Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
Jasmine Kaur
University of New Haven
Although the increased use of technology has offered numerous benefits in various aspects of human life, its use is not without pitfalls. Increased adoption of technology directly relates to an increased exposure to cybercrime victimization risk. As people across the world switched to online platforms to perform their routine activities, criminals also switched to using technology to commit crimes by exploiting the vulnerabilities in security systems. Given the basic architecture of the Internet, which relies on the connectivity of individuals across the globe, the scope of crimes committed using the Internet is international. Furthermore, the internet offers new ways of engaging in illegal activities, including (but not limited to) users deceiving their identities under the veil of anonymity (Pittaro, 2011). As a result, the identification and prosecution of online and cybercrime perpetrators has become increasingly complicated with the increasing use of cybercrime tools.
The purpose of this brief is to review the nature and extent of cybercrimes and their impacts on individual victims, agencies, and nations. The paper also highlights the multiplicity of complex issues surrounding cybercrime prosecutions. Following a review of existing policies on cybercrimes, this brief makes recommendations for policymakers at a local, state, federal, and international levels for streamlining the prosecution of online crimes in a systematic and coordinated manner.