STATEMENT ON AGENDA ITEM 3: GENERAL DEBATE BY
H.E. AMBASSADOR SYED MOHAMAD HASRIN AIDID
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE
FIRST SESSION OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE TO ELABORATE
A COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON
COUNTERING THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES FOR CRIMINAL PURPOSES
28 FEBRUARY 2022, NEW YORK
Madam Chair,
Malaysia welcomes the drafting of a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) for criminal purposes.
For decades, ICT have been used for criminal purposes with varying degree of financial and material damage and other repercussions. Such criminal purposes have become more complex and sophisticated - both in terms of its targets and methods. No nation is immune to these threats.
The use of ICT for criminal purposes have adversely affected the wellbeing of individuals, and the stability of critical infrastructure of States and enterprises.
For Malaysia, USD535 million were lost due to cybercrime for a five-year period, from 2016 to 2021. The cybercrime cases continue to increase exponentially, especially cases involving e-commerce scams and telecommunications fraud. In this regard, an effective response, including international and regional cooperation, is required.
Madam Chair,
Today, Crime-as-a-Service (CaaS) has taken a significant leap forward, with criminals utilising advanced tools, establishing partnerships and collaborations - that mimic large organisations. We have witnessed multiple criminal actors being involved in malware distribution, remote command and control, and financial transaction. It is worrying to note that the crime scenes have increasingly spread across multiple end-user devices, third party applications and cloud services.
In this context, governments will have to deal with cyber threats not just aimed at personal and financial gains, but also threats aimed at critical targets of national importance. We note that such attacks are not only sophisticated but once being deployed, it can fall into the hands of cyber-criminals. They can then amplify the use of these powerful cyber-weapons at the global scale. In this regard, Malaysia underscores the need to enhance international cooperation inter alia by sharing best practices and experiences, regular exchange of information and intelligence, and capacity building.
Madam Chair,
Malaysia believes that the scope of the new convention should be clearly defined, focus on the criminal justice response to cybercrime, provide specific tools for international cooperation in allowing Member States to have timely access to evidence and other information during investigation, and drafted in a technology-neutral manner to ensure that the provisions do not become obsolete in the future.
Whilst Malaysia fully supports the proposal to provide human rights safeguards, the right to privacy and freedom of expression needs to be crafted in a more balanced way, which does not suppress the rights of the people and at the same time allows the government to effectively investigate and prosecute cyber criminals. This is important to ensure that government can maintain peace and stability through effective enforcement of domestic legislation.
Madam Chair,
Malaysia hopes that this and subsequent drafting sessions would produce a balanced and practical convention, with a view to countering in an effective manner the use of ICT for criminal purposes.
I thank you, Madam Chair.