Cybercrime Tendencies and Legislation in the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

The advancement of information and communication technologies opens new venues and ways for cybercriminals to commit crime. There are several different types of cybercrime offences that need to be treated in a separate and different manner. The major international source that provides guidelines for treatment of cybercrime is the Convention on Cybercrime adopted by the Council of Europe and the European Commission Action Plan. The purpose of the paper is to present, discuss and analyze the Macedonian legislation treating cybercrime, with respect to the specific cases typically encountered in practice and the international guidelines concerning cybercrime. The major source of cybercrime legislation in Macedonia is the Criminal Code with provisions thereof in ten of its articles; it addresses cybercrimes such as personal data abuse, copyright and piracy issues, production and distri bution of child pornography, computer viruses, intrusions into computer systems, computer fraud and computer forgery. We also present and analyze reports on cybercrime complaints and victims from Macedonia, issued by the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The reports reveal the unusually high number of complaints for perpetrators and victims originating from Macedonia. Furthermore, we highlight several recent cybercrime cases reported in Macedonia. All things considered, the Macedonian penal legis lation is modern and it follows the current European and world standards. It provides guidelines for successful resolution of cybercrime committed in the Republic of Macedonia. However, it could be improved by a more active inclusion of Macedonian authorities in the global response to cybercrime and by stronger enforcement of cybercrime prevention measures and strategies.