Cybercrime in the Age of Digital Transformation, Rising Nationalism and the Demise of Global Governance

Abstract

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR, also known as digital transformation) “has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world” (WEF 2020). However, “there has never been a time of greater promise or potential peril (increased cybercrime)” (WEF 2020). Key amongst these perils is the rapid increase of cybercrime, which now affects every sector of society. Furthermore, one must understand how the willful negligence and pursuit of nationalistic cyber policies and objectives of China, Russia and the United States (US) have given rise to a lawless and under governed cyber space where so-called state actors and non-state actors further political-military objectives, spread disinformation, interfere with democratic elections, collect ransoms and compromise critical infrastructure. This permissive environment has even facilitated crime in ways that no one could have previously imagined (the use of social media as a “megaphone” to spread hate speech, incite murder, and then broadcast these acts via the internet). This chapter will also address how these vexing circumstances undermine the global governance efforts of the United Nations (UN) to regularize and promote a more stringent multilateral and global standard for cybercrime. This current situation, at times, strengthens long standing security agreements (Five Eyes Intelligence sharing alliance (FVEY) between the Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, US), while deepening mistrust in public (i.e., law enforcement) and private sector (i.e., technology companies) partnerships (PPP). Simply put, the lack of stringent cyber security laws and the unyielding pursuit of the national interests of three nations now leave global law enforcement (LE) with the daunting task of checking these new cyber “perils” without adequate laws for the task.