Cybersecurity guide for developing countries
Section II.1 – Cybercrime
II.1.1
Computer-related crime and cybercrime
The vulnerabilities of digital technologies and inadequate control of them combine to create an
environment of insecurity. Criminals naturally take advantage of this state of affairs. Every technology
can potentially be exploited by criminals for illegal purposes; the internet is no exception, as the
criminal presence in cyberspace amply demonstrates.
In 1983, OECD defined computer-related crime as any illegal, unethical or unauthorized behaviour
involving the transmission or automatic processing of data.
A computer-related crime is one where the computer system is the object of the crime, the means of
committing the crime, or both; it is a crime connected with digital technology, a subset of white-collar
crime. Cybercrime is a form of computer-related crime committed using internet technology; it covers
all crimes committed in cyberspace.
In the virtual world, crime can be automated, creating the potential for a large-scale cyberepidemic,
capable of being launched remotely via a network (freeing the criminal from constraints of time and
space), with the possibility of delayed action (Figure II.1).
Figure II.1 – The nature of computer-related crime
As the
means of
attack
Computer system
As the object
(target) of
attack
••Criminalit
White-collar
crime
é en co
blanc
•• DéCrimes
committed
remotely via
a network,
lit commis
à
éseaux,
on-screen
anonymity
é derrière
cach
un écran
Criminal
free of dans
space’l and time
• Ubiquit
é duiscriminel
constraints
temps
• Criminal know-how built into software
• Savoir-faire criminel embarqué dans le logiciel
Commission automatis
• Automated crimes on
éeades
large
dé scale
à grande
échelle
Internet technology facilitates a wide range of infractions: theft, information sabotage, copyright
infractions, breach of professional trust, digital privacy, intellectual property, distribution of illegal
content, anti-competitive attacks, industrial espionage, trademark infringements, disinformation,
denial of service, various forms of fraud, etc.
Cybercrime
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