With new technologies being embraced worldwide every day, there is an increasing dependence on computers to get about our daily lives. With this in mind, it’s no surprise cybercrime is becoming more and more apparent. More often than not, the technologies we are utilizing are not secure enough.
Some of the most common cybercrimes include:
- Fraud
- Hacking
- Identify theft
- Scamming
- Computer viruses
- Cyberstalking
- Software privacy
- Cyberbullying
- Child pornography
- Phishing
But are these crimes prosecuted now more than ever?
A look at the statistics
In 2018, England and Wales saw a 31% decrease in computer misuse offenses according to the CSEW, totaling 1.2 million cyber-related crimes committed last year. However, business-related cybercrime in the UK, as reported by the ONS, increased by 63% from 2017 to 2018.
Internet users in the US are targeted the most by cyber attackers, closely followed by users in India and Japan. In fact, according to Norton, the US will be subject to 50% of data breaches by the year 2023.
To combat this, the US government has announced a budget of $15 billion to tackle cybercrime in 2019, that’s an increase of 4% on previous years. It’s evident that more measures are being put in place to tackle such crimes, but this could be relative to the increasing threats we face.
FBI and MI5 track high-profile individuals
In the US alone, 42 people are featured on the FBI’s most-wanted list for cybercrime offenses. These high-profile individuals are much more likely to be prosecuted due to their place on such watchlists, with similar watchlists being implemented in the UK by MI5, and throughout the rest of the world.
Back in 2013, MI5 launched a new cybercrime unit in London to combat the increase of cybercrimes in the UK, but has it made a difference? It seems the big fish are being charged more often, but many small-medium scale cybercriminals can often slip through the net.
False accusations are on the rise
Due to increasing pressure for law enforcement officials to do more in relation to cybercrime, and partially due to the complexity of the internet, false accusations are on the rise. or relevant law enforcement officials to begin a cybercrime investigation, they require the support of numerous digital businesses and organizations in order to obtain sufficient evidence.
If you’ve been falsely accused of a cybercrime, it’s important to hire a good solicitor, such as Carter Moore Solicitors, to help you cover all legal aspects.
How Google is fighting cybercrime with data
Chronicle was launched in 2018 as part of X and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, a parent company of Google. According to its website, the Chronicle is “changing cybersecurity, for good.” The Google subsidiary is using customer and enterprise data to change our ability to identify potential attacks.
The company has two services in production: a cybersecurity intelligence and analytics platform aimed to help large enterprises, and a malware intelligence service named VirusTotal. The more developed these technologies become, the more Google will have an influence on cybercriminals and their vulnerability, meaning data tracking and sharing could help to identify cybercriminals using Google.
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