More than two-thirds of the world’s population accessed the Internet in 2023. Connectivity has changed lives and brought countless benefits, but the digital world also brings significant risks. Cybercriminals exploit online systems through malware, ransomware and hacking to steal money, data, and other valuable information, and they use information and communication technology to facilitate other crimes, recruit victims, perpetrate scams and launder money.
The threat is only growing. Transnational organized criminal groups have set up scam farms, running billion-dollar criminal enterprises and defrauding victims from around the world through online romance schemes, investment fraud and other scams. At the same time, these criminal groups are luring people through online platforms and trafficking them to work in the scam centres.
Prevention is the best defence against online threats, and the international community needs urgently to raise greater awareness of the dangers of online fraud, recruitment and trafficking. International cooperation must also be strengthened as cybercrime and online scams are cross-border threats, exploiting scam victims in the most developed countries and trafficking victims in the most impoverished, and Member States must work together in order to effectively prevent and address such crimes, and protect people.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) leads the UN response to cybercrime with training and support to countries across the world. Drawing upon the Office’s specialized expertise on fighting transnational organized crime and corruption and supporting criminal justice systems, UNODC provides technical assistance to strengthen prevention, reform legislative reform, build and upskill law enforcement capabilities and improve international cooperation.
Adopted by the General Assembly in December 2024 after five years of negotiation, the Convention against Cybercrime establishes a universal framework for investigating and prosecuting offences committed online – from ransomware and financial fraud to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
It opened for signature on 25 October 2025 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, where 72 countries have signed the Convention. It will enter into force 90 days after the 40th State deposits its ratification.
The new treaty criminalizes a range of cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled offences, facilitates the sharing of electronic evidence across borders and establishes a 24/7 cooperation network among States.
It also makes history as the first international treaty to recognize the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images as an offence – a significant victory for victims of online abuse.
Learn more about the Convention here.
