Brazil is experiencing an epidemic of digital crimes (women and young people most targeted)

"It is very clear that Brazil is experiencing an epidemic of digital crimes, especially crimes aimed at vulnerable populations, such as children and adolescents and women, who are the main targets of these crimes," he stated.

The alert is reinforced by data from the Cyber Operations Laboratory (Ciberlab), also from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, according to coordinator and police chief Alesandro Gonçalves Barreto.

Created in 2017, Ciberlab is a specialized unit to support state police in combating crimes committed on the internet, also working with the Federal Police and the Public Ministry to identify criminals.

Between 2025 and 2026, the laboratory received 143 incidents, with self-mutilation or self-injury being the most recurrent classification, with 31 cases (38.8%), followed by school threats or planning an attack, with 30 incidents (37.5%).

There were also 17 incidents of violence against homeless people (21.3%), 16 of mistreatment or violence against animals (20%), 11 of child sexual exploitation (13.8%) and 11 of suicide or induction to suicide (13.8%).

Alesandro Barreto emphasized that the data does not represent all crimes in Brazil, but only the incidents that reach Ciberlab, a support unit that assists state police in investigations.

The laboratory issued 1,800 alerts in 2025 and another thousand in the first half of this year, according to the coordinator, who highlighted the constant evolution of technologies used by criminals to try to escape the application of criminal law.

This week, the National Secretariat for Digital Rights identified, in the first online survey since the decree to protect women in the digital environment came into force in May, a lot of harmful content. In total, 80 internet pages were identified that offer services in which images of women can be manipulated using artificial intelligence ('deep nudes') to present them virtually nude.

The 80 electronic addresses were forwarded to the Federal Police and the National Data Protection Agency for analysis and possible adoption of investigation, record preservation and blocking measures.

The National Secretariat for Digital Rights had already identified 32 applications with these features, available in Apple and Google stores, which were notified and subsequently removed and made unavailable.

Victor Fernandes stated that some services are sold in closed groups, with payments through Pix and cryptoactives, pointing to signs of a sophisticated financial chain associated with part of this ecosystem.

Asked by Lusa about the main challenges in tackling digital crimes, with platforms and large technology companies, the secretary highlighted the active collaboration of these companies, explaining that they have access to the content and digital trail left by criminals and can help authorities identify those responsible.

The secretary defended that the collaboration of the platforms is essential to remove content, preserve evidence and transmit information to the authorities, because "without active collaboration from the platforms" it is not possible to reach those responsible for the crimes.

As a solution to try to protect minors in the digital environment, Victor Fernandes highlighted the change in the obligations of digital platforms, which in Brazil now have broader legal duties to report crimes to national authorities.

In Brazil, this obligation came into force in March, with the ECA Digital -- the Statute of Children and Adolescents in the internet environment.

Before this change, the secretary explained, North American companies operating in Brazil reported cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in the United States.

North American legislation requires these companies to report these cases to NCMEC, which subsequently shared the data with the Brazilian Federal Police through voluntary cooperation.

According to Fernandes, the Federal Police received 960,000 reports of crimes of child sexual abuse and exploitation in 2025, 25% more than in 2024, equivalent to almost three thousand communications per business day.

With ECA Digital, platforms in Brazil now have a legal obligation to report crimes against children and adolescents to Brazilian authorities, regardless of the nationality of the companies.

The obligation covers crimes such as grooming and sexual extortion, while later decrees also established the reporting of other crimes committed in the digital environment, including hate crimes, racism and terrorism.

For the Ciberlab coordinator, cooperation between platforms has improved in recent years, but companies still need to improve moderation mechanisms to prevent criminals from using their services.

"Companies must also sit at the same table", he stated, arguing that the fight against digital crimes cannot be left solely to the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office, because speedy action can mean saving lives.

Another phenomenon observed by Ciberlab is the involvement of increasingly younger teenagers in hate crimes, including cases of minors who entice other minors, according to Barreto, who reported situations involving 12-year-olds.

Barreto stated that the covid-19 pandemic gave rise to a type of "cybercrime pandemic", which remains active.

"Crime has not been quarantined," he said, explaining that criminals took advantage of the increased use of the internet to reach more victims.

One of the most shocking recent cases in the country is the suicide of a transmimic teenager.