Cybercrime in the time of the Cybercrimes Act

The Cybercrimes Act has been passed, meaning that the way that cybercrimes are dealt with has changed in South Africa.

Cybercrime can be defined as "any form of criminal activity involving the use of computers and the Internet", and is also referred to as computer crime, electronic crime, e-crime, netcrime, and hi-tech crime. Procedural laws in South Africa have not kept pace with the more intrusive and complex investigative measures which are needed to investigate cybercrime.

Companies and individuals need to be aware of the implications of the changes brought by the Act – such as criminal charges just for forwarding nude images, and dealing with the new powers that the police will have. While there is an urgent need for this legislation, it is important for all of us to understand how it will affect us in business and in our personal lives.

Join us for a six-hour course, held over three days.

When and where?

11 to 13 April 2023, 9:00-11:00 SAST

This course will be held remotely, most likely on Zoom - exact details will be sent to registered participants a few days before the course.

Course outline

The webinar will take place over three days in two-hour slots each day.

Topics to be covered include:

Which part of the Act are in force?
What are the offences and penalties imposed by the Act?
How is the distribution of malicious communications criminalised?
How are interim protection measures provided for?
How is jurisdiction for the transnational dimension of cybercrimes provided for?
How are the powers to investigate cybercrimes regulated?
How are cross border investigations of cybercrime dealt with?
What obligations are imposed on electronic communications service providers and financial institutions to assist in the investigation of cybercrimes and to report cybercrimes?
How will trans-national cybercrimes be prosecuted?
How should you respond to a search warrant?
How to report a cybercrime to the police
Rules of thumb: training for your staff
South African Police Service Draft Standard Operating Procedures for the Investigation, Search, Access or Seizure of Articles in terms of Section 26 of the Cybercrimes Act, No. 19 of 2020

Who will benefit from this course?

Senior Management (who will need to manage the fallout from their company being a victim of Cybercrime)
Attorneys, advocates and legal advisors
People involved with IT (or POPIA) regulatory compliance
All electronic communications service providers
Financial institutions
Representatives from various government departments
Providers or vendors of software or hardware tools that could be used to commit offences
Information security experts

Presenters

Paul Esselaar is a practising attorney and notary at Esselaar Attorneys. He is a co-author to A Guide to the Protection of Personal Information (Juta, 2015) and provides regular updates on IT-law related issues for the Consumer Law Review. Paul is currently involved in several court cases involving electronic evidence as well as cyberbullying, and is a regular lecturer at UCT Law@work on consumer law issues (including POPIA, the NCA and the CPA). He is currently an appeal adjudicator for the Wireless Application Service Providers Association (WASPA) and the Internet Services Providers Association (ISPA) as well as an associate of Research ICT Solutions, a Canadian technology consultancy. Paul holds a BA, LLB, as well as a LLM in Information Technology Law.

Dominic Cull has extensive experience in advising on the commercial and regulatory aspects of new technology, broadcasting, and electronic communications ventures for local and international companies and policy and regulation in the ICT and telecommunications sectors, having spent 14 years advising the public and private sector on ICT legal issues. Dominic is involved at all stages of the communications law and regulation-making process and liaises closely with, inter alia, the lndependent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the Department of Communications, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, SAPS Cybercrime Division, National Gambling Board, Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services and the Film and Publications Board on an ongoing basis. Dominic holds a B.Bus.Sci, an LLB, and an LLM in information communication technology.

How much?

R2,100 per person.

Certificate

A certificate of attendance from UCT will be issued to those who attend the full three sessions of the course.

How to sign up

Complete and submit the registration form. You will then be given the payment information. Please note that your registration is not complete until payment has been made.

One or two days before the course, we will send you the Zoom link. You will need to register and use a password to enter the virtual classroom.

Registrations close three days before the course starts.

Download the brochure.