TUNIS, June 26: Kuwait’s Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Brigadier Abdullah Al-Hassan, underscored the critical role of data systems — particularly criminal records and biometric fingerprint databases — in combating cybercrime across Arab nations.

Speaking to KUNA on Wednesday while chairing the 20th Arab Conference of Heads of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Evidence Agencies, held at the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers in Tunis, Al-Hassan emphasized the importance of building and improving regional tools to address evolving digital threats.

He noted that the conference is following up on earlier proposals aimed at strengthening Arab cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. Describing such crimes as the “mother of all crimes,” Al-Hassan explained that cybercrime encompasses a broad range of illegal activities, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, domestic violence, and other offenses that originate through social media and the digital sphere.

In his remarks, Al-Hassan warned of the increasing risks posed by cybercrime and called for the development of a unified procedural guide and an integrated biometric fingerprint database to enhance the collective capabilities of Arab states in detecting and responding to criminal activity.

He reaffirmed the commitment of Arab criminal investigation and forensic agencies to tracking cybercrime by forming specialized, technologically advanced teams equipped to handle the challenges of the digital era. These efforts, he stressed, are essential to achieving cybersecurity and effective crime prevention across the region.

The conference, chaired by Kuwait in its current leadership of the General Secretariat, officially opened earlier Wednesday at the Council’s headquarters in the Tunisian capital.