The Essence of Cyber-Offences Committed in the Conditions of Digitalization Of Society: Criminal-Legal and Administrative-Legal Aspects

The article is devoted to the study of the essence and classification of cyber-offences committed in the conditions of total digitalization of society, as well as administrative-legal means of counteracting the indicated types of cyber-offences. The author analyzes different approaches to defining the terms “computer crimes”, “cybercrime”, “internet crime” and others, emphasizing the significant differences in the essence of these concepts, since the essence of cybercrime is not a static category, but continues to develop in view of the rapid development of technologies and the digitalization of society, which undoubtedly gives rise to discussions on methods, including administrative and legal, of counteracting these offenses. Therefore, today cybercrime can be defined as a complex of offenses that include the misuse of computer equipment, programs or cyberspace to commit illegal actions that cause harm to individuals, organizations or the state. 

The author states that two approaches to understanding cybercrime have now been formed, narrow and broad. The narrow approach focuses on the protection of information security, while the broad approach covers all types of offenses committed using information and telecommunications technologies. The lack of a unified approach to defining cyber offenses negatively affects the organization of counteraction to these criminally unlawful acts in practice. The author emphasizes the importance of unifying the conceptual apparatus and adapting both criminal and administrative legislation to the growing challenges in the field of cybersecurity. 

The author analyzes the norms of individual international legal acts, in particular the Convention on Cybercrime, which defines certain groups of cyber offenses, in particular:
– against the confidentiality of computer data, – against the integrity of computer data, against the availability of computer data, – related to content, – related to copyright infringement. The norms of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On the Basic Principles of Ensuring Cybersecurity in Ukraine” are also analyzed. An analysis of various current positions on the classification features of cybercrimes is presented, in particular in the field of violation of constitutional rights, in the field of violation of property rights, in the field of public morality, and state security.