Caribbean Net News: Fighting cyber crime is huge challenge for Suriname

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Fighting cyber crime in Suriname is posing a serious challenge to Surinamese authorities, said several government officials here. Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi told parliament Friday, that it is extremely difficult to track down individuals who are committing internet fraud and other forms of cyber crime.

Santokhi disclosed that recently authorities in Suriname, with assistance of international agencies, carried out an investigation into two particular websites, which claimed to deliver certain facilities to individuals. One of the sites was offering assistance in obtaining official Surinamese documents such as passports, birth certificates and even Surinamese nationality for large sums of money.

�We discovered that we had to do with swindlers,� said the minister. �The contact phone numbers were fake and these people operate a website for a short time and when they have ripped off a certain number of persons, they abandon this site and put up another one,� he further added.

Adding to the debate in parliament, President Ronald Venetiaan revealed that also the web site of his political party, NPS, became victim of cyber crime. �Last year when visiting our website we discovered that it was hijacked and turned into a pornographic site,� said the Head of State. Investigation revealed that the culprit resided in Russia.

According to the Justice Minister, only through international cooperation could countries seriously put up a fight against cyber crime. Meanwhile, the government has decided that internet cafes and walk-ins in the future need a licence to operate. Currently these companies only have to register with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Both Trade Minister Clifford Marica and minister Santohki informed that, with licensing these companies, the government is trying to regulate the business in order to control the access of, especially, youths to the internet.

Inspections during the past months revealed that in some internet cafes teens and other minors were allowed to visit adult and pornographic websites. Shop owners claimed that they were not aware that this was prohibited.

�We want to bring an end to that and protect our children from being exposed to this kind of website,� said minister Marica.

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