BotNet News

Cybercrime sounds like something from a sci-fi film, but it is a real and growing problem for law enforcement, computer professionals and the public. From phishing and ransomware to data breaches, hacking and cyber-terrorism, cybercriminals are increasingly using the Internet to steal money and personal information. Their attacks have a massive economic impact on governments, businesses and individuals, and the threat continues to grow.

In the battle against cybercrime, collaboration is vital. Private and public sector partners need to work together to identify the threats, develop response strategies and take action to stop them. Joint efforts are facilitated by the existence of electronic crime task forces, which bring together police, cybercrime specialists and computer experts from multiple agencies.

The global nature of cyberattacks and the Internet’s transnational reach mean that a single investigation often spans several jurisdictions. This makes catching and prosecuting criminals more challenging than traditional investigations, which are normally conducted by local police.

Because of this, the definitions of cybercrimes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This is also true of the legal process. In some cases, prosecution will be pursued at the state level rather than federally. For instance, when revenge porn is committed, the victim may file a complaint with state prosecutors because it affects them directly.

The costs and harms of cybercrime are hard to pin down because there is a lack of standard definitions, reporting requirements and measurement methodologies. Trilateral’s SEIA framework provides a starting point for future debate with and among stakeholders on how to develop a broader, universally agreed conceptualization and operationalisation of cybercrime impacts in a way that enables systematic data collection procedures, unambiguous empirical and quantitative measurement, research replication and informed policies.