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International Conference on Global Security, Safety, and Sustainability

ICGS3 2017: Global Security, Safety and Sustainability - The Security Challenges of the Connected World pp 53–66Cite as

Combating Cyber Dependent Crimes: The Legal Framework in the UK

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Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 630))

Abstract

Computer crimes and digital investigations comprise a substantial part of criminal policy, law and practice as information becomes the cornerstone of global economy. Innovative ways of attacking, exploiting and interfering with computer and communication technologies are regularly emerging, posing increasing threats to the society, economy and security. It is essential that in tackling cybercrime the right legal framework of offences is in place and that there is clarity in how the powers that are used to investigate cybercrime interact with the offences designed to catch cyber criminals. This paper reviews the current legal framework to cyber dependent crimes in the UK, including its recent amendments, and highlights areas that remain problematic and in need of attention from policymakers.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Other classifications include computer integrity offences, computer related offences and content related offences [6].

  2. 2.

    Note that both the Convention on Cybercrime Art 1(a) and Directive 13/40/EU Art 2 (a) provide definitions which are similar to one another.

  3. 3.

    At p.163 (Lord Hoffman).

  4. 4.

    Para 16 (Lord Wolf).

  5. 5.

    During 1990–2006 when amendments were introduced by PJA 2006, only 214 defendants were brought to the magistrates’ courts and 161 were found guilty. In comparison with the high occurrence of computer hacking these numbers are significantly low [7, 16].

  6. 6.

    Symantec reports that in 2015, more and more companies chose not to reveal the full extent of the breaches they experienced. Companies choosing not to report the number of records lost increased by 85 percent [2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ, UK

    Oriola Sallavaci

Authors
  1. Oriola Sallavaci
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Correspondence to Oriola Sallavaci .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. GSM London Meridian House, London, United Kingdom

    Hamid Jahankhani

  2. SC Strategy Limited, London, United Kingdom

    Alex Carlile

  3. Kaspersky Lab, London, United Kingdom

    David Emm

  4. Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Amin Hosseinian-Far

  5. Northumbria University, London, United Kingdom

    Guy Brown

  6. Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Graham Sexton

  7. QAHE with Northumbria University, London, United Kingdom

    Arshad Jamal

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Sallavaci, O. (2016). Combating Cyber Dependent Crimes: The Legal Framework in the UK. In: Jahankhani, H., et al. Global Security, Safety and Sustainability - The Security Challenges of the Connected World. ICGS3 2017. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 630. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51064-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51064-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51063-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51064-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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