LAHORE, June 17: An anti-cyber crime unit is being set up at the Federal Investigation Agency next month, it is learnt. After losing its anti-crime and economic-crime wings to the National Accountability Bureau last year, the FIA has been setting up new wings primarily to accommodate its employees to save them from becoming a part of surplus pool. The anti-trafficking unit and monitoring and inspection cell had been established during the last four months or so.

FIA director-general Tariq Pervaiz told this reporter that the ACU would be set up in all zonal offices and its staff would be given training. “We are considering to hire foreigners to train the ACU’s officials so that they could better perform their duties,” he added.

Mr Pervaiz said the agency would take action against those committing cyber crime under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance’s sections 36 and 37.

Under section 36, “any person who gains or attempts to gain access to any information system with or without intent to acquire the information contained therein or gain knowledge of such information, whether or not he/she is aware of the nature or contents of such information, when he/she is not authorized to gain access shall be guilty of an offence punishable with either description of a term not exceeding seven years, or fine which may extend to Rs1 million or both.”

Similarly, under section 37, “any person who does or attempts to do any act with intent to alter, modify, delete, remove, generate, transmit or store any information through or in any information system knowingly that he/she is not authorized to do any of the foregoing, shall be guilty of an offence punishable with either description of a term not exceeding seven years, or fine which may extend to Rs1 million or both. under the ordinance.”

Before the merger of the FIA’s anti-crime wing in the NAB, it used to deal with the cyber crime cases under the ordinance.

Officials said at present there has been no special agency working to combat cyber crime in the country.

They said police had established an electronic crime unit a couple of years ago in Punjab which had only three investigation officers to check the cyber crime.

The officials said the unit was no more functional as it lacked an affective network of human intelligence, trained officials and modern technology.

They said the FIA’s staff of ACU would be given training on how to detect a visa or credit card fraud, computer network breaking, industrial espionage, software piracy, e-mail bombing and password sniffer.