Over the past couple of years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been partly responsible for the rapid adoption of digital technologies: the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has indicated that the number of internet users grew from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion in 2021.
Unsurprisingly, however, this upsurge has been accompanied by an exponential rise in cybersecurity attacks and cybercrime. It is estimated that cybercrime will cost the global economy US$10.5 trillion by 2025, following reports of a 13 per cent increase in ransomware attacks worldwide between 2021 and 2022 – an increase greater than that during the five preceding years. This is most likely an underestimate, as many countries do not have adequate cybersecurity and cybercrime reporting frameworks.
All countries are scrambling to play catchup with cybercriminals and ensure that the internet stays free, open, and inclusive – key ideals adopted by Commonwealth Heads of Government in their 2018 Commonwealth Cybercrime Declaration.
One of the critical impediments to realising these ideals, and to ensuring the safe, secure, effective and efficient use of both new digital technologies and cyberspace more generally, is the paucity of policy-influencing literature. The Commonwealth Cybercrime Journal (CCJ), published by the Commonwealth Secretariat and fully peer-reviewed, intends to address this.
The CCJ features policy-influencing articles, case studies and cutting-edge commentary from leading practitioners, policymakers, experts and academics with the aim of assisting Commonwealth countries – particularly Small Island Developing States – to strengthen their anti-cybercrime legislative, policy, institutional and multilateral frameworks. This will assist countries to uphold the rule of law both online and in the physical world – as the lines between the two become increasingly blurred. In this regard, the CCJ serves as a toolkit for policymakers, industry experts, academics and practitioners involved in cybercrime policymaking, investigation, prosecution and adjudication.
The CCJ contains scholarly articles, case studies and commentary by academics, policymakers, practitioners and experts exploring current issues in cybercrime and significant developments in the Commonwealth region. It will also better enable Commonwealth countries to develop sustainable digital economies.
The ITU estimates that, if supported by appropriate capacity building opportunities, 230 million ‘digital jobs’ in sub-Saharan Africa could generate an estimated US$120 billion in revenue by 2030. But these exciting prospects are threatened by many countries’ vulnerability to cybersecurity attacks and cybercrime. Less than 60 per cent of Commonwealth countries have national cybersecurity strategic plans in place; only 18 per cent have ratified the Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention, and an estimated 22 per cent have enacted mutual legal assistance (MLA) frameworks to facilitate international co-operation for transnational crimes. Given the transnational nature of cybercrime and the volatile nature of digital evidence, which necessitates real-time co-operation and cutting-edge technological skills, strengthened MLA frameworks are essential for the cyber-resilience of Commonwealth countries.
A Guest Editorial