Revealed: The countries with the highest levels of cybercrime in the world
Russia has been named as the world's cybercrime hotspot in a new study ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime threats.
The World Cybercrime Index has been published following three years of research by academics from the University of Oxford and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra.
Russia tops the list as the location with the greatest cybercrime threat, according to the index.
This is followed by Ukraine, China, the US and Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the UK is eighth on the list - just one place behind North Korea.
Russia, Ukraine and China have been named as the world's cybercrime hotspots in a new study ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime threats
READ MORE: Huge data leak dubbed the 'Mother of all Breaches' sees 26 BILLION records leaked from sites including Twitter, Linkedin, and Dropbox
AdvertisementThe rankings were based on data gathered by the researchers, which saw them survey almost 100 cybercrime experts from around the world.
The experts were asked each to identify the most significant sources of five major types of cybercrime, ranking countries according to the impact, professionalism and technical skill of its criminals.
The study's co-author, Dr Miranda Bruce, said the research would enable cybersecurity agencies to focus on key hubs of cybercrime, directing funds and focus more effectively.
'The research that underpins the index will help remove the veil of anonymity around cybercriminal offenders, and we hope that it will aid the fight against the growing threat of profit-driven cybercrime,' she said.
'We now have a deeper understanding of the geography of cybercrime, and how different countries specialise in different types of cybercrime.
The rankings were based on data gathered by the researchers, which saw them survey almost 100 cybercrime experts from around the world (stock image)
READ MORE: Major hack by Russian gang steals social security numbers and health information from 1.3 million
Advertisement'By continuing to collect this data, we'll be able to monitor the emergence of any new hotspots and it is possible early interventions could be made in at-risk countries before a serious cybercrime problem even develops.'
Fellow co-author associate professor Jonathan Lusthaus said the index could help shine a light on what is often difficult to trace activity.
'Due to the illicit and anonymous nature of their activities, cybercriminals cannot be easily accessed or reliably surveyed. They are actively hiding,' he said.
'If you try to use technical data to map their location, you will also fail, as cybercriminals bounce their attacks around internet infrastructure across the world.
'The best means we have to draw a picture of where these offenders are actually located is to survey those whose job it is to track these people.'
The researchers said they hope to expand the study to examine whether different national characteristics such as education rates, GDP or levels of corruption impact the amount of cybercrime emerging from a country.
The World Cybercrime Index has been published in journal Plos One.
Related articles
Socialite Jasmine Hartin enjoys beach snuggle with electrician hunk
Socialite Jasmine Hartin has been seen enjoying a beach snuggle with her new mystery man.Ms Hartin w2024-05-21Jokic is trying to stay on top and Embiid is trying to stay on the court
NEW YORK (AP) — Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid are the NBA’s main men in the middle, the two centers c2024-05-21PNG leader takes offense after Biden implies an uncle was eaten by cannibals
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape accused Joe Biden of disp2024-05-21Kurdish separatists and water issues loom large in long
BAGHDAD (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to make his first official visit to Ir2024-05-21OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users s2024-05-21China's interbank treasury bond index opens higher Friday
BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China's interbank treasury bond index in net price opened at 1,021.792024-05-21
atest comment