Mauritian Authorities Move to Curb Cyber “criminality”

Trilock Dwarka, Chairman of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) on Sunday observed that some people are using legal gaps in the cyber world to misuse the web in spite of the fact that Parliament has passed a Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act against the phenomenon.

He was speaking at a workshop organized by the National Computer Board (NCB) at the Marie Reine de la Paix Hall in the capital Port Louis.

Also present at the meeting were members of the NCB, members of the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), and by delegates of the two main suppliers of internet connections, Emtel and Cell Plus.

The theme of the meeting was: Action Plan for the Prevention of Pornography on the Net and Cybercrimes.

The use of the internet to usurp the identity of other persons, posting of blogs with pornographic materials and offering illegal bets on international football matches and horse races, has become so widespread in the country that the NCB has just set up a CERT to deal with such crimes, Dwarka explained.

He said each Internet site has a Site Policy and that anybody who feels that his identity has been usurped can contact the site administrator.

The Director of the NCB, Vijay Mauree for his part, observed that with the rise in number of households connected to internet, there has been also a rise in internet connections to pornographic sites.

It will be completely impossible to check every website on the internet, he said, adding that that the NCB will, through the shops of Emtel and Cell Plus, put web filters at the disposal of the public.

The Officer in Charge of CERT, Police Superitendent Serge Ladouce who spoke mainly on tax evasion declared that his organization is preparing an Online Action Plan in collaboration with the State Law Office to reinforce legal structures to counter tax evasion and track down those indulging in the usurpation of identities.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher