A new paper by Dr Qiaoyu Luo casts new light on the cybercrime landscape in China, revealing an industrialised system that mirrors the structure and operations of legitimate industries.
While global research on cybercrime is extensive, there is limited investigation in China, despite its significant economic role and high incidence of cybercrime.
This study uses interviews and secondary data from China between 2020 and 2022 to fill this research gap, examining the industrialisation of Chinese cybercrime and its impact on the work of Chinese cybercriminals. Those interviewed included practitioners in the cybersecurity sector, law enforcement officers and former cybercriminals.
Qiaoyu Luo, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Sociology, explains the need for this research:
While cybercrime operates digitally, for some individuals, partnerships with fellow cybercriminals extend into real-world interactions.
Additionally, local conditions play a significant role in shaping cybercrime, with some countries experiencing higher rates and unique types of offenses.
As a result, cybercrime is a complex social phenomenon influenced by socio-economic factors, highlighting the need for studies conducted within diverse social contexts.
Findings indicate that Chinese cybercrime mirrors trends in global cybercrime industrialisation. The industry has evolved into an elaborate network focused on cyber fraud, involving diverse market players performing specific roles.
Of the 282,000 cybercrime cases adjudicated in the courts in China between 2017 and 2021, almost 40% of the cases involved the charge of cyber fraud.
At the same time, an additional 23% of the cases involved the charge of assisting cybercrime, showing that cybercriminal activities are facilitated by various professional actors who specialise in different fields of crime, such as data stealing, malware making, bullet-proof service hosting, and money laundering. These products and services are traded in marketplaces such as online forums.
Dr Luo added:
This is a highly specialised, dynamic cybercrime market that evolves continually under the influence of national policies in China.
The findings align with previous research on international cybercrime, which suggests that modern cybercrime activities are rarely executed by solitary actors but rather through the collaborative efforts of various participants.
Furthermore, the paper argues that cybercriminal firms operate with structures and methods similar to legitimate companies.
Evidence indicates that China’s cybercrime industry has expanded beyond local operations, extending its reach into other countries. This development suggests that China’s cybercrime industry has outpaced those in other nations, which tend to remain primarily domestic in scope.
The paper argues that the industrialisation of cybercrime has transformed it into an assembly line model, where cybercriminals perform repetitive, basic tasks akin to traditional manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution.
Dr Luo noted:
As a result of industrialisation, many tasks performed by cybercriminals - when viewed in isolation - may not even be classified as illicit.
For example, the tasks of machine maintainers consist merely of swapping out SIM cards, maintaining the machines, and regularly relocating them. The activities in themselves do not constitute anything illegal.
This has significantly increased the difficulties for law enforcement in tackling these cybercrime facilitators.
The paper observes a trend of traditional criminals shifting to cybercrime, suggesting that the line between cybercrime and conventional crime has become increasingly blurred. Rather than viewing cybercrime as a separate category, it may be more accurate to consider it as an extension and modern evolution of traditional crime.
Additionally, the global expansion of Chinese cybercriminals highlights the importance of international cooperation, addressing links with traditional organised crime, and developing targeted prevention policies.
