A groundbreaking study shed light on the world’s most dangerous cybercrime hubs. Compiled over three years of in-depth research, the ‘World Cybercrime Index’ pinpoints the countries posing the greatest risk for online criminal activity.
Russia emerges as the top cybercrime threat, with Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, Romania, and the UK following. Other European countries on the top20-list are Belarus (12), Moldova (15), Poland (17), Germany (18), The Netherlands (19) and Latvia (20) According to Dr. Miranda Bruce of the University of Oxford and UNSW Canberra, the index is essential in focusing cybersecurity efforts.
“This research will help both public and private sectors target resources effectively, reducing wasted time and money in less-threatened nations,” she explained.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, emphasises how cybersecurity threat is geographically concentrated.
“We can now better understand how cybercrime operates and how different countries specialise,” Dr. Bruce added.
Researchers gathered data from 92 top cybersecurity experts worldwide, tasking them with identifying top offender nations within five major cybercrime categories. These categories include technical tool creation, online attacks, data theft, scams, and money laundering.
Dr. Jonathan Lusthaus of the University of Oxford explains a key challenge:
“Cybercriminals hide behind anonymity and technical safeguards—traditional data can’t pinpoint them. This expert survey is our best way to map these threats.”
Understanding “why” certain nations become havens for cybercrime is the next step. Researchers will test factors such as technical skill surplus, employment scarcity, and the impact of corruption.
Oxford, UNSW, and Sciences Po collaborated on the Index, funded by the EU’s CRIMGOV project.
Written by
LarsGoran Bostrom
Learning Design & Data Ethics Consultant More information
