Cyber Crime in Uganda

David Bakibinga
State Prosecutor - Luwero

Computer Technology and the Internet have created new opportunities for those who would engage in illegal activity. Cyber is a derivative of "Cybernetics" which is the science of communication and control system in machines and living things. Cyber crime simply put refers to forms of criminality where information technology is a major means of carrying this out. There are various types of Cyber crimes such as Computer forgery, Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTS), E-mail fraud, virus attacks, SPAM (unsolicited mail), intellectual property infringement, hacking, identity theft, and Child pornography. Most Ugandans utilizing computers have been victims to the aforementioned criminal acts however, they do not report them to the authorities or at most to the administrators who also deal with them at a personal level. It would follow that there are Cyber crimes being committed in Uganda despite the fact that these acts are yet to be penalized. Pertinent issues and the challenges are as follows:-

Size of the problem
It has been observed by various authors that Cyber crime is increasing both in volume and complexity. This is due to the secrecy involved in computer technologies and anonymity that make detection of the offenders extremely difficult. In the same vein, the reluctance of victims to report makes quantification of Cyber crimes virtually impossible. It would follow that the information society is vulnerable to computer crimes as businesses through electronic commercial (e-commerce), administrators, transport i.e, marine, air and space control as well as medical supervision rely to a great extent on modern computer systems. Therefore, the security of computer and communication systems and their protection against Cyber crime is of essence.

Jurisdiction
One of the more significant aspects of telecommunication related crime is its global reach. The globalization of telecommunication significantly enhances the ability of offenders to commit crimes in one country, which will affect individuals in a variety of other countries. And this has profound implications for detection, investigation and prosecution of offenders. Cyber criminals are no longer hampered by the existence of national or international boundaries as information and property can be easily transmitted through communications and data networks. Accordingly two problems arise in relation to the prosecution of tele-communication offences which have an international aspect, first, the determination of the locus in quo in order to decide the law applicable and secondly, obtaining evidence and ensuring that the offenders can be located and tried before court. Both these questions raise complex legal problems of Jurisdiction and extradition. The "Love Bug" case where Onel de Guzman could not be extradited for prosecution to the United States because Philippine law did not criminalize the distribution of viruses yet extradition treaties require double criminality and as a result no one was ever prosecuted and punished for the damage the "Love Bug" virus caused. Therefore, extraterritorial issues could hinder the combating of Cyber crimes.

Investigative or Forensic Expertise
Cyber Crime cannot be effectively prosecuted without it having been effectively investigated. Cyber forensics means the exploration and application of scientifically proven methods to farther process, interpret and utilize digital evidence. In Uganda there are no forensic laboratories for cyber crime investigations.

Prosecutorial Expertise
In addition to investigative expertise, there is need to develop prosecutorial expertise in relation to Cyber crime. There is a general policy by the Director of Public Prosecutions of training prosecutors in basic computer use although it does not specifically address Cyber crime. It would follow that unless prosecutors receive training in relation to Cyber crime, they may lack the fundamental understanding of the technical issues that is necessary to asses the evidence and will thus be unable to asses whether a case possesses a reasonable prospect of a conviction. Therefore, the lack of Cyber crime knowledge by prosecutors could hamper effective combating of such crime.

Mutual Legal Assistance
One of the effects of information and communication technologies is the ability of individuals to commit crimes in jurisdictions to which they have never physically travelled. A successful investigation and prosecution of Cyber crime will often require mutual legal assistance from other jurisdictions as evidence from witnesses in foreign jurisdictions may be required to prove the case. The lack of harmonization of substantive international criminal laws with inadequate regimes for international legal assistance and extradition can therefore, in effect, shield criminals from law enforcement in that criminals can go unpunished in one country, while they have the efforts of other countries to protect their citizens. There has nevertheless been successful mutual legal assistance in some Cyber crime cases, for instance, in the case of United States Vs Zezov and Yarimaka (unreported) in which Zezov gained unauthorized access to the computer system of Bloomberg News Agency based in New York from computers located in Kazakhstan. Zezov demanded $200,000 from Bloomberg in ex-change for his providing information as to how he was able to hack into the company's computer system with the help of the Kazak's policies, FBI was able to arrest the offenders in London and had them prosecuted. It should be noted that the lesser-developed jurisdictions such as Uganda may become Cyber crime havens since they may less likely be in a position to give assistance.

Judges and Magistrates
It is asserted that Cyber crime prosecutions will inevitably have an impact on the Judiciary and that those who fulfill judicial duties must possess enough technical knowledge to be able properly to adjudicate on Cyber crime cases. The failure of sufficient legal and technical training of judicial officers may result in inappropriate acquittals as happened in R V CROPP (1993) QB 94.C.A where the trial judge misdirected the jury as to the application of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (UK) hence an acquittal ensued.

Review of Legislation
Most legislation in Uganda was drafted prior to the development of the personal computer and the widespread use of the Internet. There is no law to govern Cyber crime in Uganda. The existing Penal laws may be utilized to prosecute offenders. In Uganda vs. Garuhanga and Mugerwa CR 17 of 2004 Buganda Road Court, it involved manipulation of computer data resulting into 3.8 Billion Shillings loss for Shell Uganda Ltd. the accused were charged with embezzlement and false accounting as there is no enabling law to have enabled charges under computer forgery and computer fraud.

Evidence in a Digital Age
There are a number of significant challenges in gathering and prosecuting evidence in computer crime prosecutions. Investigators face challenges in ensuring that the integrity of computer evidence had been maintained. Care must be taken to collect and preserve evidence in away that it will be found admissible and reliable at trial and that this requires that investigators receive appropriate training in computer forensics.

Cryptography
A cryptographic system consists of an encrypt function which scrambles (encrypts) data, and an inverse (decrypt) function which restores data to its original form. Encryption conceals data from any one who doesn't know the secret key needed for decryption. Encrypted files pose a significant challenge to investigators attempting to gain evidence of computer crime in the case of United States vs. Scarfo (unreported) in which the FBI conducted a search of premises owned by an alleged organized crime figure. A computer file, which the FBI believed contained evidence, was protected by PGP encryption software. The FBI subsequently obtained a warrant for a covert intrusion and installation of key logger, which recorded each keystroke typed, so as to obtain Scarfo's password. Nevertheless encryption remains a major challenge in prosecution of Cyber crime.
There are other factors such as the lack of awareness by the public of the threat of Cyber crime; the reluctance to report law enforcement agencies the incidents of Cyber crime could affect its deterrence. From the above it is important to note that the threat of Cyber crime is real and should be tackled before it goes out of hand, otherwise Uganda may become a Cyber crime haven.