Data protection and cyber security

While the digital evolution has brought great potential for sustainable socioeconomic development and governance accountability globally, our growing dependence on ICT has also allowed the emergence of new vulnerabilities and threats to cyberspace. Cybercrime, such as attacks against information systems, online child sexual exploitation and non-cash payment fraud, affects the security and rights of individuals and businesses; it strengthens transnational criminal organisations, including those active in trafficking of drugs, firearms and in human beings, and enables terrorist organisations for propaganda, recruitment, training and financing purposes. In addition, cyber-attacks can seriously compromise the functioning of critical infrastructure upon which societies rely, putting therefore at risk the resilience of states. At the same time, many countries have only recently started to understand the challenges that could jeopardise their efforts from reaping of the benefits of increased access to the Internet for delivery of services like banking, health care or education.