The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, has described cybercrime and. financial theft as a worldwide threat.
According to The Punch, Interpol made this disclosure in a global crime trends report privy to security personnel.
The report revealed that more than 60 per cent of the police officers interviewed considered money laundering, internet fraud, phishing and ransomware to be a great or very great danger.
“Understanding and anticipating crime trends is an absolute foundation of policing,’’ Interpol quoted its secretary-general, Jürgen Stock, as saying.
“The report, which is not available for public inspection, is intended to be available to law enforcement agencies,” Stock added.
In so-called ransomware attacks, computers are encrypted by malware and thus rendered unusable; Phishing on the other hand means the theft of data, using fake websites or emails.
The report said online fraud, money laundering and the trade in synthetic drugs were seen as the greatest current dangers in Europe.
Some three-quarters of the respondents also assume that cases of sexual abuse of children on the internet would increase decisively in the next three to five years.
