It is a great privilege to be writing a preface to this second edition of Principles of Cybercrime. As one would expect in such a rapidly developing area, much has changed since 2010. Terms such as ‘cyberbullying’, ‘sexting’ and ‘trolling’ have become established in the lexicon. Technologies such as peer-to-peer networks and botnets continue to evolve and facilitate a broad range of offending, from criminal copyright infringement to child exploitation. New offences have been enacted and existing offences amended, while courts continue to grapple with the interface between legal doctrine and technological change. Of particular significance, Australia and the United Kingdom joined the United States in ratifying/acceding to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, the most significant international instrument in this area.

Although there have been significant changes, in many respects this has been evolution rather than revolution; part of the normal ongoing development of the criminal law. In revising the material for this edition I have been struck by how resilient the law has proved to be in many areas of cybercrime, with both legislatures and courts able to confront novel and challenging situations. In addition, there is clearly an increased awareness by governments of the various threats posed by cybercrimes, and the importance of a multi-faceted approach. If the first edition hoped to demonstrate that the criminal law had well and truly arrived in cyberspace, this second edition illustrates that it has achieved a level of maturity.

As with the first edition, this book is intended for anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the legal principles which are applied to ‘cybercrimes’, whether they be academics, legal practitioners, law enforcement officers or students. Aside from jurisdictional issues, it does not address the law of criminal investigation, procedure or evidence. The unique feature of this book is that the various offences are analysed across four major common law jurisdictions: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. These jurisdictions were chosen for a number of reasons. First, they share a common law heritage. Second, they are each advanced developed countries that have dealt extensively with the challenges of cybercrime. Third, as noted above, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States are all parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, while Canada is a signatory.