2.4

If cybercrime were a legitimate practice, it would be classified as a growth industry. A growth industry is a sector of the economy that is experiencing a higher-than-average growth rate compared to the rest of the economy. According to the 2016 Cybercrime: Global Economic Crime Survey conducted by PWC (pwc.com), in 2016, cybercrime moved from fourth place to the second most-reported economic-related crime in the United States, with an average loss of about $4 million (and with global losses of well over $600 billion—more than the national income of most countries). According to the 2016 Breach Level Index between 2013 and 2016, 1.3 billion records were breached worldwide. Of those breaches, 80% occurred in North America; 73% of reported breaches occurred in the United States alone.

As part of this assignment, you will have the opportunity to review cybercrime losses over a period of time as reported in the Ponemon Institute 2016 Cost of Cyber Crime Study & the Risk of Business Innovation report. As you will see, the incredible growth rate over the period covered by the study is impressive, despite organizations spending more than $73 billion on cybersecurity technology in 2016. Some estimate that over the next five years, spending on cybersecurity could increase to as much as $1 trillion.

As we have seen through our readings and other exercises, one issue is the lack of a global initiative to address cybercrime. Two global organizations that have begun to work on the global cybercrime issue are the United Nations and Interpol. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides technical assistance to law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary in three regions of the world: East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. These developing regions lack the capacity to fight cybercrime due to weak security measures and poorly constructed legal systems. UNODC works with several international partners to provide this service, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), World Bank, and Interpol. Critical to the efforts to combat global cybercrime is developing sound cyber intelligence and analysis. Understanding trends in both cybercrime activity and cybercrime prevention strategies is key to the completion of this workshop.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Evaluate the validity of concerns of countries regarding global cybercrime and security.

· Develop expertise on how global cybercrime is detected and prevented, both domestically and internationally.

Resources

· Textbook: Cybercrime and Digital Forensics: An Introduction

· File: Ponemon Institute 2016 Cost of Cyber Crime Study & the Risk of Business Innovation.pdf

· Website: International Telecommunication Union: National Strategies Repository

· Website: INTERPOL: Cybercrime

· Website: OCLS Critical Evaluation Checklist for Internet Websites

· IWU Resources

· Background Information

Critical to combating global cybercrime is the ability of individuals and organizations to analyze crime data to identify trends and then develop strategies to address those trends. A variety of organizations collect cybercrime and cybersecurity data, generate reports, and publish those results. The lack of a central reporting agency to track this data is one factor that has limited the understanding of global cybercrime issues. We have identified a well-established research agency, the Ponemon Institute, which annually collects data related to the annual cost of cybercrime by surveying several hundred organizations in six countries: the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Australia. Each annual report provides a four-year historical perspective on the data to identify trends.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Review the following chapters in the textbook, Cybercrime and Digital Forensics: An Introduction:

a. Chapter 4, “Malware and Automated Computer Attacks”

b. Chapter 5, “Digital Piracy and Intellectual Property Theft”

c. Chapter 6, “Economic Crimes and Online Fraud”

3. Read the file Ponemon Institute 2016 Cost of Cyber Crime Study & the Risk of Business Innovation.pdf.

4. View the following websites:

a. International Telecommunications Union: National Strategies Repository https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Pages/National-Strategies-repository.aspx

b. INTERPOL: Cybercrime https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/CybercrimeCybercrime

5. In a 500- to 750-word essay:

a. Critically analyze the data.

b. Develop a high-level global policy on combating cybercrime.

c. Identify agencies, policies, and governmental entities that will be affected by your policy.