AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON CYBER FRAUD IN UGANDA.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL SHEET ....................................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................. iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ v

LIST OF LEGAL INSTRUMENTS ....................................................................................... viii

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... .ix

CHAPTER ONE .............................................................................................................................. 1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... l

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background of the study .......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................................... 5

1.3 Objective of the study .............................................................................................................. 5

1.3.1 General objective ................................................................................................................... 5

1.3.2 Specific objectives ................................................................................................................. 6

1.4 Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 6

1.5 Research Hypothesis ................................................................................................................ 6

1.6 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................................... 6

1.6.1 Geographical scope ............................................................................................................... 6

1.6.2 Scope of the legal frame work ............................................................................................... ?

1.7 Significance of the study .......................................................................................................... ?

1.8 Research Methodology ............................................................................................................. 8

1.8.1 Research design ..................................................................................................................... 8

1.8.2 Study Population ................................................................................................................... 8

1.8.3 Data Sources .......................................................................................................................... 8

1.8.4 Data Collection methods ....................................................................................................... 9

1.8.5 Data Processing ..................................................................................................................... 9

1.8.6 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 9

1.8.7 Limitations to the study ....................................................................................................... 1 0

1.9 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 1 0

CHAPTER TW0 ........................................................................................................................... 16

CONCEPTUAL PERCEPTIVE ON KEY TERMS ................................................................... 16

2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 16

2.1 The Nature of Cyber fraud ..................................................................................................... 16

2.2 Types of cyber fraud .............................................................................................................. 20

2.2.1 Card-Based Fraud ................................................................................................................ 20

2.2.2 Network-Based Fraud ......................................................................................................... 21

2.2.3 Banks' Employees Fraud ................................................................................................... 28

2.3 Incidents of Cyber Frauds and Unauthorized Transfer in E-Banking in Uganda .................. 29

2.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 35

CHAPTER THREE ....................................................................................................................... 37

LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON CYBER FRAUD IN UGANNDA ............................................... 37

3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 37

3.1. Cyber Fraud Legislation in Some Africa countries ............................................................... 37

3.2 Legal Framework on Cyber fraud in Uganda ......................................................................... 38

3.2.1 THE PENAL CODE ACT CAP 120 ................................................................................. .38

3.2.2 THE COMPUTER MISUSE ACT OF 2010 ...................................................................... 42

3.2.3 Anti-Money Laundering Act, No. 12 of2000 .................................................................... .45

3.2.4 Electronic and Postal communication act 2010 .................................................................. 46

3.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 51

CHAPTER FOUR .......................................................................................................................... 52

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON CYBER CR1ME ....................................... 52

4.0 Introduction ............................................................ , ............................................................... 52

4.1. Common standards: the Budapest Convention ..................................................................... 52

4.2 The International Cybercrime Treaty: .............................. , ..................................................... 54

4.2.1 Origins of Treaty ...................................................................................... , .......................... 54

4.3 The council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime ............................................................ 56

4.4 Mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) ................................................................................. 51

4.5 The Extradition Act Chapter 117 ........................................................................................... 59

4.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 63

CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................... 64

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 64

5.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 64

5.1 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................. 64

5.1.1 Deficiency of a Body of Ethical Principles ......................................................................... 65

5.1.2 The Lack of Political Will ................................................................................................... 65

5 .1.3 Ineffective Education Programmes ..................................................................................... 65

5.1.4 Poor Implementation of the Laws against crimes and Policies in the Country ................... 66

5 .1.5 The original laws enacted did not cater for the new forms of cybercrime and electronic transactions ..................................66

5.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 67

5.2.1 A Body of Ethical Principles against cybercrimes ............................................................. 67

5.2.2 The Political Will to Enforce Laws ........................................................................................ 68

5.2.3 Increase Budgetary Allocation to Government Institutions ................................................ 69

5.2.4 Stakeholder collaboration .................................................................................................... 69

5.2.5 Revise Universal Education Programme ............................................................................. 70

5.2.6 Implementation of a strict criminal justice in the Country .................................................. 71

5.2.7 Poverty Reduction ................................................................................................................... 71

5.3 Further Reading ...................................................................................................................... 72

5.4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 72

BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 73

ABSTRACT 

This Dissertation was intended to critically appraise the legal framework on cyber fraud in Uganda: It was guided by the specific objectives which included finding out whether Uganda's legal regime provides for cyber fraud, to explore the international legal regime in regards to cyber fraud and to suggest or make improvements to the law in regard to cyber fraud. Cybercrime continues to cost Uganda billions of shillings as regulators discuss ways of containing what they call a complex problem. According to the released Annual Police Report 2013, cybercrime cost Uganda about 18.1 billion Shillings. Another figure released by the Kaspersky Labs puts the figure at 25billion Uganda Shillings. As the Internet comes to underwrite more and more of our daily life, the vectors of attack for cybercriminals, hackers and state officials multiply, the total number of cyber-attacks grows year over year and the potential damage from cyber-attacks increases. As technology advances and more people rely on the internet to store sensitive information such as banking or credit card information, criminals are going to attempt to steal that information. Cyber-crime is becoming more of a threat to people across the world. Raising awareness about how information is being protected and the tactics criminals use to steal that information is important in today's world. The study recommends that more focus should be put on individual training about cyber fraud and how to guard against it. Encourage companies, individuals and governments to rely more on open source software where possible to detect and counter new vulnerabilities faster. The study also recommends development of international agreements on spam, emails and other forms of web-based attacks.