AMMAN: A conference has begun in Jordan to highlight Salamat, a new digital safety campaign for the Middle East and North Africa region developed by the Information and Research Center at the King Hussein Foundation, the Jordan News Agency reported.
During the event, organized in collaboration with the SecDev Foundation, a Canadian think tank, Wafaa Bani Mustafa, minister of state for legal affairs and head of the inter-ministerial committee for women’s empowerment, said that despite great advancements during the technological revolution, harmful practices have emerged leaving many people vulnerable in the virtual world to cybercrime and privacy-related violations.
The minister said the situation necessitates precautionary measures to protect future generations from dangerous social phenomena.
According to Mustafa, efforts by the Jordanian Public Security Directorate to combat cybercrime began in 2008, and an Anti-Cybercrime Unit was established in 2015.
The minister also highlighted the significance of taking action to combat online abuse such as bullying, extortion and hacking, citing government statistics that reveal about 75 percent of women have encountered some type of online abuse.
Mustafa made several recommendations, the most important of which were to develop and implement legislation to reduce cybercrime, train women to protect their personal accounts, improve digital safety, and raise awareness of the importance of reporting any extortion attempts.
She also advocated for increased media education and addressing misconceptions by strengthening legal means of access to information and facts.
