Cybercrime in Cyprus

Increased use of internet for everyday communication and commercial activity has led to the increase of Cybercrime threats.

The Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus published on the 26th November 2014 the latest findings on the use of internet and telecommunications in Cyprus.

“Some of the main findings of this research are the following:

A computer is found in 95,5% of households with dependent children, while in households where there are no dependent children the percentage is only 63,2%.

During 2014 the Internet access in households continues to increase and reaches 68,6% compared to 64,7% in 2013. At the same time, an increase was observed in the individuals that used the Internet, from 65,5% in 2013 to 69,3% in 2014.

The broadband connection is used in all households for access to the Internet (99,9%).

Individuals 16 – 24 years old (96,4%) and students (98,7%) are the more frequent Internet users. This percentage decrease with age since only 15,2% of individuals 65 – 74 years old use the Internet. Men are using the Internet more frequently than women with percentage 67,0% and 63,8% respectively.”

However, what exactly is Cybercrime?

This term refers acts committed against the confidentiality, the integrity and the availability of computer data and/or systems.

What are the main cybercrime types?

According to the United Nations, there are five main categories of Cybercrime acts.

  • Hacking/Cracking
  • Denial of Service
  • Malware (virus, worms, Trojan horses)
  • Spam
  • Site attacks
  • E-commerce frauds
  • Identity Theft (phishing)
  • Software Piracy
  • Money Laundering
  • Child Pornography

What are the various categories of Cybercrimes ?

Cybercrimes are usually divided into 3 major categories:

  • against persons
  • against property
  • against Governments.

For legal advice on cybercrime in Cyprus, you can get in touch with our lawyers.