Assessing the Efficacy of the Prevention of Cyber Crimes: A Critical Analysis of Cybercrime Growth and Responses by NCCIA in Pakistan

Abstract

Increased digitalization of Pakistan has revolutionized the spheres of communication, banking, education, business, government and community interaction. The rising reliance on Internet-based platforms has also led to a rise in cybercrimes like internet fraud, phishing, hacking, identity theft, social media abuse, cyber harassment and blackmail, financial scams. The Government then introduced the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 which lays the primary groundwork in Pakistan for the definition, investigation and prosecution of electronic crimes. The establishment of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCA) is also an important institutional action towards the rise in complexity of cybercrime. The adopted research methodology in this study is Secondary Qualitative Research which is doctrinal, descriptive, analytical and critical analysis of legal documents, policy report, scholarly articles, digital rights report and credible secondary sources. The findings are that despite the important legal and institutional constructs provided by PECA 2016 and the NCCIA, there are many areas in cybercrime prevention that still lack sufficient capacity, commission reception times, lack trained investigators, prosecutor hurdles, public awareness, and rights-based concerns. Strengthening NCCIA with technical resources, trained NCCIA staff, forensic laboratories, complaint mechanisms, public awareness campaigns, judicial capacity and training, rights approaches and accountability are recommended in the study.