CYBERCRIME AND DIGITAL EVIDENCE IN PANAMA
Evelyn Medina*

I. INTRODUCTION
The development of the Internet and the proliferation of computer technology has created newopportunities for those who would engage in illegal activity. The rise of technology and online communication
has not only produced a dramatic increase in the incidence of criminal activity, it has also resulted in theemergence of what appear to be some new varieties of criminal activity. Both the increase in the incidenceof criminal activity and the possible emergence of new varieties of criminal activity pose challenges for legalsystems, as well as for law enforcement.
The cybersecurity issues have gained renewed importance since the pandemic of the new SARS-CoV-2
virus causing Covid-19 disease in Panama. Cyber-criminals have increased significantly, such as phishing,identity theft, e-mail spoofing and others, as the world becomes more interconnected, crimes of this natureare rapidly expanding.
The complex nature of cybercrime, as one that takes place in the borderless realm of cyberspace, iscompounded by the increasing involvement of organized crime groups. Perpetrators of cybercrime, and theirvictims, are often located in different regions, and its effects ripple through societies around the world.
The restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic have encouraged
victims to work from home, and even stay at home. As a consequence, technology has become even more
important in both our working and personal lives. Cyberattackers see the pandemic as an opportunity to stepup their criminal activities by exploiting the vulnerability of their victims working from home. Prior to thepandemic, human error was already a major cause of cyberinsecurity, employees would unknowingly or
recklessly give access to the wrong people. With more people working at home, however, the problem iseven greater. People were affected because names, passwords, email addresses were stolen.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) permeate all aspects of life, providing newer, betterand quicker ways for people to interact, network, gain access to information and learn.1 Digitization and theemerging use of ICTs has a great impact on procedures related to the collection of evidence and its use incourt. As a consequence of this development, digital evidence has been introduced as a new source ofevidence. Handling digital evidence is accompanied with unique challenges and requires specific procedures.
One of the most difficult aspects is to maintain the integrity of the digital evidence. Digital data are highly
fragile and can easily be deleted or modified.
Digital evidence plays an important role in various phases of cybercrime investigations. In a court of law,evidence is of supreme importance; it is crucial to establish facts.

II. CURRENT SITUATION IN PANAMA
Panama is a signatory to the 2001 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, approved by Law No. 79 of 2013.
The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest
Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime (cybercrime) by*1

Prosecutor, Office of the Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, Public Ministry of Panama, Panama.
https://www.thehansindia.com/business/how-digital-forensics-helping-police-gather-evidence-against-cybercrime-721668

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harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques and increasing cooperation among nations.2
This law refers to the convention on cyber-crime, terminologies, measures to be adopted at the national level,computer crimes, crimes related to child pornography, crimes related to infringement of intellectual property
and related rights, among others.
The institution responsible for the supervision and direction of matters related to information security is
the National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG) that operates under the Computer Security andIncident Response Team of Panama (CSIRC). There are two agencies responsible for the coordination andjudicial investigation of cybercrime.
The Computer Security and Incident Response Team of Panama (CSIRT) is the national entity in chargeof facilitating security incident response information nationwide. The CSIRT of Panama maintains close
collaboration with other national CSIRT’s of the region and worldwide.
Panama does not have an independent law to investigate, prosecute and punish cybercrime. The legal
framework for the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime is mainly contained in the Criminal Code ofthe Republic of Panama in its Title VIII, on crimes against the “Legal Security of Electronic Media” categorizes
crimes against computer security.
The main challenge for national criminal legal systems is the delay between the recognition of potential
abuses of new technologies and necessary amendments to the national criminal law. We need to update ourlaws to comply with the commitments made when we signed the Budapest Convention.
At this time everyone can be a victim of cybercrime. Prosecutors need more tools and need to gain more
knowledge on this topic. Every day, new technologies are created and cyberattacks are becoming moreconstant. We need to pursue, adjudicate, prosecute our investigations in the need to obtain quickly digital
evidence, before we lose the information that most of the time are stored in other servers.   In criminal
investigations we need to identify the relevant evidence, followed by collection and preservation of theevidence, the analysis of computer technology and digital evidence; finally, the evidence needs to be presentedin court.
The most common attempts of breach come by impersonation and are sent through emails, WhatsApp
messages or by phone calls. Most criminals leave a digital footprint; a suspect’s IP address, posting on a social
media platform or using their mobile device for everyday use in place of a traditional computer and camera.
However, this task has not been easy, derived from the difficulty of determining different aspects of thecommission and persecution of cybercrime.
The Public Ministry of Panama reports a 421 per cent increase in complaints submitted relating tocybersecurity compared with 2016. Statistics indicate that the overall number increased in 2020 and 2021.
From January to April 2021 Panama received 794 complaints submitted relating to cyber-crime.3
The following numbers have been extracted from national crime statistics and presented only to provide
an insight into our country information. Furthermore, statistics only list crimes that are detected andreported. Especially with regard to cybercrime, there are concerns that the number of unreported cases issignificant. The financial damage caused by cyberattacks is estimated in USD 20 thousand dollars per day.4
Since the pandemic, the Public Ministry have called for various awareness campaigns with national
institutions to inform citizens on cyberrisks and to foster the use of best practices related to information
security and the fight against cyber-crime.
Digital evidence plays a critical role in solving crimes and preparing court cases, and we often havedifficulties to obtain the digital evidence in proper time. The biggest thing prosecutors were facing pre-Covid,
2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Cybercrime
https://ministeriopublico.gob.pa/el-ciberdelito-es-real-ministerio-publico-y-policia-nacional-lanzan-campana-de-prevencion-deldelito/#:~:text=En%20Panam%C3%A1%20de%20enero%2Dabril,solo%20en%20el%20%C3%A1rea%20Metropolitana.
4
https://www.laestrella.com.pa/nacional/210519/cibercrimen-dispara-aumento-344-ultimos
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and continue to face today, is the ability to get access to evidence. For example, in crimes against morality,
Facebook did not give us a response. They argue that they only respond to serious crimes like terrorism,making it very difficult to obtain the digital evidence that we need to follow up our criminal cases.
Digital evidence is a relatively new phenomenon for law enforcement investigations and yet more cases
are relying on it. Investigators are limited to their own territory, and traditional ways to obtain evidence
from other jurisdictions are often not effective. This underlines the need for effective criminal justice action.
A specialized investigation unit on computer crime was created in Panama within the Directorate for
Judicial Investigation, and it is under current development. This specialized investigation unit will provide
capacity and training to conduct investigations and digital forensics activities.
Our country is governed by an adversarial system of criminal procedure, which raises the standard ofguarantees in favour of those processed or investigated. Therefore, the more elements that are provided in
the formal letter of assistance on the seriousness of the facts and the relevance of the element that isrequested through international cooperation, the more likely that we can have prior or subsequent judicialauthorizations, depending on what is requested.
Internet service providers (ISP) are required by Law 51 of September 2009 to provide information at therequest of the prosecutors. Subsequently, it must be brought before a Judge of Guarantees, to validate theobtaining of the data.
The Office of the Prosecutor has created an action protocol, precisely, to provide all requirements withdiligent, fast and efficient treatment, for which we have consulted our Office of International Affairs, ourforces of order and other intervening parties, to act in a manner precise and adequate to the request madeby different colleagues from other countries.
Investigating and prosecuting cybercrime requires internet-specific tools and instruments that enable
competent authorities to carry out investigations. In this context, instruments to identify the offender andcollect the evidence required for the criminal proceedings are essential. These instruments may be the sameas those used in traditional terrorist investigations unrelated to computer technology. But in a growing
number of internet-related cases, traditional investigation instruments are not sufficient to identify anoffender.
Cybercrime investigations need the support and involvement of authorities in all countries involved. Thisis the number one barrier to prosecuting cybercrime. Most of the time, the person committing the crime islocated outside of the country (or at least outside the legal jurisdiction of the court and prosecutors seeking
the conviction). It is hard enough to successfully prosecute cybercriminals if they originate in the same
jurisdiction as the victim, but it is close to impossible when both reside in different locations.

III. PRACTICAL CASE
A practical case that we constantly see in practice since the Covid-19 pandemic is identity theft – when
criminals steal a victim's personal information to commit criminal acts. Using this stolen information, acriminal takes over the victim’s identity and conducts a range of fraudulent activities in their name.
Cybercriminals commit identity theft by using sophisticated cyberattack tactics, including socialengineering, phishing, malware, stealing mail, digging through dumpsters, sending SMS or WhatsApp
messages to victims’ cell phones. Unfortunately, most people only discover they're victims of identity theftwhen they attempt to open a bank account, when someone collects government benefits owed to the victim
or when the cybercriminal transfers funds out of the victim's account without the victim noticing.
This chain of events often starts with one strategically written phishing email. It convinces the victims
to click a link to update their password, giving the cybercriminal access to a corporate database and thevictim’s personal information.
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IV. CONCLUSION
The investigation and prosecution of cybercrime presents a number of challenges for law-enforcement
agencies. It is vital not only to educate the people involved in the fight against cybercrime but also to draft
adequate and effective legislation.
The world of cybercrime is complicated. There are too many cybersecurity incidents and too few law
enforcement resources available to keep up with the crime. To add more complexity to the issue, there arejurisdictional boundaries that prevent criminals from being prosecuted. Criminals may deliberately choose
targets outside their own country and act from countries with inadequate cybercrime legislation.
Effectively combating, investigating and prosecuting such crimes requires international cooperation
between countries, law enforcement agencies and institutions backed by laws, international relations,conventions, directives and recommendations culminating in a set of international guidelines to fightcybercrime. There are many challenges to international cooperation and establishing international guidelines
to fight global cybercrime across borders.

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