Cybercrime and Digital Offenses: Challenges of Applying Traditional Criminal Law

Abstract

The spread of digital technologies has changed the character of criminal activity allowing committing crimes that do not respect the territorial borders, using anonymity and at an unprecedented speed. The traditional crime law, which is built on geographic scope of behavior and identifying criminals, has a hard time adapting to these new technologies. The continuing nature of cybercrimes like unauthorized access, data breach and cyberstalking, online fraud, identity theft and the spread of malicious code have continually challenged the basic legal principles actus reus, mens rea, causation and jurisdiction. In spite of the national legislative changes and the development of soft-law systems, inconsistency in the substantive definitions, the level of evidentiary standards, investigative authority and international cooperation remain. The paper critically examines the structural constraints of the traditional criminal law in addressing digital crimes and provides a comparative overview of the response of law in the modern times and assesses the harmonization initiatives made using mechanisms such as the Budapest Convention and regional cybersecurity standards. It claims that the key to effective enforcement, however, lies in a mixed legal approach that would provide technological neutrality and digital specific norms that would guarantee not only due process but also operational efficiency in the dynamic cyber ethos.