British authorities are struggling to enforce cybercrime laws , with only one hacker convicted per month for such acts, which exceed 100,000 records per year.
The reasons why cybercrime is becoming increasingly attractive compared to ordinary criminal activities are the high and easy profits it yields, the limited risks compared to other criminal activities, and the slow perception of crime by the authorities. Thus there is a rapid spread of this type of illegal activity.
In September 2014, Europol warned in a report that traditional criminal gangs are increasingly turning to cybercrime for the above reasons.
The UKhas recently released figures relating to the conviction of people for abusing computer laws, which show that convictions over the past 23 years have averaged one every month. The figures reveal that while more than 100,000 cybercrimes are committed each year, only one criminal faces justice each month.
Although a fairly large and coordinated effort is being made by the British authorities to tackle cybercrime, it still lags far behind in terms of the effectiveness of this effort. Experts even note that the authorities still focus on addressing common crimes rather than cybercrime, while fraudsters are researching new ways to develop their technology.
One of the most common incidents recorded is the theft of personal information and credit card details, mainly through phishing attacks .
