There is “high degree of ignorance” on how to report cybercrime in Portugal | cybercrime
The National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) warned, this Friday, that there is an “implied divergence” between the intention to report computer crimes in Portugal and the action to report them effectively. At issue is a “high degree of ignorance” about the official channels to do this. The information is part of the first edition of the Report on Cybersecurity in Portugal – Public Policies, released by the CNCS.
“There is a high degree of ignorance, among those who have actually suffered a cybercrime, about the existence and identification of official reporting channels, as well as a preference for so-called alternative channels (internet service providers, for example) compared to criminal police bodies”, reads the document that was prepared by a team of professors and researchers from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra for the Cybersecurity Observatory. The affiliates are based on the analysis of indicators collected from reference sources such as the Eurobarometer (2020) and the European Social Survey.
Altogether, 80% of Portuguese respondents to the Eurobarometer 2020 were unaware of the existence of channels to report cybercrimes. Comparing with the other countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom (EU28), it appears that it is a general problem. Portugal is just above the European average (77%). Only 42% of Portuguese citizens think the authorities are doing enough to fight cybercrime.
Related cybercrimes include finding child pornography connectedbeing a victim of online fraud, encountering hateful sites, being blocked from accessing services, becoming infected with a virus, receiving fraudulent emails or phone calls, losing access to online accounts, and being blackmailed into regaining access to certain files (ransomware)
When it comes to false news, the Portuguese tend to place the authorities’ response on the same level as that of journalists and citizens themselves.
The CNCS defends that it is essential to “improve the dissemination of appropriate channels for this report”. One of the services available is a Secure Internet Line, a service for reporting illegal online content that is operated by the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV).
Portugal is well positioned
The CNCS report also identifies several of the return targets in Portugal and in the European Union to fight crime. The team responsible for compiling the report states that, in general, “profitability in Portugal follows the objectives and strategic guidelines of security” of the European Union. Portugal has a National Cyberspace Security Strategy and several strategies and programs dedicated to “the country’s digital transition”
Focusing on the existing strategic, institutional and legal framework at European level, the authors of the acute report expect, “in the near future, an increasingly integrated collective response, which more efficiently supplants the work carried out by the different communities of cybersecurity in the different Member States”, such as police, civilian, diplomacy or private sector partners.
At the national level, the CNCS Cybersecurity Observatory reiterates that the fight against cybercrime “requires a continuous, reinforced and collaborative effort” and that this must be framed by a robust set of public policies, even though Portugal “is currently well positioned in the main rankings area internationals”.