THE CRIMINAL ACT OF THE USE OF ICT IN EL SALVADOR.

With the arrival of the digital age, it was logical that at some point, depending on technology was going to be considered an essential resource, since the Internet is a development tool, and a bridge between many people, which emerged with the purpose to unite, create bonds, serve humanity, from the perspective of becoming an unbreakable bond that breaks all existing distance between things, people and, why not say it, the entire world.

Due to the great demand for the Internet, criminal acts are being carried out through the use of new technologies, violating the image, property, and information of people, because there is no border in cyberspace and El Salvador is not immune to it. it. As of 2017, there has been an increase in criminal behavior, greatly affecting minors, and both private and state companies.

A computer crime, cyber-crime, cybercrime, or under any name you want to give it, is that illegal conduct committed through information technologies and identifies an act committed by one or more people, whose purpose is to destroy and harm by electronic means and Internet networks.

EL Salvador has the Special Law on Computer and Related Crimes enacted and in force in El Salvador since 2016. This regulation protects legal assets from criminal conduct committed through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ) in El Salvador, meaning that it was created to prevent and punish crimes committed to the detriment of stored, processed or transferred data; the systems, their infrastructure or any of their components, or those committed through the use of said technologies that affect interests associated with the identity, property, privacy and image of natural or legal persons in the applicable terms identified by the law.

Although it is a law that only includes 36 articles, its content is extremely serious and highly necessary that it continue to be disseminated, and we must ensure that it is known and applied, since who does not use the Internet now? Everything is just a click away, from ordering a pizza to making million-dollar transactions.

This law deserves that all Salvadorans be able to identify what types of behaviors should not be committed and which of them have very severe penalties.

Computer crimes are those illicit activities that:

• They are committed through the use of computers, computer systems or other communication devices (computer science is the means or instrument to carry out a crime).
• They are intended to cause damage, cause losses or prevent the use of computer systems (computer crimes).

Examples of crimes that are regulated and that are being committed in El Salvador include the following:

• Those that are committed against information technology systems. Example: Improper access to data systems and programs, interference, violation of systems, etc.
• Against the economic order: Impersonation of marketing acts, theft, scams, fraudulent administration,
• Against children and adolescents as well as people with disabilities: Examples: Pornography, Harassment, Corruption and Use of children and adolescents in pornography, acquisition and possession of pornographic content of children, adolescent girls and people with disabilities through ICTs.
• Those committed against the content of the data. Example: Revelation of data content, harassment through ICT, Interference, Use of Identity, Use, Transfer of Personal Data, Data theft. Obtaining property through smart cards, Fraudulent manipulation of smart cards
• Other crimes: Scam, fraud, espionage, theft, manipulation of services, denial of service.
• Other crimes related, not contemplated in the law but in the general rule, are those of the economic order, and intellectual property.

As we can see, the range of behaviors is wide. El Salvador, through the National Civil Police and the Attorney General's Office of the Republic, has specialized Computer Crime Investigation Units, and with the support of UNICEF, UNITED NATIONS, INTERPOL, as well as with the private company, who together support each other day by day, so that these events, far from increasing, can decrease. That is why the general population is advised that if they know of any criminal act, they should report it, because we must not forget that Information Technologies make our lives easier.

Every day we stop being Flintstone, to live in the era of the Internet of Things, which is why we must consider the INTERNET as a friend, and not as an enemy. For this reason, legal communities around the world are or are at least trying to create regulatory and legislative mechanisms that allow these new figures to be addressed and given legal content for their due protection. For all these reasons, the latest legal guidance is to prioritize the focus on security in networks and information systems to prevent so many people from being affected.

THE CRIMINAL ACT OF THE USE OF ICT IN EL SALVADOR. By Lic. Karla Alas de Duarte©