Cybercrime

 

Society is ever-more connected to the internet. While the internet makes our lives easier, it may also expose us to the threat of cybercrime. The borderless realm of cyberspace is compounded by the increasing involvement of individuals and organized criminal groups who may harm us. These threats come in different formats. Cyber-dependent crime would not be possible without internet and digital technologies and has technology as a target (e.g. creation, dissemination and deployment of computer viruses, and attacks on critical national IT infrastructure). Cyber-enabled offences, on the other hand, are those that facilitated by our ever-growing technological capacities (e.g. online fraud, online trade in illicit goods such as drugs or firearms, and online child sexual exploitation and abuse).

Cybercrime is also related to people's privacy. The way one behaves online may also expose private data and make it easier for one to be exposed to different threats in cyberspace. Privacy, in addition, also relates to individuals' actions, especially how people may harm each other (for example, by the non-consensual sharing of private images). With digital technologies infiltrating every aspect of our lives, online safety and protection becomes equally more important.