A significant number of cases involve the theft of identities and forgery of documents. • Despite the numbers: only about 50 police officers serve in the investigation unit. • Expert: "Cyber challenges are expected to rise and become complex."
"The challenges in cybercrime are expected to be much more complex in the near future"
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Data revealed here for the first time show that in 2020, the Israel Police handled 8,377 cases related to offenses committed online.
The data, which reached Israel Today exclusively, show that the Israel Police Blade 433 cyber unit, which is considered one of the best units in the police, serves only about 50 police officers and 25 other national service girls and soldiers in compulsory service.
In addition to the cyber unit, cyber crimes are also being deciphered in the various districts, usually of simpler and less sophisticated crimes, and in each district a number of other dedicated cyber researchers are serving.
A significant portion of the cybercrimes faced by the police and the public in the past year relate to identity theft and forgery of documents using sophisticated digital tools.
In the past year, the Israel Police opened 2,093 cases in which the suspicion of committing an offense of "impersonating another person for the purpose of fraud" was investigated, and another 2,795 cases in which the offense under investigation was "forgery."
One of the most common cybercrimes around the world is of course the theft of credit cards and other debit cards, but precisely because of the suspicion of committing this offense, a small number of cases were opened this year - only 350.
Adv. Saar Gershuni, an expert in online privacy law and founder of Gershuni & Co., commented on the data: "Naturally, we are far from seeing the full picture in relation to the resources and efforts that the police invest in cybercrime.
However, I believe that the fact that the entire cyber unit has only a few dozen police officers is far from satisfactory. "
Gershuni added that "the police must understand that the challenges in cybercrime are expected to be much more complex in the near future. The methods that the police will have to take will become more sophisticated. "
