Congressmembers and security experts advocate Brazil’s accession to cybercrime convention

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At a public hearing of the Chamber Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense on Monday, June 14, federal deputies and experts advocated Brazil’s accession to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, completed in 2001 (MSC 412/20).

In 2017, over 70 million people were victims of cybercrime in Brazil. The following year, 89% of the country’s executives were victims of cyber fraud. Brazil is the country with the second-highest losses caused by this type of attack.

These data are part of an analysis contained in the decree on the National Cyber Security Strategy (Decree 10.222/20), and were mentioned by the head of the Cyber Defense Command, General Héber Garcia Portella.

The convention

Brazil was invited to join the convention in 2019, and the invitation is valid for a period of three years. Accession is being analyzed by the committee, where it is approved by deputy Rubens Bueno (Cidadania-PR).

Bueno cites two main factors in the international agreement. The first is the commitment, by the States Parties, to draft criminal laws that specify and punish the actions described in the text. The other comprises international cooperation measures.

Thus, the States Parties must commit to extradite and provide assistance, even in the absence of bilateral agreements with the other country, both in terms of precautionary measures and in investigations.

A Brazilian agency must be responsible for immediate assistance in investigations or proceedings related to computer crimes, and must operate on a 24-hour, 7 days-a-week on-duty system.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s director of the Assets Recovery and International Legal Cooperation Department Silvia Amélia Fonseca de Oliveira, there is another important aspect to the convention: the possibility of training.

“Brazil’s membership means that Brazil and Brazilian public agents have access to training, increasing our internal capacity to tackle crimes and bolstering international cooperation,” she points out.

She states that this is not only about acceding to the convention and the norms that are currently laid out in it. “It is also about Brazil joining a community that will discuss the necessary points to fight cybercrime,” she says.

Eric do Val Lacerda Sogocio, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Division to Fight Transnational Crime also argues that the time has come for Brazil to join the agreement.

“At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we came to the conclusion that it would be the right time for Brazil to accept the invitation of the European Council, for some reasons. One is that it would provide additional instruments to criminal prosecution bodies to obtain information and evidence in criminal proceedings,” he said

“Also, as part of the convention, Brazil would receive recognition that its laws and policies for fighting cybercrime and protecting data are compatible with internationally recognized standards,” he added.

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