MINSK, 5 November (BelTA) –The number of cybercrimes has decreased for the first time in recent years. They have been down 11% since the start of this year compared to the same period last year, Belarusian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Kubrakov told the media following his report to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, BelTA has learned.
According to Ivan Kubrakov, while listening to the report, the president paid special attention to the need to combat cybercrimes. The minister emphasized that active work is underway, including in cooperation with other government agencies and organizations, and is yielding positive results. He noted that although criminals essentially change their fraudulent schemes weekly, and sometimes even daily, the Ministry of Internal Affairs manages to stay one step ahead and take preemptive action, Ivan Kubrakov stated.
“For the first time [in recent years] we have managed to turn the situation around. This type of crime has decreased by almost 11%,” the minister said. The total number of cybercrimes reduced from 15,000 to 13,400, with the number of fraud cases dropping by nearly 20%.
Upon the instruction of the head of state, the Ministry of Internal Affairs pays special attention to such a category of citizens as the elderly living alone. After all, they are often targeted by criminals. The minister assured that local district police officers are conducting explanatory work with such people, providing assistance in resolving various issues, even those of a domestic nature, including matters not directly related to the activities of internal affairs agencies.
Furthermore, to combat cybercrime, specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are developing programs and creating technical conditions to make the commission of these crimes impossible. “By working proactively, we have saved the public over Br10 million. That is, we blocked accounts in time and prevented money from being transferred abroad. We also detained couriers who had the money in their possession. Some of them were already heading towards the border with Russia and the European Union. By acting in time, we prevented the money from being taken out and returned it to members of the public,” said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This type of crime is cross-border. In this regard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is expanding cooperation with colleagues from other countries, primarily Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. For example, through collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the activities of an international organized criminal group have been stopped. This group had been committing fraudulent acts using information technology against legal entities in Belarus and Russia since 2017. Such incidents have been documented and involved 300 Belarusian and 100 Russian companies. Additionally, the activities of a criminal internet community have been stopped on the territory of Belarus. Its members were involved in blocking mobile devices and engaging in cyber extortion. The perpetrators have been detained, and 40 victims have been identified.
“This work will continue. We must not lower our guard because crime never stands still,” Ivan Kubrakov noted.
He emphasized that the positive results in combating cybercrime have been achieved thanks to the joint efforts of banks, government agencies, and organizations. “It is precisely this cohesion in our work that has allowed us to reduce crime in this area,” he said.
An automatic information processing system is operational in Belarus, and a special 24/7 service has been established at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to Ivan Kubrakov, while listening to the report, the president paid special attention to the need to combat cybercrimes. The minister emphasized that active work is underway, including in cooperation with other government agencies and organizations, and is yielding positive results. He noted that although criminals essentially change their fraudulent schemes weekly, and sometimes even daily, the Ministry of Internal Affairs manages to stay one step ahead and take preemptive action, Ivan Kubrakov stated.
“For the first time [in recent years] we have managed to turn the situation around. This type of crime has decreased by almost 11%,” the minister said. The total number of cybercrimes reduced from 15,000 to 13,400, with the number of fraud cases dropping by nearly 20%.
Upon the instruction of the head of state, the Ministry of Internal Affairs pays special attention to such a category of citizens as the elderly living alone. After all, they are often targeted by criminals. The minister assured that local district police officers are conducting explanatory work with such people, providing assistance in resolving various issues, even those of a domestic nature, including matters not directly related to the activities of internal affairs agencies.
Furthermore, to combat cybercrime, specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are developing programs and creating technical conditions to make the commission of these crimes impossible. “By working proactively, we have saved the public over Br10 million. That is, we blocked accounts in time and prevented money from being transferred abroad. We also detained couriers who had the money in their possession. Some of them were already heading towards the border with Russia and the European Union. By acting in time, we prevented the money from being taken out and returned it to members of the public,” said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This type of crime is cross-border. In this regard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is expanding cooperation with colleagues from other countries, primarily Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. For example, through collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the activities of an international organized criminal group have been stopped. This group had been committing fraudulent acts using information technology against legal entities in Belarus and Russia since 2017. Such incidents have been documented and involved 300 Belarusian and 100 Russian companies. Additionally, the activities of a criminal internet community have been stopped on the territory of Belarus. Its members were involved in blocking mobile devices and engaging in cyber extortion. The perpetrators have been detained, and 40 victims have been identified.
“This work will continue. We must not lower our guard because crime never stands still,” Ivan Kubrakov noted.
He emphasized that the positive results in combating cybercrime have been achieved thanks to the joint efforts of banks, government agencies, and organizations. “It is precisely this cohesion in our work that has allowed us to reduce crime in this area,” he said.
An automatic information processing system is operational in Belarus, and a special 24/7 service has been established at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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