Cybercrime and the NCA
Cybercrime is any crime committed by using a computer or network. It can range from hacking into a computer system to steal personal information or launch denial-of-service attacks, to the more serious crime of stealing sensitive business data and selling it to other criminals. Cybercrimes can have profound effects on society, from preventing people from accessing their healthcare records to affecting the productivity of businesses and even impacting national security.
Cybercriminals also target individuals, committing crimes like identity theft, phishing, stalking, and ransomware attacks. They can be motivated by a number of reasons, from profit to revenge and even for fun. For example, the WannaCry ransomware attack affected 230,000 computers around the world, locking users out of their data and demanding a payment of bitcoins in order to regain access.
The reach of cyberspace means that cybercrimes can have international implications, creating challenges for law enforcement, and this is why the NCA is committed to improving our ability to investigate, prosecute and prevent these crimes, wherever they occur. This requires us to work closely with partners worldwide and across government, industry and academia to improve our understanding of the threats and how they are evolving.
The NCA runs several key initiatives to protect the UK from cyber crime including: