Criminological and criminal law aspects of the ransomware spread

67 Criminal-law aspects and criminological aspects of ransomware spread Abstract The thesis deals with the ransomware spread and its exploration from the perspective of criminology and substantive criminal law. This theme is still relevant as ransomware is still a highly used form of cybercrime, whose method of execution is being constantly improved by the perpetrators. The theme is further relevant because this form of cybercrime is also used as a form of waging war against another state, as may be seen e.g. in the increasing number of cyber-attacks incurring in connection with the current war between Ukraine and Russia. The first part of this thesis defines the term ransomware and then briefly describes the history of this type of cybercrime. This part further describes the different types of ransomware currently recognized by the professional community. Current trends in the ransomware spread are also outlined. The second part discusses the criminological aspects of ransomware, focusing primarily on explaining the ransomware spread by the criminological theories, examining the personality of the perpetrator and the victim from a criminological perspective, and exploring other criminological aspects of ransomware. The third part of the thesis concerns the assessment of ransomware spread under substantive..