Cyber property theft: protecting digital assets

Abstract

The spreading of the digital technologies has changed the contemporary economy, and the notion of ownership. Data, intellectual property and digital records are some of the most valuable assets that individuals, corporations and governments hold in the age of a very interconnected world. But with the increase in the digital ecosystem, the level of cyber property theft also increases on these assets. The unauthorized collection or manipulation of information, which characterizes this phenomenon, presents a serious danger to economic stability, organization security, and national sovereignty. The sophistication of online crimes, the anonymity that comes with the sophisticated technologies and the insufficiency of international law makes it an uphill task to guard against such theft. The current paper analyses the essence of cyber property theft, defines the core issues of the digital asset protection, critically analyses the drawbacks of the present protection methods. Considering the technical, legal, organizational, and geopolitical aspects, the review shows the urgency of the development of all-embracing, synchronized, and future-ready solutions to guarantee the integrity of the digital property in the 21 st century.