well documented to be increasing within the Pacific,” the report read. The increasing complexity of these crimes means they fall out of the breadth of experience carried by our law enforcement agencies, which means governments must help these agencies to upskill themselves to deal with the dynamic cybercrime space.
Child grooming, sex tourism, abuse and exploitation Widely known in the world for its landscape, the Pacific is a tourist hotspot, but the movement of people in the region means crimes such as child sex tourism is also rampant. According to the UNODC, this is also facilitated through cyberspace. “In Samoa, facilitators keep in contact with international perpetrator and parents, who act as intermediaries, via the internet,” the report stated.
“It was also identified that not only is child sexual exploitation and abuse taking place within Fiji’s illegal brothels, local hotels, and yachts, but human traffickers are known to use websites and mobile phone applications to advertise commercial sexual exploitation in these locations. “Research into this area is limited and at times dated but will grow as the region develops its relationship with technology and internet access, as will the understanding of how these impacts apply to children.” The report stated the threat of cyber-enabled crime in the Pacific extended beyond that of financial scams and included the victimisation of children through the facilitation and commercialisation of Online-facilitated Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), which included the generation and sale of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
“Even in the best circumstances, children are continuously at risk of grooming, harassment and OCSEA globally due to the private and hidden nature of many children’s internet use and the challenge this raises with implementing appropriate parental oversight. “This is only compounded further in the context of the Pacific, with the observed lack of awareness of the risks from parents within the region being cited as a major contributor towards the threat faced by children on the production and possession of CSAM.” ‘Faceless’ criminals Another worrying aspect of online crimes is the invisible culprits who usually get away with scamming vulnerable groups.
The UNODC report noted that Facebook users in Fiji and Papua New Guinea owned more smartphones than computers, which created an emerging area of risk. According to the report, digitally isolated citizens were now able to be accessed at ease by an international market of criminals who used methods such as social media to conduct remote cyber-enabled crimes such as romance scams, fraud and extortion. “While efforts are being co-ordinated across various law enforcement agencies within the region to increase awareness on cyber hygiene, internet safety and precautions on the use of social media, many instances of victims being lured into scams are being reported,” the report stated.
“In the course of consultations with law enforcement and prosecution authorities, instances of cyberbullying, cyber-harassment, online investment frauds and scams. “With the relationship between technology and crime becoming increasingly intertwined internationally, regions with countries that were previously less dependent on this technology are now at increasing risk of becoming targets of advanced cybercrime threats.” The report also outlined that the Pacific was one such region where an increase in critical cyberattacks on national infrastructure has been noticed in recent years.
The following examples were provided: the 2019 cyberattacks on the Supreme Court and national courts of Papua New Guinea, the 2021 attack on Papua New Guinea’s government payment system, the 2021 cyberattack on Fiji’s GovNet system etcetera. “These examples represent only a small fraction of the much broader range of victimisation currently being experienced in the Pacific. “As the region develops its approach to cybersecurity and countering cybercrime, vulnerabilities can and have been exploited.
” Cybercrime and traditional criminal activities The UNODC report states that the frequency of cyberattacks are higher than those that have been reported. It states that a lack of effective reporting mechanisms and the alarming disparity in cyber awareness represent a significant threat to the Pacific. “Beyond the immediate threat of cyberattacks on governments and key institutions, there are also critical concerns regarding cyber-enabled crime and the use of modern technology to facilitate traditional criminal activities,” the report states.
“The rise of internal and external threats facilitated by modern technology has accelerated the creation of national cybercrime and cybersecurity policies, strategies, and plans to address the challenges posed by cybercriminals. “However, an assessment of the legislative and policy efforts across the Melanesia subregion found that progress is occurring at different rates, providing insight into the broader legislative landscape across the Pacific.” Other areas of concern include cryptocurrency mining and money laundering facilitated through avenues such as online gambling.
UNODC states the accelerated growth and evolution of technology, especially regarding virtual assets, are outpacing the ability of financial and law enforcement bodies to supervise and regulate effectively. “The regulation of virtual assets remains inconsistent, and there is a lack of clarity regarding which entities will oversee cryptocurrency and how law enforcement will engage with the evolving framework. “The limited availability of educational resources and support services in the Pacific Islands creates an environment where individuals are vulnerable to the risks associated with cryptocurrency volatility.
“Additionally, there is a contagion risk to the broader Pacific economy, as evidenced by Vanuatu’s Satoshi Island project, which could have significant implications for local industries invested in this venture if the cryptocurrency and blockchain bubble bursts.” Legislation and awareness Fiji’s Cybercrime Act 2021 and Online Safety Act 2018 are among the several pieces of legislation that have been identified as pivotal to combatting cybercrime. The report states that among the Melanesian countries, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea had established national cybercrime laws which contained substantive and procedural provisions.
However, in spite of these laws, the report acknowledged that victim reporting was also impacted by stigma across the region, particularly regarding sexual offences. “In the absence of effective oversight, OCSEA may continue in the Pacific, as has been observed in other regions internationally,” the report read. “The threat of inaction will invite organised crime to expand these types of operations in the region.
“Without widespread awareness and education on how OCSEA can occur and the impact it can have on victims, the opportunity to safeguard children at a local and familial level will be lost, as will the oversight and recording possibilities to assess the rate at which it is truly occurring.” The report has also called on stronger data collection methods to help governments and law enforcement agencies cope with these evolving crimes..
