APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMBATING CYBERCRIME IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMBATING CYBERCRIME IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Background to the Study

Undeterred by the prospect of arrest or prosecution, cyber criminals around the world lurk on the internet as an aim present menace to the financial health of business, to the trust of their customers, and as an emerging threat to nation‟s security.1

The Internet is one of the truly revolutionary phenomena of our times. It has changed the way we live and work and we have come to rely on it in every sphere of our endeavours. From a population of 20million connected to the Internet in 1998 we now have more than two billion and rising.2It is estimated that this connectivity will now double in the coming years as a result of a number of factors including the introduction of non-Latin script top level domains for Internet addresses, expansion of the Internet‟s generic domain name space and the increasing prevalence of smart phones and tablets with Internet access. While the benefits of this borderless ecosystem have grown exponentially the Internet has also become an irresistible magnet for criminal behaviour. Cyber criminals have become increasingly inventive and gravitate to jurisdictions which offer them most protection because of outdated and or non- harmonized legal regimes and law enforcement agencies which do not have the skills and resources to monitor Internet traffic, to investigate complaints, to prosecute or invoke any intervention that may be warranted. The global and borderless nature of the Internet enables criminals to co-operate and co-ordinate their activities and distribute their assets over several jurisdictions with impunity.

With the ever-evolving computer technology, computer-related crime and cybercrime have become a significant global challenge. The ability to automate attacks against computer systems can lead, for example, to hundreds of thousands of registered attempts to interfere with, or illegally access computer systems each day. Hundreds of new computer viruses are detected every month3 and virus toolkits enable computer users with even limited skills to create malicious software. Through networks of literally millions of compromised computer systems controlled by individual criminal groups, even the most powerful Internet services can be attacked.4 Such threats are expansive, not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality. In recent years, the number of reports concerning targeted attacks against critical infrastructure have increased. The Internet is based on single technical standards that allow global communication. This has the advantage of allowing the globalization of Internet services (such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo and others) that are operated in one country but can be accessed by users from all over the world. From a crime prevention perspective, however, it has the disadvantage that acts of cybercrime do not require that the offender be located in the same country as the victim. This explains why the vast majority of cybercrime offences have a transnational dimension. Successful prevention and combating of cybercrime therefore requires effective international cooperation through an adequate treaty and well trained government and law enforcement personnel.

TOPIC: APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMBATING CYBERCRIME IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email

Number of Pages: 78

Price: 3000 NGN

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