Cyber Cops Restrained by Lack of Cash

In Hungary the "digital divide" seems to not only affect the poor, but the police as well

In Hungary, as in most other countries, cyber crime is regarded as something which must be dealt with. In some European countries, police departments have established a special group of twenty to forty who specifically deal with crimes committed over the Internet. Although plans to fight cyber crime also exist in Hungary, it's clearly not enough. The police in this central European country are strapped for cash, and so priorities have been put elsewhere.

Increasingly, victims of cyber crime have turned to the police via their service providers. Most of the complaints have to do with copyright infringement and software piracy. There are cases of blackmail and money laundering as well. A police spokesperson confirms that in the past couple of years there have been a growing number cases in Hungary where crimes have been committed using the Internet.

Last year in February, a group was established by the the National Police communications department as a first step to combat cyber crime. Since then, however, not much has happened. The few officers assigned to the task aren't able to scan the Internet continually for criminal activity. Instead, they are only able to do so on their own time and as part of an existing investigation, which usually isn't a case of cyber crime in itself.

In the the past year and a half there have been about sixty to seventy cases in Hungary which could be categorized as an Internet-related crime. Even so, the situation has been such that the cyber cops could only refer these cases elsewhere since they don't have the legal jurisdiction nor the resources to pursue them on their own. Not only is, but given the wonders of Hungarian bureaucracy, clearly defining what is cyber crime could indeed be problematical, for such types of offenses don't fit anywhere within the present hierarchy of police investigative departments.

Not only has the police made provisions for a special department to "patrol cyberspace", but a government decree for the establishment of such a unit also exists. Even so, the plan for a full-standing department of cyber cops has not got off the ground because, to put it simply, there is no money for it.

It's not just a question of paying for the technology. What is being planned is a complete department of at least fifteen full-time officers with the proper qualifications, namely, computer and language skills. Ironically, what this shows is that in Hungary the "digital divide" seems to not only affect the poor, but the police as well.