Cybersecurity guide for developing countries Figure II.5 gives some examples of the types of crimes that are facilitated by the internet. Figure II.5 – Examples of the types of crime facilitated by the internet Crimes against persons – Personal harm – Privacy – Personal image – Libel – Professional confidentiality – Digital privacy – Minors Crimes against property – Swindles – Attacks against information systems – Media law infractions Incitement to commit crimes – Apology of crimes against humanity – Apology of and incitement to terrorism – Incitement to racial hatred – Holocaust denial – Libel – Insults Infractions against intellectual property law – Forgery of an author’s work (including software) – Counterfeits of a design or model – Trademark forgery – Illegal online gambling II.1.9.5 Role of public institutions More than ever, public authorities are called upon to play their traditional role of prosecuting and preventing fraud and crime. They also need to become active in educating and building awareness among the general public. In particular, it would be useful to have reference information on protecting persons and property made available when using the internet. It would be dangerous to let the law-enforcement authorities fall behind technologically. The cost of trying to catch up after several years of lost time goes beyond the direct financial cost, in the form of acquisition of new infrastructure; there is, above all, a social cost associated with the growing influence of organized crime structures on society, with the attendant risks of destabilization. At the same time, an excessive police presence on the internet is not necessarily desirable, and may be in conflict with the need to protect the confidentiality of exchanges and respect individual privacy. II.1.10 Security incidents and unreported cybercrime It should be noted that few statistics are available on cybercrime. It is a new type of criminality, and most incidents are not reported to the police. Also, with infractions taking place across borders, whereas criminal legislation tends to be national, it is difficult to compile statistics on crimes which are defined differently from one country to another. For example, in the case of a computer system that is used to carry out a fraudulent financial transaction using a stolen user identity, it could be classified either as computer-related crime or as financial crime. Cybercrime 41