Stephanie B.

Mercado

Cybercrime is defined as the use of a computer as a tool, weapon, or means of achieving an

illegal end. Consider committing fraud, stealing names or intellectual property, or breaking the
law regarding privacy. These are but a few instances.
The UK and the US have imposed sanctions on seven Russian men for their involvement in
recent ransomware outbreaks. The men's assets have been blocked, their movement is
restricted, and images of them have been made public by the UK Foreign Office and American
authorities. They are alleged to be participants in the broadly described Russian-based hacker
network Trickbot by US officials. At least 149 British victims paid at least £27 million in ransom
to the ransomware strains Ryuk and Conti. National Crime Agency director general Graeme
stated, "This is a highly momentous occasion for the UK and our combined efforts with the US
to disrupt worldwide cyber-criminals." The sanctions, he added, "are the first of their type for
the UK and indicate the continued campaign targeting individuals responsible for some of the
most sophisticated and destructive ransomware that has affected the UK and its partners." Key
group members are "very likely" to have substantial connections to the Russian Intelligence
Services, from which they are occasionally directed, according to the National Cyber Security
Centre, a division of GCHQ. This claim is unsupported by any evidence. Ransomware is a tier
one national security concern, according to the UK government, with recent victims including
UK schools, local governments, and businesses. Vitaly Kovalev, Valery Sedletski, Valentin
Karyagin, Maksim Mikhailov, Dmitry Pleshevskiy, Mikhail Iskritskiy, and Ivan Vakhromeyev are
the people who have received sanctions. Any arrests are impossible unless the accused leave
the country (Tidy, 2023).

Walden Bello, a 76-year-old social activist, educator, and former congressman, was taken into
custody by Philippine police on Monday at his house in Quezon City on suspicion of cyber-libel.
Jefry Tupas, a former communications officer for Vice President Sara Duterte, made the claims
that led to the detention. Bello was imprisoned through the night before being freed after
posting bail. When Bello posted on Facebook that Tupas had been at a party in November 2021
that the police had raided, Tupas, who had worked for Duterte when she was mayor of Davao
City, filed two cyber-libel lawsuits against Bello. In May, Bello, a prominent socialist and
progressive advocate in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, ran unsuccessfully for vice
president. During the campaign, he used his candidacy as a platform to raise awareness of
progressive and social justice concerns. He has long been critical of both former President
Rodrigo Duterte, father of Vice President Duterte, and the late Ferdinand Marcos, father of
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. In the libel case, Sara Duterte denied playing any part. The
Philippines' 2012-passed cyber-libel law has been applied against journalists, columnists,
opposition figures, and regular social media users numerous times. As of May 2022, 3,700
cyberlibel charges had been brought, according to the Office of the Cybercrime at the
Department of Justice. Of those, 1,317 were submitted to the court, while 1,131 were rejected.
There were convictions in 12 cases. (Conde, 2022).
Mary Joy Estaris, a 25-year-old resident of Brgy, is scheduled to face charges from the
Pangasinan Police Provincial Office. Pangasinan, Pozorrubio, and Casanfernandoan. Estaris is
the proprietor of a Facebook account that the police claim violates Section 6 of RA 10175, the
"Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012," and Article 154 of the Revised Criminal Code. 'Amyr Jhoy
Docusin Estaris' claimed on her Facebook page that a victim had been seized against her will by
unidentified males in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan on board a black van but had escaped. The post
was instantly the subject of cyber patrols by the police, who also interviewed the alleged victim,
her neighbors, and potential witnesses while conducting a thorough investigation at the scene.
Investigators discovered from the facts and circumstances of the case that the reported
incident of purported kidnapping was false and did not actually occur. In coordination with and
with the assistance of PNP Anti-CyberCrime Group 1, the proper charges were being prepared
against the Facebook user. "Use social media in a sensible manner! The PNP urges everyone to
exercise caution and deliberateness before sharing or uploading content with a compelling
message of worth, according to the authorities. (Iñigo, 2022).

Known as Republic Act No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was passed into law
in the Philippines on September 12, 2012. It intends to address legal concerns in the Philippines
regarding online interactions and the Internet. Cybercrimes' negative repercussions frequently
cause tremendous financial ruin and reputational damage to both organizations and individuals.
Moreover, cybercrimes' effects on society might take many different forms. Cybercrime can
take many different forms, from online con games for small-time robberies to grave dangers
like terrorism. Identity theft committed via a computer that involves the unauthorized
acquisition, use, misuse, possession, transfer, alteration, or deletion of another person's
identifying information is punishable by up to six months in jail and fines that can reach
hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition to being punished by imprisonment and hefty
fines, computer-related forgery and fraud that involves the unauthorized entry, modification, or
deletion of computer data or programs, or interfering with a computer system's proper
operation and results in the damage or corruption of crucial data, are also illegal. This behavior
is punishable by up to six years in prison and similarly high fines since it may cause the victim's
reputation to be tarnished or financial hardship. Hacking and other illegal computer-related
activities are punishable by six to twelve years in prison and fines in the hundreds of thousands
of pesos, including unauthorized use of passwords, access codes, or similar data, as well as
unauthorized access, illegal interception, data interference, system interference, and misuse of
devices.

References:

Tidy, J. (2023, February 9). Seven Russians sanctioned over ransomware cybercrime. BBC News.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/technology-64586361.amp

Conde, C. (2022, August 9). Philippine Activist Arrested for Cyber-libel.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/09/philippine-activist-arrested-cyber-libel#:~:text=The
%20Office%20of%20Cybercrime%20at,cases%20ended%20in%20a%20conviction.
Iñigo, L.B. (2022, September 5). Facebook user in Pangasinan in hot water for posting ‘fake’
news. Manila Bulletin. https://www.google.com/amp/s/mb.com.ph/2022/09/05/facebook-
user-in-pangasinan-in-hot-water-for-posting-fake-news/%3famp