CHAPTER 2 A. Working Definition of Cybercrime Table of Contents Introduction 65 I. Defining Cybercrime 66 A. Key Terms 66 B. Technology’s Place: Now and to Come 67 1. Today’s Technological Infrastructure: A Tool & Target for Cybercrime 67 2. New Threats & Opportunities: “To Infinity and Beyond” 68 20 C. Locating the Crime 69 D. Broad & Narrow Understandings of Cybercrime 70 E. National versus International Approaches 71 II. Existing Definitions 71 A. National Level 71 B. International & Regional Instruments 72 C. Academia 72 III. Classifying Cybercrime 73 A. United Nations Secretariat 73 B. Commonwealth Secretariat 73 C. African Union 74 D. Economic Community of West African States 74 E. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 75 F. United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute 75 G. Council of Europe 76 Conclusion: The Toolkit’s Working Definition of “Cybercrime” 76 Introduction Broadly speaking, “cybercrime” encompasses illegal activities committed in cyberspace that either use ICT systems to commit the crime,1 or that target ICT systems and the data that they store.2 In the former category, ICT—be it a computer, smart phone or other device(s)—is a vital component of the offense’s modus operandi.3 Though vague and vast, such definitional variability is not necessarily detrimental, as technology’s constant development requires an evolving definition of “cybercrime”: a loose and flexible understanding of the term facilitates combatting illegal activities.4 Page 65 | Chapter 2 | § A. Working Definition of Cybercrime Table of Contents