The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 673
Note:
As I will be traveling in, and then from the USA back to Cambodia from Thursday to Saturday, there will be delays – the next publications should be up during Sunday, 18.7.2010 – unless I can do something on the way.
Norbert Klein
“Phnom Penh: Cambodia starts to create legislation against cyber crimes as legal mechanisms for the country to help to deal with cyber crimes and other negative impacts relating to technology, that are happening in Cambodia, in the region, and around the world.
“A workshop about the creation of legislation against cyber crimes was held in the morning of 13 July 2010 at the Council of Ministers, and government officials, officials of national and international organizations, and representatives of Internet Service Providers, of telecom companies, of technology companies, of publication institutions, and of other relevant fields participated in the workshop.
“The head of the working group for the creation of legislation against cyber crimes, Mr. Nhek Kosal Vithyea said, ‘The advancement of technology is a double-edged sword. It can make many things easier and provides abundant benefits for quick development. But it also creates opportunities for criminals to use it to commit various offenses. In the present era of information technology, criminals try to get access to information stored on computers. The quality of information stolen, or the size of destruction caused by this problem, depends on the speed of the networks and on the tools that criminals use, and such activities can be done easily without limits. It is known that the first computer virus was created by a student of computer science of Cornell University on 2 November 1988 [by now he is a professor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. This virus was called ‘Morris Worm’ which affected more than 6,000 servers, wasting approximately US$98 million.
“He added that, in the Kingdom of Cambodia, information technology, such as telecoms, the Internet, electric banking systems, and electric commerce, has improved very quickly. Moreover, regarding national political and security affairs, technology plays a crucial role in maintaining security and stability in the country. He went on to say that taking the opportunity from the fast advancement of technology, terrorists might use Cambodian technology systems to attack the systems in other countries, or to distribute documents for terrorists, to create and recruit terrorist groups, and to communicate with other terrorism networks around the world. This shows that the Kingdom of Cambodia might encounter the above problems which are a big threat for politics, security, economy, society, and culture.
“It should be noted that, previously, there were some cases in Cambodia, like problems with a website of the Ministry of Interior in 2008, and with a website of the Council of Ministers in 2009, where data are kept on a server in the United States, into which bad computer programs had been embedded, infecting the computers of visitors to the website. The website of the Ministry of Environment, for which the data are kept on a server in Japan, was attacked by hackers changing the stored information. Internet Service Providers in Cambodia suffer from interference from abroad every day, often stopping their Operating System and creating a lot of trouble for users, including on the networks of the government etc.
“The head of Economic Crime Division of the Council of Europe, Mr. Alexander Seger, said that cyber crimes have strong negative impacts on all countries of our globe. Therefore, major international organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union, the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nation [ASEAN] created protection and fighting back mechanisms, implementing different strategies, strengthening their capacities and technologies, establishing global cooperation, creating legal procedures, sharing information about technology, and establishing institutions to fight against cyber crimes.
“He added that in the Council of Europe, there is a pact on cyber crimes called the Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime (of 23.11.2001: ‘Treaty open for signature by the member States and the non-member States which have participated in its elaboration, and for accession by other non-member States’), which had been developed by the Council of Europe, signed by 47 countries, including some countries not in Europe, including Canada, Japan, South Africa, and the United States of America [but ratified and in force only in 18 countries]. He added that in the ASEAN region, some countries have already created laws against cyber crimes, but so far, Cambodia has not had a law and related procedures against it.
“The deputy head of the work team for the creation of a law against cyber crime, Mr. Nuon Sopharoth, said that Cambodia has already experienced many problems that allow cyber criminal activities to commit offenses using such technology. There are many cases where all must pay attention, to prevent cheating on the Internet to receive the inheritance from someone illegally, not to respond to electronic messages asking for passwords, or messages threatening someone, stealing of passwords, and the distribution of child pornography into computer systems, or the sending of spam mails.
“He added that the Royal Government pays much attention to different negative problems relating to technology that are happening in Cambodia, in the region, and around the world. In response, the Royal Government has created permanent measures, and this workshop showed the government’s efforts and the new achievements of the Royal Government to spread more understanding about the problem to the general public.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.18, #5249, 14.7.2010
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.9, #2300, 14.7.2010
- If There Are No Timely Actions, Flooded Forests [shelters for fish to lay eggs] around the Tonle Sap Lake Will Disappear within Three Years at the Latest [because of destructive actions by some people]
Khmer Amatak, Vol.11, #789, 14.7.2010
- Cambodia Has Its Independence and Integrity, but Human Rights are an Universal Issue so that International Organizations Have the Right to Express Their Concerns [like related to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.43, #7007, 14.7.2010
- The Preah Vihear Governor [Mr. Oum Mara] Fell Ill after Visiting Laos [with vomiting and stomach ache; now he is being hospitalized in the Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh]
- Because of Love Sickness Two Men Committed Suicide: One Was Pained because His Wife Committed Adultery, and Another because of Jealousy [both of them died – Battambang and Sihanoukville]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.17, #3931, 14.7.2010
- The Ministry of Education Asked to Stop the Publication and Distribution of Some Books That Affect the Government [such as “Special General Knowledge Test Collection” and “General Knowledge Test” written by Mr. Pen Puthsaphea [one question, as an example: “The freedoms of citizens is already guaranteed by the Constitution, but what do you think about the use of the freedoms in Cambodia at present?” The suggested answer is that “some points are open, while some others are not”]
Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #214, 14.7.2010
- The Authorities Asked the Relevant Ministries to Investigate Companies Sending Workers Abroad [after a company was found and accused of forcing more than 200 workers, prepared to be sent abroad, to live in unhygienic conditions in a house in Russey Keo, Phnom Penh]
- Cambodia Prepares to Argue with Thailand Again over the Preah Vihear Temple during a Meeting of UNESCO [after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit announced that the position of Thailand about the Cambodian border issue is that he respects the 1962 judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, but he retains the right to appeal, and he does not recognize the map in 1904 created by France and Siam, and the Memorandum of Understanding of 2000 between Cambodia and Thailand; the latter will be brought for discussion to the Thai Constitutional Court, and the result will be sent to the parliament to ask for adoption]
- Human Rights Officials Are Concerned about Ms. Mu Sochua’s Case [the spokesperson of the United Nations, Mr. Rupert Colville, said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations is seriously concerned about the way in which the defamation proceedings against the opposition politician Ms. Mu Sochua were handled, saying that it shows “an alarming erosion of both freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary in Cambodia”]
- The Authorities Arrested [five] Representatives [among a group of 160] of Disabled People Who Came for a Land Protest [in front of the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, while the cabinet of the Prime Minister had promised to solve their case on 14 July 2010; they demanded the land of 4,000 hectares in Kratie which had been promised to be distributed to them]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.18, #5249, 14.7.2010
- Cambodia Begins Creating Legislation against Cyber Crimes
- Japan Granted More Than US$920,000 for Mine Clearance in Battambang
- The United States of America Announced to Strengthen Commercial Ties with Cambodia [according to the US Ambassador to Cambodia, Ms. Carol A. Rodley; the export, mostly garment products, of Cambodia to the United States of America amounts to about US$2 billion, while the import from the United States to Cambodia is only more than US$100 million]
- The Ministry of Information Called for a Halt in the Transmission, and for the Deletion of Video Clips of Women Who Were Secretly Filmed by the Former Monk Neth Khai [while the women were nude, showering with holy water]
Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
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