Acts constituting cybercrime The figure below proposes 14 acts that may constitute cybercrime, organized in three broad categories. Annex One to this Study provides a more detailed description for each act. This list of acts was also used in the questionnaire sent to states, private sector entities, and intergovernmental and academic organizations for information gathering for the Study.93 The purpose of the list is to introduce a tentative set of acts that may be included in the term ‘cybercrime,’ with a view to establishing a basis for analysis throughout the Study. The list is not intended to be exhaustive. In addition, the terms used – and the accompanying descriptions in Annex One – are not intended to represent legal definitions. Rather, they are broad ‘act descriptions’ that may be used as a starting point for analysis and discussion. While this Study does not ‘define’ cybercrime (either with a definition attached to the term itself, or by a Acts against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer ‘definitive’ list of acts), data or systems the conduct listed may • Illegal access to a computer system nonetheless be • Illegal access, interception or acquisition of computer data considered as the basic • Illegal interference with a computer system or computer data content for the meaning • Production, distribution or possession of computer misuse tools of the term, at least for • Breach of privacy or data protection measures the purposes of this Study.94 Computer‐related acts for personal or financial gain or harm It should be • Computer‐related fraud or forgery noted, at this stage, that • Computer‐related identity offences the ubiquity of the • Computer‐related copyright or trademark offences • Sending or controlling sending of Spam internet and personal • Computer‐related acts causing personal harm computer devices means • Computer‐related solicitation or 'grooming' of children that computer systems or computer data can be Computer content‐related acts ancillary – at least in developed countries – • Computer‐related acts involving hate speech to almost any criminal • Computer‐related production, distribution or possession of child pornography • Computer‐related acts in support of terrorism offences offence. Closely related to cybercrime therefore, but conceptually distinct, is the domain of electronic evidence. The collection and presentation of electronic evidence is integral to the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime. Increasingly this is also the case for conventional crimes such as robbery, theft, or burglary, as well as for forms of organized crime. Computerized telephone records, emails, IP connection logs, SMS messages, mobile telephone address books, and computer files may all contain evidence of the location, 93 94 The draft questionnaire for information gathering was developed initially by the Secretariat based on the list of topics for inclusion in the Study approved by the expert group on cybercrime (contained in Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert group on the comprehensive Study of the problem of cybercrime (E/CN.15/2011/19)). The draft questionnaire, including a first draft of cybercrime act descriptions, was sent to all countries for comment in 2011. Following incorporation by the Secretariat of comments received, the final questionnaire, including the list of acts presented here, was approved by the Bureau of the Expert Group on Cybercrime at its meeting on 19 January 2012. In response to comments from countries, a number of amendments have been made to the list of acts presented in this Chapter, compared to that used in the Study questionnaire. In the Study questionnaire, the second category was entitled ‘Computer-related acts for personal or financial gain.’ This has been amended to ‘Computer-related acts for personal or financial gain or harm.’ In the Study questionnaire, the third category was entitled ‘Specific computer-related acts.’ This has been amended to ‘Computer contentrelated acts.’ The items ‘Computer-related acts causing personal harm’ and ‘Computer-related solicitation or ‘grooming’ of children’ have been moved from the third category to the second category. In addition, the questionnaire contained the item ‘Computerrelated acts involving racism or xenophobia.’ This has been amended to the broader category ‘Computer-related acts involving hate speech.’ 16