Developing a Statistics Framework to Measure Cybercrime: Insights from Korea

• In Event: Roundtable: Building Cybercrime Statistics - Global Needs and Country-Level Approaches

Abstract

Cybercrime poses an escalating global threat, driven by increasing reliance on digital technologies across sectors such as finance, healthcare, and education. While there is broad recognition of the seriousness of cybercrime, the absence of a standardized legal definition and consistent measurement practices across jurisdictions presents major challenges in assessing its true scale and impact. Given the complexity of cybercrime, no single metric can fully capture its scope. Instead, meaningful insights can be derived from diverse sources to assess its prevalence, trends, and consequences. In response, the UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence and the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice (KICJ) are jointly developing a cybercrime statistics framework grounded in the Republic of Korea’s national context. Drawing on Korea’s advanced digital infrastructure and established institutional practices, this presentation introduces the current landscape of cybercrime data collection, outlines key challenges encountered during framework development, and shares preliminary methodologies to enhance standardization and data integration. These efforts aim to inform broader international initiatives to improve evidence-based responses to cybercrime.

Author

• Jiae Park, UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and Pacific