Cybercrime from the Budapest Convention to Future Prospects: Critical Issues and Regulations in the Transnational Legal Environment

Today, technology is strengthening its grip on almost all aspects of life. The role it plays in everyday life is vital. In digitally dominated times as those we are living in, cybercrime has elevated itself to one of the most lucrative and most escalating fields. Attacks targeting states through their IT systems grow each year by a massive percentage, and this has been facilitated by the pandemic and everyone working from home. Despite this, cybercrime is still mostly overlooked, with almost no emphasis being put on it. This thesis aims at shedding some light on what exactly the word "cybercrime" entails and how it differs from other fields of cyber research. Once the conceptual basis has been laid out, the focus shifts to the major regulatory efforts put forward by the international community. This work sets out to explore the extent to which the current undertakings by the Council of Europe, the UN and the global community are suitable to face the growing threat of cybercrime. The main codification considered is the 2001 Convention on Cybercrime (or Budapest Convention) drawn up by the Council of Europe. Additionally, the limits in regulation and prosecution will be discussed, alongside some proposals for a better regulation and cybercrime prevention, stressing the dire need for and vital role which a global framework would have. Furthermore, the work which brought the UN to establish an ad hoc committee to prepare a thorough International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes will be mentioned among the future prospects, alongside the many proposals for a new International Court on Cybercrime. As the world grows more digital, more attention to security on the web and in IT systems needs to be implemented. The computerisation of our society is just at the beginning, and, as it is refined, so will cybercrime become more sleek and arduous to catch and prosecute. The need for new solutions is dire.