Russia is the world’s biggest cybercrime hotspot, followed by Ukraine, China, the US and Nigeria, according to a study released today by the University of NSW.

Australia ranks 34th in the cybercrime index, which examines the most significant sources of digital criminal activity.

North Korea and India are the two other Asian countries in the top 10, at seventh and 10th respectively.

Completing the top 10 are Romania (sixth), the UK (eighth) and Brazil (ninth).

University of NSW cybersecurity lecturer Miranda Bruce, a co-author of the study, says the research will help the public and private sectors focus their resources on cybercrime hubs and spend less time and money on countermeasures in countries where the problem is less significant.

“The research that underpins the index will help remove the veil of anonymity around cybercriminal offenders, and we hope that it will aid the fight against the growing threat of profit-driven cybercrime,” Dr Bruce said.

“For the first time, we have reliable data on the location of cybercriminals, and we also have a way to measure their impact. Government agencies and private enterprises tasked with tackling cybercrime now have a much better understanding of the scale of the problem in their own backyard.”

The index is based on a survey of 92 experts around the world involved in cybercrime intelligence gathering and investigations. Respondents were asked to consider five major categories of cybercrime, nominate the countries they consider the most significant sources of each of type, and rank each country according to the impact, professionalism and technical skill of its cybercriminals.

“Up until now, you had to be an experienced cybercrime investigator to know where cybercriminals actually live, but now we can share that information with the public, governments and businesses,” Dr Bruce said. “It means that we now have a much clearer picture of the extent of the problem and can target our efforts in the right direction.”

The index is a partnership between the University of NSW and the University of Oxford, and has also been funded by CRIMGOV, a European Union-supported project based at Oxford and French university Sciences Po. 

Co-authors include Professor Ridhi Kashyap from Oxford and Professor Nigel Phair from Monash University.

Click here for the index.