On 28 March 2019, the Lebanese University - Faculty of Law, Political & Administrative Sciences (Branch 4) organized a seminar entitled “Combating Cybercrime and the Dangers of Using Social Media”, delivered by Major Albert Khoury, Head of Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Bureau at the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), in the presence of a group of students, employees and professors.

After opening the seminar with the national and the university anthems, the Branch Director, Dr. Anthony Abu Kassem, thanked the General Directorate and the Judicial Police Unit, stressing the complementarity between the Faculty and the Directorate as it is responsible for ensuring the proper application of the law.

He also stressed that the Faculty trains and prepares cadres to join the security and justice fields, and the best proof is that a large number of the ISF officers are graduates of the Faculty.

Then, Dr. Karen Degheidy, presented the transformations that the world is going through today in light of the electronic revolution, asking questions on the procedures to be followed to protect people and preserve data in cooperation with the ISF.

As for Major Albert Khoury, he evoked the importance of raising awareness about cybercrime and piracy offences, considering that access to databases can be part of a crime punishable by law if the data is used for extortion and threats. He also discussed methods of psychological pressure through stimulating games and sound effects on children.

Finally, Major Khoury stressed the importance of informing on the knowledge of a crime occurrence to prevent it and remedy its effects, noting the role of security services in fighting and suppressing information-related crimes (protection, investigation, awareness, capacity building and information exchange), wishing Lebanon to become a member of international conventions, as it would make it easier for the judiciary to discover and follow the crime in case it occurs abroad.