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Общество
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Society and innovations
Journal home page:
https://inscience.uz/index.php/socinov/index
Ensuring information security in social networks:
experience of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
Shokhjakhon KHUJAYEV
1
Tashkent State University of Law
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received April 2021
Received in revised form
28 April 2022
Accepted 20 May 2022
Available online
10 June 2022
Currently, information security in social networks is
increasingly becoming the focus of public attention, arousing
interest among scientists and specialists. In this article, based
on the norms of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan
and the Republic of Kazakhstan on information security and
informatization, the features of the legal regulation of
information security mechanisms in social networks were
analyzed. The legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the
Republic of Kazakhstan does not provide for a separate
regulatory legal act in the field of regulation of social networks,
including ensuring information security, in connection with
which the author points out the importance of taking
preventive measures. According to the results of the article, it is
indicated that when distributing content that threatens the
information security of an individual, society and the state,
measures of filtering and blocking content, as well as
restrictions on access to social networks, can be applied. In
general, it is noted that effective legal regulation should be
based on the simplicity of the legal mechanism, the maximum
simplification of the legal burden, as well as a clear and fair
restriction of access to social networks.
2181-
1415/©
2022 in Science LLC.
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-1415-vol3-iss5/S-pp3
22-329
This is an open access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru)
Keywords:
information security,
crime,
information space,
coronavirus,
information threats,
virtual world,
blogger.
1
PhD in Law, Head of Department at Tashkent State University of Law. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
E-mail: intertoto50@gmail.com
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Ижтимоий тармоқларда ахборот хавфсизлигини
таъминлаш: Ўзбекистон ва Қозоғистон тажрибаси
АННОТАЦИЯ
Калит сўзлар:
ахборот хавфсизлиги,
жиноятчилик,
ахборот муҳити,
коронавирус,
ахборот хавф
-
хатарлари,
виртуал олам,
блогер.
Бугунги кунда ижтимоий тармоқларда ахборот
хавфсизлиги тобора жамоатчилик диққат марказида бўлиб,
олим ва мутахассисларда қизиқиш уйғотмоқда. Ушбу
мақолада Ўзбекистон Республикаси ва Қозоғистон
Республикасининг ахборот хавфсизлиги ва ахборотлаш
-
тириш тўғрисидаги қонун ҳужжатлари нормаларига
асосланиб, ижтимоий тармоқларда ахборот хавфсизлигини
таъминлаш механизмларини ҳуқуқий тартибга солиш
жиҳатлари таҳлил қилинган. Ўзбекистон Республикаси ва
Қозоғистон Республикаси қонунчилигида ижтимоий
тармоқларни тартибга солиш, шу жумладан, ахборот
хавфсизлигини таъминлаш соҳасида алоҳида норматив
-
ҳуқуқий ҳужжат кўзда тутилмаган, шу муносабат билан
муаллиф бу масала юзасидан профилактика чораларини
кўриш муҳимлигини таъкидлайди. Мақола натижаларига
кўра, шахс, жамият ва давлатнинг ахборот хавфсизлигига
таҳдид соладиган контентни тарқатишда уни фильтрлаш
ва блокировка қилиш
чоралари, шунингдек ижтимоий
тармоқлардан фойдаланишни чеклаш каби чораларнинг
қўлланилиши мумкинлиги кўрсатилган. Умуман олганда,
самарали ҳуқуқий тартибга солиш ҳуқуқий механизмнинг
соддалигига, ҳуқуқий мажбуриятнинг максимал даражада
соддалаштиришга, шунингдек ижтимоий тармоқлардан
фойдаланишни аниқ ва адолатли тарзда чеклашга
асосланиши кераклиги таъкидланган.
Обеспечение
информационной
безопасности
в
социальных сетях: опыт Узбекистана и Казахстана
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
информационная
безопасность,
преступность,
информационное
пространство,
коронавирус,
информационные угрозы,
виртуальный мир,
блогер.
В настоящее время информационная безопасность в
социальных сетях все чаще оказываются в центре
внимания общественности, вызывая интерес среди ученых
и специалистов. В данной статье на основе норм
законодательства Республики Узбекистан и Республики
Казахстан
об
информационной
безопасности
и
информатизации были проанализированы особенности
правового
регулирования
механизмов
обеспечения
информационной безопасности в социальных сетях.
Законодательство Республики Узбекистан и Республики
Казахстан не предусматривает отдельного нормативно
-
правового акта в сфере регулирования социальных сетей,
включая обеспечение информационной безопасности, в
связи с чем автор указывает важность принятия
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профилактических мер. По итогам статьи указывается, что
при
распространении
контента,
угрожающего
информационной безопасности личности, общества и
государства могут быть применены меры фильтрации и
блокировки контента, а также ограничения доступа к
социальным сетям. В целом отмечается, что эффективное
правовое регулирование должно основываться на простоте
правового
механизма,
максимальном
упрощении
юридического бремени, а также в четком и справедливом
ограничении доступа к социальным сетям.
To date, the widespread use of the Internet has become a key factor in the
formation and development of relations in the virtual space. The issues of protecting
information on the Internet, as well as the Network users themselves from illegal
information influence, have become particularly relevant. Now, when more than
400 million cases of coronavirus have been detected in the world, the whole world is
forced to spend most of its time at home. In Uzbekistan, this figure exceeds 236 thousand,
in Kazakhstan
–
1,39 million some of whom are under observation in home or inpatient
quarantine. In these conditions, more than ever, it is the Internet that remains the most
widespread and effective mechanism for spending leisure time. Therefore, a very topical
issue arises on the agenda
–
the relationship between the Internet and information
security in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. In our opinion, the negative aspects
in relation to information security can be traced in the following:
1. Dissemination of false and defamatory information in social networks.
As a result of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, it was the Internet that
became the resource through which people began to receive information quickly. During
the coronavirus pandemic, the flow of information increased in the virtual space,
resulting in an increased flow of unprocessed and false information on the Internet.
Fakes have become difficult to distinguish due to the following reasons:
–
these news items are often disguised as ordinary news and therefore easily cause panic;
–
users believe a source with a large number of subscribers, so the bulk, or rather every
fifth fake news falls under existing websites that can easily be found on Google [14];
–
the presence of a huge array of fakes, and therefore it is difficult to determine the
legitimate information. So, according to the HSE statistics, every tenth Russian is sure
that the pandemic is "the invention of interested parties" and does not believe the official
statistics [3]. All this proves that people trust fakes more than official sources.
In our opinion, these problems require consistent and non-repressive measures, in
particular, the creation of Information and analytical centers for monitoring the media
and social networks, as well as other resources on the Internet under the Public Fund for
the Support and Development of National Mass Media, established at the end of January
2020 [4].
2. Content on the Internet clearly indicates the presence of a low level of legal
awareness, and also contributes to a decrease in the level of trust in social networks.
In the last month on the Internet, you can observe a certain decline in the level of
legal awareness of the population. This can lead to examples of disobedience to the
authorities, expressed in violation of the rules of quarantine, established prohibitions, as
well as public peace and security. Thus, it can be noted with regret that during the first
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month of quarantine in the Republic of Uzbekistan, 51182 administrative offenses were
committed [5], which indicates that certain categories of offenders do not perceive or
ignore the established prohibitions. Such offenses seem insignificant, but in the future
they can provoke much more serious crimes. There is also concern about the low culture
and nihilism of celebrity individuals. By their actions, these individuals not only set a bad
example, but also create a sense of collective irresponsibility among the population.
Evidence of low legal awareness is also an insufficient level of knowledge and
outlook. Analysis of texts on the Internet has shown that every year the number of cases
of using illiterate and sometimes stupid texts with errors is growing. According to the site
https://hype.tech almost every user makes mistakes, including abbreviations and other
errors. About 2 % of users can't correctly identify the endings of words. It is also worth
noting that public criticism of their illiteracy sometimes causes discontent, great
indignation of the Internet community, due to the overwhelming number of them [6].
Such a case may indicate that the Internet
“
encourages
”
illiteracy in a certain way.
Cyber fraud has also become one of the biggest problems of trust on the Internet.
In the last two or three years, the number of scammers in the Internet segment has
increased significantly for a number of reasons. So, with the advent and growing
popularity of such a phenomenon as social networks [7], the number of Internet users
who came to the Internet in order to search for their friends and acquaintances has
increased, which is actively used by scammers themselves, luring “victims” into virtual
relationships. On the other hand, the spread of social services has become a bad example
for trust, especially in cases where there are cases of spam and phishing that violate
information security and contribute to the extortion of electronic money on the Internet.
Of particular concern are the facts of the activation of virtual scammers during the
coronavirus pandemic, when scammers use
the topic of coronavirus as a “bait” and ask to
click on the link in letters allegedly sent from the bank. These emails may contain a “trap
site”. So, in the Russian Federation during the pandemic, the number of domains with the
word "coronavirus" increased-by 4 thousand at once. In addition, the number of phishing
mailings increased by 30%. The purpose of such mailings is to find out passwords,
usernames, and card details by faking messages from a trusted source. Phishing pages
are very similar to the original pages of the banks' website, as a result of which people
become victims of criminals [12].
In our opinion, one of the reasons for this level of low legal awareness and
credulity of users is the lack of educational support. The lack of necessary knowledge in
the field of the Internet and information and communication technologies creates a
favorable ground for reducing the overall level of legal awareness. In this regard, it is
necessary to form a three-stage system of education for appropriate skills in the
information and communication space:
1) today, the skills of using information and communication technologies are
generally taught in the framework of computer science, but there is no special subject
study of information security issues in general terms, and therefore a special discipline
should be introduced in general education schools regarding the concept and essence of
the Internet, this discipline should also provide training in primary use skills and
behavior in virtual space;
2) it is necessary to create a program of advanced training and retraining of
personnel engaged in operational search activities, inquiry or investigation of crimes
related to information security in law enforcement agencies.
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In general, the problem of legal awareness and trust in the Internet is a complex
problem. In this part, it is necessary to form a kind of
Internet culture
on the part of
users of the virtual space by conducting courses and introductory lessons (including
video lessons that can be viewed offline), brochures and other interesting materials.
3. Inciting conflicts in social networks.
Freedom of speech and increased opportunities for the comprehensive use of
information and communication technologies do not fully ensure the reliability and
public utility of the information disseminated. It is no secret that today any person,
especially a blogger, has a more impulsive and effective impact on the consciousness of
society than, for example, the media. At the same time, bloggers can post unlimited
information of various kinds. According to statistics, users prefer to use the Internet most
of all to access political (54%), medical (46%) or government information (42%) [8]. At
the same time, the publication of information about the activities of terrorist
organizations is not excluded. Facebook Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Friendica, the main propagandists of the Islamic State, have effectively used Western
communication technologies to cover the war zone and recruit foreign citizens.
Thousands of accounts, the use of Twitter Storm during combat operations to create
panic behind enemy lines, thousands of videos of supporters of the movement and tens of
millions of views testify to the destructive power of the impact of information. These
media resources mainly carry out their activities on the World Wide Web due to its
availability.
The coronavirus has created the ground for manipulating public opinion and
consciousness. For example, content analysis of destructive propaganda texts during the
coronavirus pandemic and comparison of these texts with the texts of journalists and
experts writing articles on countering extremism at the same time demonstrated that the
level of impact of destructive texts is much stronger and more convincing [10]. In Syria,
President Bashar al-Assad, taking advantage of the coronavirus case, accused the US of
trying to use the coronavirus to its advantage, and also expressed condolences to the
Iranian citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus, hence
showing his loyalty to Iran. However, the political enemies of Assad, on the contrary, used
this case as a good opportunity to discredit the leader of the country and call people to
sabotage [15]. In the Russian Federation, the conditions of the coronavirus have become
reasons for various kinds of rallies and marches. So, in Vladikavkaz on April 20, 2020, a
popular gathering of several thousand citizens took place against the self-isolation
regime, demanding the resignation of the head of the region and the dissolution of the
republican parliament [14].
The most important condition that contributes to the violation of
information security is the inconsistency of legislation in terms of regulating
relations to ensure information security.
The period of quarantine in connection with the coronavirus has shown that the
only thing worse than the coronavirus is the panic due to the coronavirus. Every day,
various messengers or websites on the Internet publish news about mass infections and
deaths, about the depletion of food resources, about the introduction of a curfew or a
state of emergency. Despite the presence of official sources, cases of spreading fakes
about the coronavirus have increased on the Internet. So, in Austria, an audio recording
was distributed in which a woman says in an agitated voice that she is in the hospital, and
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everyone who has severe symptoms of the coronavirus has taken ibuprofen. The woman
introduces herself as Pauline, the mother of a girl named Poldy. This is fake: doctors did
not call ibuprofen the cause of the activation of the coronavirus, but users willingly
shared the record, misleading their loved ones [9].
The coronavirus for Uzbekistan has also become a kind of push towards a critical
revision of the legislation. So, during the period of the coronavirus, 16 presidential
decrees and resolutions were adopted aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on
the economy.
One of the problems during the coronavirus was the lack of legislative norms
establishing responsibility for the dissemination of false information about the
coronavirus, as well as non-compliance without good reason in the conditions of the
emergence and spread of quarantine and other dangerous human infections with the
requirements for medical examination, treatment and arrival at the places designated for
quarantine and non-admission of these places in the prescribed period, disclosure of
information about persons., with whom there was contact and places of visit during the
period of risk of infection with the disease, as well as other legal requirements of the
state sanitary supervision authorities. The solution to this problem, albeit belatedly, was
the introduction of amendments to Article 54 of the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan of
Administrative Responsibility and Article 257
1
of the Criminal Code of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, as well as the establishment of criminal liability for the dissemination of false
information about the spread of quarantine and other dangerous infections in the
conditions of the occurrence and spread of quarantine and other dangerous infections.
The next problem is the freedom and irresponsibility of the blogger. The free use of
information and communication technologies and the Internet can lead to certain
negative consequences. For example, this has a particularly negative impact on everyday
users. Like any State, the Republic of Uzbekistan also intends to address the issue of
preventing the spread of negative content. Thus, in early April 2020, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan put up for discussion a draft resolution of
the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
“
On measures to further improve the system
of prevention of offenses among minors and youth
”
. Paragraph 9 of the Roadmap for the
implementation of the project provides for the creation of a virtual group of patriot
bloggers from among the members of the Youth Union, students of the Tashkent State
University of Information Technologies and volunteers, who are assigned the tasks of
preventing negative content, filtering Internet resources, etc. However, this measure is
not complete, but only helps to identify one of the sides of the problem. Considering the
problems of the negative impact of the Internet on the consciousness of people, we can
note that in the framework of our doctoral dissertation and scientific articles published
within it, we pointed out an integrated approach to solving problems. To this end, we
consider it appropriate to adopt a State program for the formation of Internet Culture,
which includes a set of measures
–
conducting trainings, special courses in educational
institutions, preparing and distributing propaganda materials (flyers, stands,
presentations) in the media and on the Internet. In these conditions, social measures are
becoming important, which are aimed at creating awareness among people, in particular
young people, of the danger and negative consequences of crimes in the field of
information technology and security.
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In recent years, a number of measures have been implemented in the Republic of
Kazakhstan to improve the information security system of the state. In accordance with
the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Kazakhstan [13], the Concept of
Information Security was developed and adopted, providing for the implementation of a
set of legal, organizational, scientific and technical measures aimed at forecasting,
identifying, preventing and suppressing threats in the field of information security.
The main regulatory legal act regulating relations in the field of security in
Kazakhstan is the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan
“
On National Security
”
, which
regulates legal relations in the field of national security of the Republic of Kazakhstan and
defines the content and principles of ensuring the security of man and citizen, society and
the state, the system, goals and directions of ensuring national security of the Republic of
Kazakhstan. Among the types of national security, information security is singled out as a
separate type. Information security is the state of protection of the information space of
the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the rights and interests of man and citizen, society
and the state in the information sphere from real and potential threats, which ensures
sustainable development and information independence of the country [9]. Article 6 of
this Law defines the following among the main threats to national security: reducing the
level of protection of the country
’
s information space, as well as national information
resources from unauthorized access; informational impact on public and individual
consciousness associated with the deliberate distortion and dissemination of false
information to the detriment of national security. Accordingly, the level of security
determines the quality of national security, allowing us to assess the effectiveness of
measures to prevent modern threats and measures to prevent and eliminate them. In the
sphere of the information space, these threats are especially dangerous, since it is
through information that an individual forms an idea of the world around him, his
worldview and motivations for certain actions.
The second side of the problem is the lack of specific measures of responsibility. At
the same time, the legislation provides for existing prohibitions on the
“
use
”
of the
Internet in a negative sense. According to Article 12
1
of the Law of the Republic of
Uzbekistan «On Informatization», the owner of a website and (or) a website page,
including a blogger, is obliged to prevent the use of his website and (or) a website page
on the world information network of the Internet, where publicly available information is
posted, for the purposes of:
–
call for violent change of the constitutional order, territorial integrity of the
Republic of Uzbekistan;
–
calls for mass riots, violence against citizens, as well as participation in meetings,
rallies, street processions and demonstrations held in violation of the established order,
as well as coordination of these illegal actions;
–
dissemination of deliberately false information containing a threat to public
order or security;
–
propaganda of war, violence and terrorism, as well as ideas of religious
extremism, separatism and fundamentalism;
–
disclosure of information constituting state secrets or other secrets protected by law;
–
dissemination of information that incites national, racial, ethnic or religious
hostility, as well as discrediting the honor and dignity or business reputation of citizens,
allowing interference in their private lives;
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–
dissemination of information, including those expressed in an indecent form,
demonstrating disrespect for society, the state, and state symbols;
–
promotion of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors;
–
propaganda of pornography, the cult of violence and cruelty, as well as
incitement to commit suicide;
–
dissemination of information aimed at inducing or otherwise involving citizens,
including minors, in committing illegal actions that pose a threat to their life and (or)
health or to the life and (or) health of other persons;
–
committing other actions that entail criminal and other liability in accordance
with the law [1].
However, the above actions do not entail liability under either the legislation of the
Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan, as a result of which
appropriate
measures of responsibility should be established
, namely, to establish administrative
and criminal liability for the illegal actions of the blogger. In turn, it is necessary to
provide for the
possibility of closing websites or other resources on the Internet by
a court decision, since the court is the final instance that administers justice
.
Thus, it can be noted that the main step that is advisable to apply is the formation
of a kind of Internet culture, the implementation of which should be carried out not only
by repressive measures, but also by educational measures. It is thanks to the conscious
choice of the behavior of a person in the information and communication space that it is
possible to ensure the protection of information security in the virtual space. It is also
necessary to take appropriate institutional and organizational measures to ensure the
protection of the interests of the individual, society and the state in the virtual space.
REFERENCES:
1. Law of the Republic of Uz
bekistan “On Informatization” (the text in Russian is
available at: https://www.lex.uz/docs/82956).
2.
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On National Security of the Republic of
Kazakhstan” (the text in Russian is available at:
https://online.zakon.kz/
Document/?doc_id=31106860).
3. Rasulev A.K.
“
Improvement of criminal-legal and criminological measures of
fight against crimes in the sphere of information technologies and safety: Doctoral (DSc)
dissertation abstract on legal sciences
”
. (2018).
4. https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2020/01/23/fund/.
5. https://pv.uz/ru/news/samoe-bolshoe-chislo-narushenij-po-karantinu.
6. https://hype.tech/@boevoy-homyak/problema-bezgramotnosti-v-internete-
tak-li-vse-ploho-qqk4fmkw.
7. https://www.saferunet.ru/adult/news/790/.
8. www.statista.com.
9. https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-52066878.
10. https://crss.uz/2020/04/02/analiz-tekstovyx-i-vizualnyx-soobshhenij-
propagandy-destruktivnyx-grupp-v-seti-internet-issledovanie/.
11. https://www.rbc.ru/economics/07/03/2020/5e6355ac9a7947a8e27817e6.
12. https://regnum.ru/news/economy/2915482.html.
13. https://articlekz.com/article/6210.
14. https://runet.rbc.ru/.
15. https://lenta.ru/news/2020/04/20/asadvsusa/.
