3 Preamble The States Parties to this Convention, hereinafter the States Parties, Being concerned about the seriousness of problems and threats posed by crimes in the sphere of information and communications technologies (hereinafter the ICT) to the stability and security of society, which undermine democratic institutions and values, ethical values and justice and frustrate sustainable development and the rule of law; Being also concerned about the fact that the criminal misuse of ICT offers broad opportunities to carry out other forms of criminal activities, including money laundering; Being concerned further about cases of ICT crimes that involve large amounts of assets, which may constitute a substantial proportion of the resources of States, and that threaten the political stability and sustainable development of those States; Being convinced that ICT crimes are a transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies, making international cooperation to prevent and combat them essential; Being convinced also that the technological levels of information and telecommunications systems of the States Parties should be aligned through the provision of technical assistance that plays an important role in enhancing the capacities of States in the field of effectively preventing crimes and raising the level of information security; Being determined to prevent, detect and suppress in a more effective manner international transfers of assets illicitly acquired as a result of committing ICT crimes and to strengthen international cooperation in asset recovery; Bearing in mind that the prevention and eradication of ICT crimes is a responsibility of all States and that they must cooperate with one another to