A systematic literature review on cybercrime legislation

Abstract

Background: Cybercrime is a fast-growing digital crime and legislation falling behind with the fast-moving advancement of technology. One important factor projected by literature in combating cybercrime is legislation. In order to combat cybercrime, the role of cybercrime legislation is a challenge that has not been clearly studied before. This paper thus aims to recapitulate the literature on cybercrime legislation in combating cybercrime. The literature in this context emphasises on existing studies relating to cybercrime legislation and addressing the importance of adequate and efficient responses in place in order to combat cybercrime efficiently. Methods: This paper finds an extensive literature review using the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” method based on legislation to combat cybercrime and explains a systematic analysis of the legislation in most advanced countries in both technology and legal framework. The study was done by selecting keywords, validated by the experts to discover research trends of cybercrime legislation. A search was then run across seven academic databases, including the ACM Digital Library, Emerald, Hein Online, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Westlaw Asia. Initially, five hundred and forty-eight articles were retrieved and out of which seventy-two studies met the inclusion criteria and were fully reviewed. Results: The findings of the study revealed that comprehensive cybercrime legislation plays a vital role in combating cybercrime and cybercrime legislation should be strengthened, enhanced, and made up to date with the rapid advancement of technology in order to address the rising number of cybercrime. Discussion: This systematic review is timely and highlights future research directions to improve a comprehensive legal framework to combat the rising of cybercrime effectively. To fill the research gap, the findings also have fundamental practical implications for the policy makers, in enacting an up to date cybercrime legislation by highlighting the role of legislation in combating cybercrime.