that expertise in policy, law, law enforcement, prosecution and prevention not only be developed but also monitored, maintained and updated frequently. To do this efficiently it is important that all countries co-operate effectively, both within the Commonwealth and globally. 12. Commonwealth member states are as much affected by the challenge of cybercrime as other states. The practical implications of cybercrime depend in part on the characteristics of the countries affected, both those from which offenders operate and those in which the effects are felt, and the criminal justice and other capacities of those countries. 13. The following analysis divides countries into four general categories. (i) The interests of large, developed Commonwealth countries are generally to develop sophisticated capacities for the prevention and control of cybercrime and to cooperate internationally to make them as available as possible. (ii) The interests of developing countries in general tend to reflect the need to protect technological development from cybercrime, both as a development goal in itself and because cybercrime poses a threat to the use of technologies as a means for the achievement of other development goals. Beyond this, a range of specific interests arise depending on factors such as size and rates of technological or other development, which make individual assessment and the balancing of general and country-specific assistance important. (iii) In rapidly-developing Commonwealth countries, a major implication of cybercrime is the fact that the development of technology may outstrip the development of the ability to prevent and combat crime, both by public and private sector entities. The major need of rapidly developing countries will usually be assistance in developing crime-control capacity, especially in the public sector. (iv) Small Commonwealth countries have smaller governance and administrative sectors and they are less likely to have technical and policy experts in academic, private sector and other resources. Infrastructures in small states are more limited, as are the personnel and expertise needed to support them. The difficulties faced by small states are felt in many areas of criminal law or policy, but they pose a much greater challenge in the area of cybercrime. 14. The challenge for small countries is not only to develop law enforcement and preventive capacity but to maintain it on an on-going basis. To do this, special co-operative relationships among the smaller countries and between small and larger countries should be explored. Part 2: Identify the Most Effective Means of International Co-operation and Enforcement, taking into account, amongst others, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, without duplicating the work of other international bodies 15. In seeking to identify ‘the most effective means of international co-operation and enforcement against cybercrime’, the Group has considered whether it should limit its enquiry to an examination of international and regional instruments, or whether it should extend it to the improvement of national legislation and capacity building, without which international co-operation and enforcement cannot be effective. 16. As Commonwealth countries cannot enjoy the protection of an effective anti- 4