Cybercrime

Not to be confused with Virtual crime.

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Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks. These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive information, disrupt services, and cause financial or reputational harm to individuals, organizations, and governments.[1]

In 2000, the tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders placed cyber crimes into five categories: unauthorized access, damage to computer data or programs, sabotage to hinder the functioning of a computer system or network, unauthorized interception of data within a system or network, and computer espionage.[1]

Internationally, both state and non-state actors engage in cybercrimes, including espionage, financial theft, and other cross-border crimes. Cybercrimes crossing international borders and involving the actions of at least one nation-state are sometimes referred to as cyberwarfare. Warren Buffett has said that cybercrime is the "number one problem with mankind",[2] and that it "poses real risks to humanity".[3]

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) 2020 Global Risks Report confirmed that organized cybercrime groups are joining forces to commit criminal activities online, while estimating the likelihood of their detection and prosecution to be less than 1 percent in the US.[4] There are also many privacy concerns surrounding cybercrime when confidential information is intercepted or disclosed, legally or otherwise.

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report ranks cybercrime as one of the top 10 risks facing the world today and for the next 10 years.[5] If viewed as a nation state, cybercrime would count as the third largest economy in the world.[6] In numbers, cybercrime is predicted to cause over 9 trillion US dollars in damages worldwide in 2024.[6]  

  1. ^ a b Sukhai, Nataliya B. (8 October 2004). "Hacking and cybercrime". Proceedings of the 1st annual conference on Information security curriculum development. New York, NY, USA: ACM. pp. 128–132. doi:10.1145/1059524.1059553. ISBN 1-59593-048-5. S2CID 46562809. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  2. ^ "BUFFETT: This is 'the number one problem with mankind'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Warren Buffett: 'Cyber poses real risks to humanity'". finance.yahoo.com. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. ^ "The Global Risk Report 2020" (PDF). World Economic Forum. 15th Edition: 102. 15 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. ^ Heading, Sophie; Zahidi, Saadia (January 2023). "The Global Risks Report 2023, 18th Edition" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b Freeze, Di (12 October 2023). "Cybercrime To Cost The World $9.5 trillion USD annually in 2024". Cybercrime Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.