Cybercrime and Cyber Law Enforcement
As technology advances, the world becomes more digitally connected – but criminals are taking advantage of this transformation to target weaknesses in online systems and networks. From phishing and ransomware to data breaches and cyberterrorism, these attacks have huge economic and social impacts, and they are incredibly challenging for law enforcement to combat. Cybercrimes don’t respect national borders, and criminals, victims and technical infrastructure are often scattered across multiple jurisdictions – making investigations and prosecutions difficult.
The internet’s speed, convenience and anonymity have made it easier to commit a wide range of crimes. From financial crimes such as fraud, money laundering and extortion to cyberstalking, stalking and bullying, and copyright infringements, the internet’s low barrier of entry and lack of physical boundaries makes cybercrime easy to commit.
Computer crime is one of the Justice Department’s top priorities, with agencies such as the FBI and the Secret Service seeing it as a key part of their homeland security missions. A large number of states also have established laws to deal with cybercrime. Legislation can cover the entire internet or specific sectors, such as financial institutions. In addition to this, there are international consortiums that influence legal change in countries that don’t have laws covering child pornography, hacking and other activities considered abhorrent or potentially devastating. This has resulted in the establishment of a global vision of right and wrong. Moreover, as hackers have become more sophisticated, they have also developed ways to make their crimes less complex, such as by sharing their knowledge via blogs and social media.