La criminalità organizzata cibernetica. Il reato associativo tra mutamento sociale e giurisprudenziale

Cyber Organized Crime. The Criminal Association Offence between Social Change and the Evolution of the Case-Law

This article examines how the evolution of technology and the related social change have influenced the case-law on the criminal association offence. The rise of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) has created the conditions for the emergence of new criminal groups operating only in the cyberspace. The Italian criminal cases show that prosecutors charge these groups with the criminal association offence. The essay highlights a substantial change in the application of the offence, due to the cyber nature of the criminal groups, and assesses the knowledge of prosecutors and judges on ICT.

Keywords: Cybercrime; Organized crime; Criminal association; Cyberspace