The History of Cybercrime Legislation and Major Achievements
The History of Cybercrime Legislation and Major Achievements

Summary/Abstract: The concept of information technology has changed and evolved in line with the independent development of the now interdisciplinary science. Although it is important to note that it is not to be confused with either computer science or cybernetics, even if, with regard to the types of offences covered by this thesis, it is not possible and not necessary to distract from the fact that a computer or computing devices are involved. Technical progress has taken us from the Abacus, through the Turing machine, to today's modern computer. Almost 30 years ago, IT tools and equipment began a process that has made them as ubiquitous in our lives as the invention of the wheel was in the history of mankind. It is imperative that such devices, the data stored in them or used by them, or their accessibility, become a socially protected asset and that certain forms of behaviour are criminalised by the legislator in order to protect them. This is how information technology – along with other disciplines – has developed a permanent and close link with criminal law. The Hungarian legislation has developed in several stages a separate criminal law regime for information technology. In this thesis, I would like to describe this process, evaluate it through the results of my research and present the specific regulatory system, from the perspective of the expectations of the EU directives. Two main categories of offences can be identified: the narrower category of information technology offences, where the information system is the object of the offence, i.e., the attack is directed against the computer, and the other category of offences, where the IT system is used as a tool to commit a “regular" crime (fraud, harassment etc.).

• Details
• Contents