2. The impact of cybercrime

One of the reasons that make it necessary to address cybercrime is the impact of the activities of cyber criminals. The changing environment discussed in the previous heading has sometimes created dire consequences for internet users. As economies continue to evolve with greater dependence on digital technologies, criminals have also seized this opportunity to cause harm on the economy. For example, the BBC reported that the attack on the Colombian Oil pipeline in the United States of America resulted in the payment of a ransom of US$5 million. The Cybercrime Magazine estimated that cybercrime will cost over US$10 trillion in loss annually by 2025. This estimate may not include unreported incidents. 

For African countries there is a peculiar challenge regarding the impact of cybercrime. It appears that African countries may be more vulnerable to cyberattacks and cybercrimes. This is because there may be an increase in the use of digital technologies without the necessary remedial cybersecurity measures. Nir Kshetr, in his article Cybercrime and Cybersecurity in Africa, points to a trend, in which Africa presents the next soft target for cybercrimes. This is because most African countries are emerging markets and are soft targets for criminals. The Interpol Africa Cyberthreats Assessment Report 2021 quotes a research from a Kenyan IT cybersecurity company, Serianu, which highlighted that cybercrime reduced the gross domestic products (GDP) within Africa by over 10%, at a cost of about US$4.12 billion in 2021.

Apart from the economy, there are other areas where the impact of cybercrime may be severe. For example, the UK Department of Health report on the WannaCry cyberattacks showed that the attack caused ‘the disruption in at least 34%’ of the NHS trusts (organisational units) in England, which resulted in approximately 19,000 appointments that were cancelled. This caused patients in five areas to ‘travel further’ to access health care in emergency situations. Those were life threatening circumstances with the potential of causing mass casualties.