An analysis of the legitimate coverage to minimize the cybercrimes in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study is to find out the legitimate rules and regulations to minimize the cybercrimes in Sri Lanka and to find out the existing weaknesses of the cybercrime law and the level of minimization of cybercrimes.

The research study first analyses what is really meant by cybercrimes and the reasons for the emergence of cybercrimes. Then the study closely looks at how cybercrimes can be categorized under different sub units and cybercrime examples for each of such sub units.

The latter part of the research study highlights the importance of cyber rules and regulations in a situation where there is an increasing trend towards cybercrimes. Within this part it first looks at the current level of internet security in Sri Lanka. Subsequently it examines the level of awareness of the cybercrime laws and the level of strangeness of such laws. Finally the research study evaluates the behavior of cybercrimes in terms of changes in the current level of internet security; the level of awareness of the cybercrime laws and the level of strengthens of such laws.

The research findings emphasize that there is a strong relationship between the level of internet security in Sri Lanka, the level of awareness of cyber laws and the level of strength of such laws separately with the number of cybercrimes in Sri Lanka and it also evidences that there is an influential effect of aggregate impact of the three independent variables on the number of cybercrimes in Sri Lanka.

Based on the research findings, the level of existing weaknesses of cyber laws in Sri Lanka have been identified and suggestions to minimize such crimes have been provided accordingly.

 Suggestions to mitigate cybercrimes in Sri Lanka

 

Therefore as emphasized by the research findings, it is important to focus on increasing the level of internet security, the level of awareness regarding cyber laws and regulations and the level of strength of cyber laws in Sri Lanka as a solution to the increasing number of cybercrimes occurring within the country and across countries.

The national governing body of the country has a major role to implement actions in preventing and mitigating such internet related crimes. In doing so, assisting the rule makers to deal with cybercrimes and digital evidence is essential. Sri Lanka’s justice system must provide an effective framework for investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes. In addition to that the Computer crimes act enacted in Sri Lanka need to essentially reflect the society’s requirements by appropriately criminalizing the offences and providing adequate punishment mechanisms. It is mostly required by the national government to facilitate adequately to reforms in cyber laws to take account of more complex situations emerging on cyber related matters.

0n the other hand it is also important to enhance the capabilities and capacities of the cyber related agencies in Sri Lanka such as Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) etc… to perform their duties in a more efficient manner.

Another key suggestion to the national government in Sri Lanka is to educating the community to protect themselves against internet related crimes. The government should be able to assist the internet users to understand the protective actions and to recognize the possible warning messages. This may be highly effective specially in mitigating financially motivated cybercrimes.

It is also suggested to partnering with the private sector industries to tackle the shared issues of cybercrimes by providing an adequate level of education and resources to such industries. This will lead the private sector to take responsibility for its own protection and to assist their clients to do the same.