There will be an increase in minor transnational offences committed by unsophisticated offenders. This will put a serious strain on traditional frameworks for extradition and mutual legal assistance, which are not equipped to handle the caseloads. Organized crime will take advantage of the changes. Transnational organized crime uses networks since they provide relatively secure media for communication, the concealment of evidence and the electronic movement of money of illegal origin. Data can be encrypted and used to thwart law enforcement.
Paedophiles often share child pornography via websites in complete isolation and anonymity.
As the example illustrates, computer networks open opportunities that allow individual offenders to commit sophisticated crimes which were once associated with organized crime. Networks may also support entirely new forms of criminal organizations which do not fit within existing legal definitions or approaches. One implication of this is that, while the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime will be a valuable precedent in some areas, a global instrument on cybercrime will have to break new ground in others. It will have to deal effectively with individual criminals and not just organized criminal groups. Addressing these problems will require a concerted effort from national governments and the international community as a whole.