Cybercrime in Asia: Trends and challenges

The rapid growth in Internet use in Asia, including a tenfold or more increases in access in China, Indonesia and India since 2002 has also been accompanied by significant increases in cybercrime. The development of commercial-scale exploit toolkits and criminal networks that focus on monetization of malware have amplified the risks of cybercrime. The law-enforcement response in Asia is briefly reviewed in the context of the 2001 Council of Europe’s Cybercrime (Budapest) Convention. We describe the nature of cybercrime (including both ‘hate’ or content and ‘crime-ware’ such as botnets) and compare the laws and regulations in Asian states with the provisions of the Convention. The challenges faced in developing effective cross-national policing of cybercrime in Asia are also addressed as problems emerge around cloud computing, social media, wireless/smart phone applications and other innovations in digital technology.