Reforms Underway to Enable FIA to Tackle Evolving Cybercrimes

Director General (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Sanaullah Abbasi, has said that reforms have been initiated to enable the Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the FIA to effectively deal with evolving local and global cybercrimes.

During an interview with a local publisher, DG FIA said that CCW’s headquarter, zones, and circles would be restructured along modern lines under these reforms.

Complaint Management System (CMS) will be made more effective, community outreach will be increased, key performance indicators will be introduced, cooperation with international investigation agencies will be enhanced, and a new communication environment focused on social media will be introduced as well under these reforms.

DG FIA said that CCW is the only department of FIA that has the authority to deal with cybercrime complaints filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Investigation Rules, 2018.

He revealed that Electronic Transaction Ordinance (ETO) 2002 was the first law under which FIA dealt with cybercrimes. ETO 2002 was replaced by the Prevention of the Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO) 2007. PECO 2007 was repealed two years later.

Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and Prevention of Electronic Crimes Investigation Rules (PECIR) were promulgated in 2016 and 2018 respectively. CCW deals with cybercrimes under the PECA 2016 and PECIR 2018 now.

PECA 2016 and PECIR 2018 have provisions that allow the CCW to:

  • Investigate and prosecute cybercrimes.
  • Conduct forensic analysis of cybercrimes.
  • Enhance national and international cooperation in the field of cybercrimes.
  • Build capacity of police, intelligence, and judiciary.
  • Help prosecution and other government organizations in combating cybercrimes.
  • Conduct R&D for the prevention and investigation of cybercrimes.
  • Raise awareness of the latest cyber threats through public awareness campaigns.

DG FIA further stated that the CCW is led by Additional DG (ADG). Director Admin, Director Operations, Director Accounts Deputy, Additional Director Admin, Additional Director Operations, and Additional Director Zones report directly to the ADG CCW.



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