Hong Kong has seen a significant rise in cybercrimes in the last few years

WSJ reports that Hong Kong has seen a significant rise in cybercrimes in the last few years, including online fraud, hacking and sexual offenses facilitated by social networks and chat sites. A new report by the Department of Justice warns that cybercrime will only become more challenging for law enforcement agencies as telecommunications networks evolve over the next decade.

Cybercrimes include unauthorized computer access or theft, interception of data, cyber-stalking and harassment. Of note, the department says there has been an upsurge in people taking digital photographs and videos up women’s skirts using their smartphones—crimes which can fall under disorderly conduct in public places, loitering or outraging public decency. In December, a local university student was sentenced to two months in prison for repeatedly taking these photos.

The Hong Kong Police Force has also put up a notice about website defacement, phishing emails, commercial and auction fraud, identity theft, and abuse of online gaming services.

With rapid technological changes and more people connected on the Internet, these crimes are likely to become more frequent across the world, according to Mamoun Alazab, a research fellow at the Australian National University who studies cybercrime.

“Criminals will find ways to exploit new technology, whether it is for fraud, child pornography, stalking, criminal copyright infringement or attacks on computers themselves,” Hong Kong’s justice department writes.

In September, a university student was convicted of accessing a computer with dishonest intent after logging onto a neighbor’s wireless Internet connection to send email hoaxes to the Legislative Council and Mass Transit Railway Corp.