The UN’s 193 Member States adopted a historic, legally binding agreement on cybercrime on 24 December 2024, capping five years of negotiations. Here are five key points on why the Convention matters for the world.
Some 67.4 per cent of the world’s population accessed the Internet in 2023, according to World Bank, going online to carry out everyday tasks like communication and shopping, as well as more advanced uses like research and innovation.
Yet this same connectivity also brings significant risks, leaving over two-thirds of the world’s population vulnerable to cybercrime. And people and countries on the wrong side of the digital divide may lack resilience and be more vulnerable to cybercrime when they do get online.
Cybercriminals exploit digital systems through malware, ransomware and hacking to steal money, data, and other valuable information. Or they use information and communication technology to facilitate other crimes, like drugs, arms or human trafficking, money laundering, fraud and more.
And the threat is only growing, undermining economies, disrupting critical infrastructure and eroding trust in the digital world.
Until now, there had been no globally negotiated and adopted convention text on cybercrime. But under the new Cybercrime Convention, responses to cybercrime will be quicker, better coordinated and more effective – making both our digital and physical worlds safer.
Investigating transnational crimes – whether committed online or offline – depends on electronic evidence, which presents several challenges to law enforcement authorities.
One is the fact that control over data, networks and service providers is decentralized, and so potential evidence may be transmitted or stored across several jurisdictions.
Electronic evidence related to cybercrime must often be accessed quickly – before criminals have an opportunity to destroy it or it is deleted through normal functional processes.
The Cybercrime Convention governs the access and exchange of this electronic data to facilitate investigation and prosecution. States Parties will also have access to a 24/7 network to help facilitate urgently needed cooperation.
In addition to sharing electronic evidence, States can also use the 24/7 network to request cooperation on investigations and prosecutions; the identification, freezing, seizure return, etc. of crime proceeds; mutual legal assistance; extradition and more.
Social media, chat apps, games. All of these platforms offer anonymity to predators to groom, manipulate or coerce children into harmful situations.
The Cybercrime Convention is the first global agreement to specifically protect children against sexual violence committed with information and communication technologies.
By criminalizing offences related to online child sexual abuse or exploitation material, the Convention provides governments with more and stronger tools to protect children.
Anyone can be a victim of cybercrime, in every part of the world, and every victim deserves support.
The Cybercrime Convention encourages the assistance and protection of victims, establishing access to physical recovery, compensation, restitution and removal of illicit content. The assistance and protection will be delivered by States in accordance with their domestic law.
Only responding to cybercrime incidents after they occur is not enough. To effectively combat cybercrime, strong investments in prevention are crucial, which is why the new Cybercrime Convention requests States to develop prevention measures to reduce and manage the risks and threats of cybercrime. This includes trainings for both the public and private sectors, offender rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, support programmes for victims and more.
