Cybercrime, also known as computer crime, is when criminal activity is done using a computer, a computer network, or another networked device. Some of the most common types of cybercrime are phishing, cyberstalking, malware, cyberterrorism, and even more. You may have experienced cybercrime against you without even knowing it. In the past 5 years across the globe there have been almost 3 million complaints of cybercrime with over half a million per year.  This comes with over 18 billion dollars in loss.

According to SEON, the top 10 lowest risk for cyberthreats countries are Belgium, Finland, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, France, Sweden, UK, and Portugal. The top 10 highest risk countries for cyberthreats are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Namibia, Libya, Honduras, Cambodia, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. These results were found by finding their cybersecurity scores.

In the United States, there has been a lot more cybercrimes happening. Whether it is phishing, data breaches, malware, extortion, and many others. In 2020, The United States reached a record number of people who fell victim to cybercrime and number of dollars lost. This is also being seen in less advanced countries like Ethiopia for example. In Ethiopia, new cybercrime legislation has been put in place. This has criminalized things like hacking, dissemination of malware, and denial of service attacks. Like in Ethiopia, the United States has legislation in place to catch these cyber criminals, but it seems like not enough is being done. Crime is at an all-time high and not much is being done about it. Every day you hear more stories about how someone’s credit card information was leaked, or their social media has been hacked.