Bangladesh is forming a specialised Cyber Police Unit with 4,592 personnel to tackle cybercrime, including positions for cryptocurrency, malware and dark web analysts, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Thursday evening.
Salahuddin made the announcement at an event held at Police Headquarters to mark the establishment of the Cyber Police Unit.
“The new unit will be headed by an additional inspector general of police,” he said. “Several deputy inspectors general and additional deputy inspectors general will serve at divisional and headquarters levels. Officers holding the rank of superintendent of police will be deployed at the district level.”
Separate sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors and constables will be appointed for the unit at police stations, he added.
“The total strength of the unit has so far been fixed at 4,592 in the organisational structure,” Salahuddin said. “Required personnel will initially be drawn from the existing workforce, while the full staffing will be completed through recruitment later.”
The Home Minister said the new unit would be equipped with modern cyber-related tools and developed as a technology- and talent-driven organisation.
“Artificial intelligence and cyber-related activities have increased in recent times,” he said. “Alongside conventional methods, there is now a need for greater use of forensic and digital technologies to combat crime.”
Forensic and digital laboratories are increasingly needed to address narcotics, gambling, terrorism, money laundering, financial crimes, social security issues and cybercrime, Salahuddin said.
“Previously, cybercrime was addressed in an unorganised manner, which led to a lack of coordination,” he said. “The new unit will bring these activities under an organised structure.”
The unit will have scope to recruit specialists alongside regular police personnel, including system analysts, financial data analysts, cybersecurity experts, emergency response consultants, network administrators, disaster recovery experts, content developers, crypto analysts, malware analysts, dark web analysts, communication experts and social media analysts.
Specialists may be hired on contracts and will have a salary and benefits structure different from that of regular police personnel, Salahuddin said.
Police members with relevant skills or an interest in receiving related training will also be included in the unit. Suitable police officers will receive advanced training at home and abroad, he added.
“A team of senior officers has been selected for overseas training,” Salahuddin said, adding that incentives would also be available for experts contributing to the unit.
The Home Minister said the process of modernising the Cyber Security Act was under way. Consultations on amending the law have been held several times with journalists, editors and relevant experts, and their views will continue to be sought, he said.
“The new law is being drafted to define cyber-related crimes more specifically,” Salahuddin said. “The preservation of religious and social harmony is also being considered.”
The amendment process is also considering safeguards to ensure that innocent people or those not involved are not harassed through misuse of the law, he added.
“This is a very sensitive law, which is why we are taking time,” Salahuddin said. “After discussions with everyone, we will bring the bill.”