extent to which they had been influenced by the Commonwealth Model Law and the Harare Scheme, reports from the UNODC and the Council of Europe on the results of their studies and surveys of cybercrime legislation, and from the ITU, the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO), and the CCI. The Group’s Approach, Conclusions and Recommendations 7. The Law Ministers’ mandate requires answers to three questions, which though not entirely separate, call for separate responses, and which for the purposes of the Group’s Report have been labeled Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. A summary of the Group’s approach, conclusions and its recommendations is as follows. Part I: Practical Implications of Cybercrime in the Commonwealth 8. Cybercrime at all levels of sophistication poses unprecedented challenges in terms of legislation, law enforcement, and policy-making. ‘Cybercrime’ is not a defined legal category, but for the purposes of this report includes: (a) offences aimed at computers, computer or communications systems, their users or the data they contain; and (b) more traditional offences committed using these systems, especially if technologies have significant effects on how the crime is committed or investigated. Procedural laws must also deal with the issues raised when digital material is to be relied upon in court, whatever the nature of the offence. International co-operation is facilitated by common approaches to criminalisation and any cybercrime-specific investigative or procedural rules. 9. It is not possible to give accurate figures as to the scale and cost of cybercrime, but there is general agreement that it is a fast growing phenomenon and that, taking indirect as well as direct costs into account, it costs the global economy many billions of US dollars a year. 10. Cybercrime does not respect national boundaries. That creates challenges for the public sector, in terms of legislation and investigative and prosecutorial capacity and reach, and for the private sector, which must address technical vulnerabilities in the systems it designs and operates which sometime straddle many national jurisdictions. The Internet brings criminals together to share information on how to commit crimes and how to avoid detection, adding a new dimension to organised crime. Increasingly, successful attacks are founded on knowledge, co-operation and deals created and shared between networks of individuals and groups. Offenders seek out and exploit any weak links or vulnerable locations. 11. Fast communications mean that offences can be committed very quickly, and that digital evidence of them can be erased equally quickly. Even with the best possible legal measures, the speed of offending is a major challenge for investigators, and the practical implications of this include the need for a high degree of skill, high quality equipment and extensive training. The complexity and speed of evolution of cybercrime makes it essential 3