Cybercrime: How is this illegal activity impacting international communities?

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As technological advancements are changing the world, they are also opening the doors for cybercrime to continue interfering with state security. On August 22nd, 2025, Interpol coordinated a large cybercrime crackdown across Africa. More than 1,209 suspects were arrested, after roughly 88,000 civilians were victimized in the aptly named Operation Serengeti 2.0. The victims were affected by ransomware attacks, email fraud, and some were lured into purchasing fake cryptocurrencies. Now, international communities are strengthening their focus to stop cybercrimes from targeting innocent groups.

International organizations such as the UN, UNODC, and INTERPOL document human rights violations that occur due to cybercrime. Because the internet can be accessed through a variety of mediums (smartphones, computers, video games, etc.), it has enabled forms of discrimination, cyberattacks, and threats to escalate. Cybercrimes first began in 1962 when Allen Scheer "launched a cyberattack against MIT computer networks, stealing passwords from their database via punch card.” 64 years later, communications have evolved globally, and valuable data has continually been targeted.

Entrusted data is vulnerable in critical areas such as healthcare, school systems, workplaces, and private sectors. Since cybercrime has grown from a single entity to a globalized concern, there are worries that countries lacking advanced resources are vulnerable and relatively defenseless. Besides multiple countries in Africa being targets of cybercrime and fraud networks, in countries such as Costa Rica, cybercrime has also become a prevalent issue. In 2022, Costa Rica declared a “state of emergency” after major government institutions, such as the Ministry of Finance, were targeted in a ransomware attack by the prolific ‘Conti Group.’

The aforementioned ransomware attack, as well as the accompanying requests of nearly $20 million, highlights the exploitative and monetary centric nature of cybercrime. Since all states do not possess an equal capacity to protect themselves from these disruptions, ill-equipped states are often vulnerable. Since 2022, cybercrimes have become progressively more focused on financial gain. Often cybercriminals target elderly or young people who are likely naive and unaware that they are being deceived. This challenge not only leads to emotional burden, but it also poses the risk of ordinarily secure information being publicized, widening the economic gap as a result. B With the proliferation of cybercrime, governments risk waning legitimacy as society loses faith in their ability to safeguard sensitive information.

For that reason, in 2024 the UN General Assembly drafted  the ‘Convention against Cybercrime’. The purpose of the document is to provide provisions that will focus on enhancing international cooperation, technical assistance, and “capacity-building relating to cybercrime.” This is because cybercrimes have been involved in guiding terrorist attacks, drug trafficking missions, and human trafficking. This process was last updated on October 25th and 26th of 2025, when “the convention opened for signature in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the ceremony concluded with 72 signatories.” Currently, the Convention against Cybercrime is still open for signatures. Later this year, in December, it will be ratified by its signatories, entering full force 40 days thereafter.

Following the recent modification of the ‘Convention’, organizations such as ‘Access Now,’ ‘Digital Courage,’ and the ‘SHARE Foundation’ issued an urgent appeal to the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime (AHC), to highlight shortcomings that the modification is still not addressing. These concerns include a lack of legal authority, a broad scope, and no specification on human rights safeguards. Despite the implications of these oversights, it is currently estimated that numerous governments around the globe have failed to consider cybersecurity in their budget proposals. Additionally, in roughly 154 countries around the world at least one piece of legislation on cybercrime prevention has been enacted.  Conversely, 13% of countries around the globe lack any concrete measures to combat cybercrime.

In addition to the legislative deficiencies, deficiencies in the legal system have hampered the ability of states such as Costa Rica to prosecute  perpetrators of cybercrime, such as the ‘Conti Group’. A major hindrance in this case stemmed from the Conti Group’s international origin. The Conti Group is based in Russia. This is a common confounder of cybercrime investigations. Cybercriminals “take advantage of the borderlessness of cyberspace to evade legal pursuance.” Shortly after their attack on Costa Rica, the group went dormant, further lowering the chances of them ever being held accountable for the damage they caused.

Moving forward, the UN, EU, and NATO have expressed that there will be stronger cyberspace norms in place to lower transnational cybercrimes. Even so, the international community has struggled to reach a consensus on regulatory changes to ensure a uniform application of justice. As such, global frameworks need to consider uniformed policies that will focus on “accessibility, responsibility, and trust,” to meet the demands of diverse regions.

Advocacy organizations believe that there needs to be a clear definition of cybercrimes to effectively enforce the protocols to combat cybercrimes globally. Without an agreement on what constitutes a cybercrime, there is room for ambiguity on which crimes warrant enhanced prevention protocols. By specifying, a legal framework can emerge to support consequences for cybercriminals. Theoretically this framework could foster a reluctance to engage in disruptive crimes due to the severity of the potential penalties.

While it is still important to rally the international community to reach a consensus on global protocols, measures to counter cybercrimes must also be undertaken at the state level.  This is especially important to ensure that vulnerable groups, such as women, children, and minorities are protected from exploitation. The rise of technological advancements and as a result, the corresponding rise of cybercrime will not subside anytime soon. Therefore, state governments and the international community writ large must ensure they are prepared to defend themselves from future attacks. Not only does this protect their national security, but it also reinforces their legitimacy. Rather than dealing with the aftermath of cybercrimes, the international community must remain vigilant and proactively address the dangers happening now.