WORLD CYBERCRIME INDEX

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Following three years of intensive research, an international team of researchers have compiled the first ever ‘World Cybercrime Index’, which identifies the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level.

What is World Cybercrime Index?

• The ‘World Cybercrime Index’ identifies the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level.
• The index was developed through a collaborative effort between the University of Oxford and UNSW Canberra.
• It is based on data collected from a survey involving 92 top global experts in cybercrime, who specialize in intelligence and investigations related to cyber activities.
• It ranks roughly 100 countries and identifies key hotspots according to various categories of cybercrime.
• The five major categories of cybercrime assessed by the study were technical products/services, attacks and extortion, Data/identity theft, Scams, cashing out/money laundering.
• Russia tops the list with the highest cybercriminal threat, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, and Romania.
• The United Kingdom (UK) ranks at number eight in terms of cybercrime threat.
• India was ranked 10th in cybercrime, mostly involving scams that trick people into making advance payments.
• The study indicated that certain types of cybercrime were linked to specific countries.
• The study also found that countries that are cybercrime hubs “specialise” in particular categories.
• The worldwide economic impact of cybercrime is projected to significantly increase over the next four years.