Η οικονομική ανάλυση του εγκλήματος στον κυβερνοχώρο / Τα οικονομικά του ηλεκτρονικού εγκλήματος

Abstract

The present paper seeks to capture the aspects of cybercrime as a social phenomenon emerged in the digital age, which has received international dimensions, being an invisible threat but at the same time having a significant social and economic impact on the modern world. There is not a unanimous universal definition for what the cybercrime is and the latter occurs under many forms, some of which were born with the boom of the Internet and others constitute the digital dimension of familiar types of traditional crimes. The exhaustive enumeration is not feasible not only due to the limited scope of this thesis but also due to the constant development of new forms of cybercrime, which give rise to legislative challenges and highlight the need to combine the methodological tools of more scientific fields seeking social optimum solutions. Though, the aim of this research is to present the key problems by studying the cybercrime from a sociological, an economic and a legal point of view, focusing on the need for international legislative harmonization and cooperation while examining any alternative action models which could potentially enhance the preventive function of Criminal Law. The first chapter examines cybercrime as a social phenomenon through the presentation of the most common types and the extensions received that go beyond the domestic context. Furthermore, another issue under consideration pertains to the difficulties of estimating accurately the damage being caused and the increasing socio-economic impact. Finally, some procedural issues arising from the cross-border nature of cybercrime are addressed, such as jurisdiction and extradition in combination to search and seizure problems of digital media. The second chapter lists the most important, according to the writer’s opinion, legislative efforts of Criminal Law to regulate cybercrime, focusing on the example of America and the relative legislative actions at a federal level, on the Budapest Convention as the main international treaty pursuing a common anti-crime policy of justice aiming at the protection of society from cybercrime by adopting appropriate legislation and enhancing a fast and well-coordinated international cooperation. Finally, the relevant pro-visions in the Greek legal system are presented. In the third chapter, the analysis aim to highlight the importance of the methodological tools of the Economic Analysis of Law, being a field that investigates perpetrators’ motivations on the basis of the assumption of existence of a rational individual who seeks to maximize her benefit. In this context, taking into account that the commission of crimes is a result of the weighting of individual probabilities, I present additional parameters in the creation of a legislative framework, not aiming at a punitive function but, instead, for the sake of social good. Finally, taking into consideration that effective solutions should be sought, alongside the legislative framework, in new models to complement the role of Criminal Law, the study examines alternative ways to deal with intermediary providers, potential victims and perpetrators themselves. In the final chapter, taking into account the problems encountered, the thesis concludes with suggestions for parallel action at a number of different levels aiming at combating new phenomena, which, in the view of the writer, require release from the traditional approaches, towards a new holistic approach including adaptation of the legislation to emerging technological challenges.