Cybercrimes: Causes and Dangers of Growth

The development of technologies is constantly changing our lives, bringing with it new opportunities and advantages. However, sometimes this development also contributes to the emergence of new forms of crime, when these opportunities are used with malicious intent. A clear example of this are modern cybercrimes.
Even politicians and other public figures are not immune from them. For example, one of the latest such cases was the creation of a fake account in the name of former President Serzh Sargsyan. Or a fake WhatsApp account was created using the name and photo of Armenia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan, from which messages were sent to various people, including state officials.
Top-News.am spoke with information security specialist Samvel Martirosyan about the growth of cybercrimes and protection against it.
According to him, the recent increase in cybercrime is a global trend and is not observed only in Armenia. It has become part of international organized crime, where criminal groups are investing their energy and finances. As for Armenia, it must be noted that the population has started using digital services much more, which has made our country a more attractive market for cybercriminals.
Criminals use various methods to achieve their goals. In recent years, phishing attacks have become more widespread, in which criminals send fake links in order to obtain users’ banking data, passwords, account details, and so on.
There are also common fraud schemes in which people are persuaded to invest money into different systems with the promise of high returns; people voluntarily hand their money over to criminals.
Cybercrimes are also closely tied to political processes. According to Samvel Martirosyan, during pre-election periods, digital risks increase in general: “In our case this is already visible, even though elections are still far away,” Martirosyan notes.
According to him, there are several layers. The first is the hacking activity of other states, when, in order to understand the general public mood, attempts are made to obtain data from state institutions and NGOs. Cyberattacks are accompanied by an information component, when disinformation is thrown into the field from outside. There is also a struggle in the domestic political arena, mainly through the spread of disinformation, which is further facilitated by technological development and the use of artificial intelligence.
We also spoke with Samvel Martirosyan about mechanisms for combating cybercrime in the legislative field.
He finds encouraging the package of legislative amendments related to cybersecurity that is currently in the National Assembly. According to him, serious changes are expected in this area: a national center and other infrastructures are to be created. Nevertheless, the expert believes that legislative changes must be approached delicately and cautiously, to ensure that tools designed to fight fake content do not turn into instruments of political pressure.
To protect citizens from cybercrime, there is also cooperation with state bodies, especially when it comes to issues of national security or mass attacks against people. A digital safety platform for the protection of children has been created, where cooperation also takes place with cyber police officers.
Arsen Eloyan, head of the Department for the Collection of Illegal Online Content and Electronic Evidence at the Cybercrime Investigation Department, compares the use of digital technologies and the internet to driving a car: just as one must clearly know traffic rules and signs when driving, one must also follow safety rules when using the internet, in order not to become the next victim of cybercriminals.
According to cyber police officer Arsen Eloyan, cybercrimes are acts that relate to the security of computer systems and computer data, as well as fraud committed through information technologies.
He confirms that such crimes have indeed increased in recent years. According to him, over the last five years, the number of recorded cybercrime cases has increased by 10-15% each year compared to the previous year.
Eloyan explains this growth by the fact that during 2020, amid the spread of coronavirus and the resulting restrictions, people began using online or digital tools and services much more. Thus, the coronavirus and the restrictions of that period effectively became a trigger for the growth of cybercrime.
We also asked Eloyan which types of cybercrime are the most common. In his view, cases of illegal access to e-wallets and to accounts on social platforms and apps have become much more frequent. Electronic fraud has also increased (carried out in different ways), including the theft of citizens’ financial resources through phishing attacks. “Investment fraud is also very common, when citizens are persuaded to invest money in some platform on the condition that they will receive high returns. But the result is that citizens become victims of fraud and lose the money they invested,” Eloyan emphasizes.
For the purpose of crime prevention, “we constantly carry out awareness campaigns through TV channels, on social platforms, and with various videos, we try to present those types of crimes that are current at that time, meaning those that pose a threat at that moment,” Eloyan notes.
Armenia is also a member of the Convention on Cybercrime, which means that our country has obligations to align its domestic legislation with the norms of the Convention. In Eloyan’s assessment, the articles of the Criminal Code relating to computer crimes are maximally adapted to these obligations.

Top-News.am