Cybercrime Update: Trends and Developments
Roderic G. Broadhurst, Nicholas Chantler · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · 2006
In this paper we aim to briefly overview recent developments and trends in 'cybercrime'. A number of criterion may be applied to gauge prominence or salience of the particular forms of cybercrime now manifest. These include the prevalence (including frequency of specific forms) of the crime among the population or a particular sub-population (including a geographical area or commercial arena), duration (the intensity or persistence of the problem) and finally the severity (harm or gravity of the offence) of the cybercrime. In order to prioritize the most prominent forms of cybercrime these basic measurements are required – for the most part cybercrime eludes the kinds of measurement we may need in order to perceive either trends in certain forms or assess the seriousness of the different types of cybercrime. For example, what is the relevant importance of persistent spamming in comparison to the occasional virus? Or occasional theft like intrusion offences versus a complex payment card duplication activity (carding)? Of course the priorities will to some extent depend on the circumstances and on what standpoint is taken – the victim, public police, and the information communication technology (ICT) industry. At present law enforcement agencies around the world struggle to assess the relative risks of the various forms of cyber crime now encountered. One hurdle to this necessary assessment is the problem of the classification of the different forms of cybercrime. Such a formal or even a provisional classification of cybercrime has proven elusive despite the benefits this would yield in assessing the relative risks of the different forms of cybercrime. The lack of a classification system is a significant handicap and may be due to the considerable confusion that occurs around the very notion of what constitutes 'cybercrime' or computer-related crime and indeed whether it is new or old crime in new bottles.