Senior mainland China official uses Hong Kong cybercrime conference to call for more cross-border cooperation to tackle online offences
- Chen Siyuan, vice minister at Ministry of Public Security, says agency supports Hong Kong police efforts to promote global cooperation on investigations
- He says closer communication, better enforcement cooperation and work to create a mutually beneficial approach to problem the way forward
A senior mainland China security official on Wednesday appealed at a Hong Kong conference for more cross-border collaboration to tackle an increasing incidence of cybercrime.
Chen Siyuan, vice-minister at the Ministry of Public Security, said the law enforcement agency would support the city’s police in their work to promote global exchange and cooperation in policing.
“Under the push of new technology like the internet, traditional crimes are being supplanted by cybercrime,” he said.
“New criminal behaviour is spreading wantonly and stacking up on each other, such as online money laundering, online gambling, scams using telecommunication networks and hacking attacks.”
Chen, speaking at the International Symposium on Cyber Policing organised by the Hong Kong force, suggested three ways to improve effectiveness – closer communication links, stronger law enforcement cooperation and more effort to create a mutually beneficial approach.
“We hope that through this symposium, we can deepen our mutual recognition and our practical cooperation so we can make new and larger contributions to the community with a shared future for mankind, which promotes universal safety, ” he said.
Chen added that the ministry would also “strongly support” the city’s police in launching global exchanges and cooperation on policing matters.
Chan emphasised that increasing cybersecurity was one of the top priorities in Hong Kong as use of technology continued to increase in everyday life.
The force attributed the increase to a higher level of online economic activity as the Covid-19 pandemic eased.
The force said they logged 15,637 cybercrimes in the first half of the year, which included hacking, internet fraud, misuse of accounts and online theft.
The incidents led to losses of HK$2.03 billion (US$259 million).
The figures represented a 47.3 per cent jump in cases compared with the same period last year and the amount of money stolen increased by 28 per cent.
