World Cybercrime Index

Recently, an international team of researchers has compiled the ‘World Cybercrime Index’.

Key Highlights

(i) It identifies the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level.

(ii) The index was developed through a collaborative effort between the University of Oxford and UNSW Canberra.

(iii) It is based on data collected from a survey involving 92 top global experts in cybercrime, who specialize in intelligence and investigations related to cyber activities.

(iv) It ranks roughly 100 countries and identifies key hotspots according to various categories of cybercrime. 

(v) The five major categories of cybercrime assessed by the study 

• Attacks

• Extortion, 

• Data/identity theft, 

• Scams

• Money laundering or cashing out

(vi) Russia tops the list with the highest cybercriminal threat, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, and Romania.

(vii) The United Kingdom (UK) ranks at number eight in terms of cybercrime threat.

(viii) India was ranked 10th in cybercrime, mostly involving scams that trick people into making advance payments.