SWCHSMUN 2012
UNODC Background Guide
Sir Winston Churchill HSMUN Conference
SWCHSMUN 2012
Table of Contents
Current Membership in the UNODC ……………………………………………………………………….Page 3
Committee History …………………………………………………………………………………………………Page 3
Topic 1: Latin American Drug Trafficking ………………………………………………………………..Pages 3-5
Topic 2: Opium in Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………………………….Pages 6-11
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Topic 3: Combating Digital Crime …………………………………………………………………………..Pages 12-20
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Current Membership in the UNODC
Colombia
Republic of the Congo
Denmark
France
Ghana
Guatemala
India
Iran
Israel
Italy
Japan
Laos
Mexico
Myanmar
Namibia
Netherlands
Peru
Poland
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
South Korea
Spain
Swaziland
Turkey
United Kingdom
United Republic of Tanzania
United States
Committee Description
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was formed in 1997 by combining the United
Nations Drug Control Program and the Center for International Crime Prevention to better tackle the
interdependent issues of drug trafficking and organized crime. Building off the goals of the previous
organizations, the UN Office on Drug and Crime acts as the chief opponent of “uncivil society,” tackling
the difficult topics of global terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking, money laundering,
corruption, and illicit drug trade.
The UNODC functions as a multifaceted UN agency, headquartered at the United Nations Office in
Vienna and spilling into 21 field offices across the world. Despite its complex organization, the UNODC
is tied together under the control of the Executive Director, a position currently filled by Italian native
Antonio Maria Costa. As the issues UNODC deals with become more globally integrated, the UNODC
has focused on multilateral strategies that are country or region-specific. At SWCHSMUN 2012 the
office will attempt to function as closely to the real UNODC as possible, and thus will call upon
delegates to put together region-specific solutions derived from the office’s three core tenets:
organizing specific
fieldwork, increasing the amount of research and understanding on drug and crime-related problems,
and finally, helping governments ratify international agreements and draft domestic legislation
relevant to these issues. Delegates will be able to draft resolutions on specific global UNODC initiatives
in addition to policy memos to other United Nations organizations. Measures passed in this committee
should have an intimate knowledge of the issues at hand, exhibit collaboration with other nations in
the committee, and involve creative methods of addressing this year’s topics. The UNODC handles
some of the most sensitive global issues, and delegates should be prepared to research and discuss
what can often be uncomfortable subjects.
Topic 1: Latin American Drug Trafficking
Background Information
The Latin American drug trade throughout history has reaped a major impact on not only Central,
South and North American countries, but also regions such as Europe, Asia, and Africa. Currently, the
modern market of drug trade has converted its organizational standards into significantly smaller
branches that are more specialized and are responsible for a specific aspect in the trade, as opposed to
the larger “drug lord” cartels that were seen up to the 1970s. They have also been able to form new
and constantly changing trafficking routes in order to be able to export the drugs to the location of the
highest demand. Because of the downsizing of these organizations and continually changing paths, it
has become a struggle to effectively detect and eliminate them.
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Afghanistan
Algeria
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Bolivia
Brazil
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
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The three major cocaine producers in the world remain to be Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia which is
largely known as the Andean region of Latin America. This area alone has been able to produce 750
tons of cocaine, which are shipped to various places around the world. This multi-billion pound
industry in Latin America has increased 16% due to increases in supply and demand. Marijuana, heroin,
and opium are also a main source of revenue towards drug trafficking in Latin America, spanning
through the countries of Paraguay, Mexico and Colombia.
In 2008 almost 6,000 people died in Mexico alone due to drug related violence demonstrating that the
Latin American drug trade plays a major role in the political, social and economic matters in this region.
Colombia, as well as other Latin American countries, are highly influenced and corrupt through major
drug cartels and organizations, which often leads to continuous money laundering throughout the
world.
Possible Solutions
While researching drug trafficking in Latin America, delegates should take a multi- faceted approach to
this problem. It is very important to be able to understand drug trade and despite being located and
concentrated in Latin America, affects the entire world. The drug trade involves several aspects not just
smuggling, for example several aspects that would influence this issue would include, the various types
of drugs being smuggled from marijuana to synthetic drugs, addiction, money laundering, organized
crime, gang activity and violence.
Because this is such a diverse topic, possible solutions must be able to cover the multiplying effects of
drug trafficking. There have been many efforts being pursued by the
UNODC and Latin American Governments to attempt to control this pressing issue such as, “Products
for Peace” which focuses on prevention and the use of alternative development in the cultivation of
crops that have been proven to be able to produce illegal drugs like the poppy and coca plant. Many of
the people who are growing and producing these illegal substances are poor farmers who are unable to
support themselves without the economic benefits of these products. Alternative development is an
option, but one must analyze the use of microfinance and sustainable development programs in
conjunction. Border control with the help of joint task forces have been proven to successfully halt
some drug trafficking between neighbouring states and countries. Drug Trafficking is made up of
multiple different problems and solutions should be diverse and address each aspect of this issue.
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
United Nations Involvement
In the mission of attempting to control drug trade in Latin America, the United Nations has
been the main organization in eliminating and spreading awareness about this persistent problem.
The UNODC was founded as a UN organ in 1997, when both the United Nations Drug Control Program
and International Crime Prevention combined. This specific organization is now “mandated to assist
Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism”. The three main sub- groups
or pillars of the UNODC are field based projects, research work in order to increase understanding on
drug and crime issues as well as to, aid States in the passing of treaties and other legislation in regards
to drugs, crime, and terrorism. Because of the formation of the UNODC and its three pillars the United
Nations has been successful in several different projects in Latin American to reduce drug trafficking.
These projects include the development in drug rehabilitation, improvement of information exchange,
crop monitoring systems, and alternative development programs.
Major Treaties and deals held in effect of the UNODC include Convention against the Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the
1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In coordination with the International Narcotics Control
Board, the UNODC has been able to release several annual World Drug Reports that map out certain
trends in drug abuse and trafficking.
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Bloc Positions
 European/Western: Western nations are always and will be continually concerned about the
issue of the growing illicit drug trade market, because for many of these cartels, these
organizations are targeting these countries for revenue. Look back at past treaties and other
actions these nations have taking and weather is has been helpful in the past or not.
 Latin America: Many Latin America countries will have very strong position regarding drug trade
because this issue directly involves them. For this position it is especially important to look at
what the countries policies are in regards to what the certain country has actually done to
prevent or in some cases encourage drug trafficking. This certain issue will be highly focused on
these countries.
 Middle East/Asia/Africa: Having many drug issues themselves most Middle East, African, and
Asian nations will be able to relate to the crisis that Latin America in today. Because their lack of
many resources many countries in this region are still experiencing difficulties in combating
their own drug problem. Be able to look back into that past and see what actions the United
Nations has been able achieve and certain problems or precautions as a result of them. Also
look for certain organizations that have been successful in your country that would the
applicable the drug trafficking in Latin America.
Questions to Consider:
 What drugs are targeted as marketable drugs? And in the case of alternative crops what would
also still be economically viable?
 What other countries and people are involved with Latin American drug trafficking?
 What are some of the illegal effects that are usually associated with drug trade?
 What has the United Nations done in a helpful sense? Prevention, combating, awareness, and
recovery?
Bibliography:
 http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/illicit-drugs/index.html
The UNODC’s view on the world’s illicit drugs and their prevention.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/heroin-movementworldwide/latin-america.html
A short summary of all of the various illicit drug and the problems the cause in Latin America.
 http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11294435
A history of major drug trafficking trends specifically in the Andean area.
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
 http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2008-06-18.html
A survey yielding results regarding the production of cocoa.
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Topic 2: Opium in Afghanistan
Background Information
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Opium has been rooted into the Afghanistan culture since 3400 B.C. when it was first cultivated in
lower Mesopotamia. It has spread to all provinces in Afghanistan, making it the largest producer of
illicit opium in 1999. Opium’s major exporters reside in the “Golden Crescent”, which is comprised of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Strict eradication campaigns in Pakistan and Iran have caused the
production of opium to drop, leaving Afghanistan as the sole provider of the drug. The nation of
Afghanistan currently provides 75 percent of global opiates. Due to Afghanistan’s reliance on the drug
as a major export, opium has affected the state, society, economy and politics.
Many people around the world feel that opium and the poppy flower is a curse, but the farmers in
Afghanistan view it as a godsend. Approximately 1.7 million people are involved in opium production in
Afghanistan, including twenty-eight provinces. Many surveys have shown that rural farmers are
choosing the opium poppy as a commodity due to long war and drought. The UNDP reported that the
country is the second poorest nation in the world. In 2003, the value of opium production was $2.3
billion dollars which represents more than half of Afghanistan’s legal GDP. Also, the raw value of opium
is several times higher than normal crops. Even though opium production was deemed illegal in the
1988 “United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs”, farmers still produce the drug
because it is the only way for them to make a living.
Production of opium in Afghanistan has been associated with insurgency and corruption. Thirty years
of conflict in Afghanistan has embedded the opium trade into the culture of the local people. The drug
trade has played a significant role in corrupting the government and police and promoting the
restoration of the Taliban. This organization is mostly run by closely knit families and villages, making it
very difficult to infiltrate. These insurgents then work with corrupt government officials for the purpose
of solely gaining a profit. The Taliban has focused their opium production in south-west Afghanistan.
The profit made by the production of opium has helped to fund Taliban restoration and military
operations.
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Map 1: Security Map (as of 30 March 2011) and Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan by Province, 2010
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Map 2: Seizures of Heroin and Morphine, 2009 (countries and territories reporting seizures* of more
than 10 kg)
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Addicts smoke heroin in a destroyed building in Herat on October 17, 2011. Ten years after the 2001 American
invasion to drive the Taliban from power, Afghanistan still produces 90 percent of the world's illegal opium,
funding the insurgency despite an expensive Western eradication program. (Aref Karimi/AFP/Getty Images)
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Police officers from the district of Ar Gul, swing away with long sticks to eradicate a patch of illegally grown
opium poppies in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan on July 16, 2009. In 2007, opium - the raw ingredient
used to make heroin - was grown on nearly half a million acres in Afghanistan, the largest illegal narcotics crop
ever produced by a modern nation. A government crackdown on poppy cultivation has spelled economic
disaster for many communities throughout the country. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
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UN Involvement
The increase in opium production has caused the United Nations to start cracking down on opium
producers. The UNODC released the Afghan Opium Survey on September 2, 2009. In the report it
stated, “The bottom is starting to fall out of the Afghan opium market”. The report also mentioned that
the growth of poppy plants in Afghanistan is slowly decreasing thanks to counter-narcotics operations
by NATO and the Afghan government.
The United Nations has created several multi-faceted resolutions that have been put into effect.
Resolution 59/161 was written on February 8, 2005. Its main objective was to implement the action
plan that was created in Kabul at the “International Counter-Narcotics Conference on Afghanistan”.
Resolution 2005/24 urged the utilization of the “Counter-Narcotic Implementation Plan,” which is
comprised of “Building counter-narcotic institutions and provincial structures, increasing the
awareness of the Afghan population about the problems and threats emanating from the illicit
cultivation of opium poppy and the production of and trafficking in illicit narcotic drugs, provision of
alternative livelihoods and creation of the national development budget and the counter-narcotic trust
fund to provide financial support, interdiction and elimination of heroin-manufacturing, laboratories
through the national anti-narcotic police force…”
In February 2004, the UNODC hosted an “International Counter Narcotics Conference on Afghanistan”.
The main goal of the conference was to achieve awareness that opiate-based drugs are the central
concern for the country. The conference also focused on increasing international support by
acknowledging the difficulties that Afghanistan faces while trying to combat drug production and
trafficking.
The problem of opium in Afghanistan requires comprehensive solutions. One way to tackle the
problem would be to transition to another type of crop. For instance, saffron is an ideal new crop for
Afghanistan. In an effort to destroy opium production, international groups along with the Afghan
government have been distributing saffron bulbs to farmers along the border of Iran. Farmers have
stated that the saffron is more profitable due to the increase demand. The price of saffron has nearly
doubled, reaching almost $1,360 per pound. Saffron has also many functional uses such as a spice,
fabric dye, perfume, and as a possible cancer suppressant. Since 2004, the United States of America’s
Agency for International Development (USAID) has been providing saffron bulbs and supplies to
farmers in the Herat province.
The topic of opium licensing has come up in many UN discussions. An opium licensing system will allow
licensed farmers to grow the opium poppy for medicinal drugs, such as morphine and codeine. This
program will use the Afghan Counter Narcotics law as a basis for the creation of the system structure.
Currently, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom consume eighty
percent of all opiate-based products. There is a market in third world countries that do not have access
opium products. The creation of a Public Private Partnership between a pharmaceutical company and
the government of a third-world country would not impede upon other market countries, such as
Turkey and India. This will also make the medicine more affordable to poorer nations that are fighting
AIDs epidemics and other diseases.
The Illicit Crop Monitoring Program will assist farmers in the implementation of other types of cash
crops such as saffron. The monitoring program will be paired up with the Food and Agricultural
Organization, which will determine alternative crops that are viable in the specific area. It will ensure
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Possible Solutions
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that the specific cash crop fits the climate, geography and market. Overall, with the help of the UNODC,
we can usher in a new era where farmers do not have to rely on illicit crops to make a living.
Sarab village resident and opium addict Islam Beg offers his opium pipe to his grandson in the Badakhshan
province of Afghanistan on July 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
European Union: Many members of the EU feel that Afghanistan is the main supplier of opium. They
also realize that much of the heroin on their streets originated in Afghanistan. Therefore, countries
such as the United Kingdom feel that it is in their best interest to stop the opium trade. Many of these
member countries also agree that “alternative development” is having very little impact due to the
widespread poverty and destruction.
Asian Bloc: The members of the Asian Bloc feel that the opium trade is detrimental to the international
community. Countries such as China believe in anti-drug campaigns to rid Afghanistan of their drug
problem.
Questions to Consider:
 Who directly benefits from the production of illicit opium products? What types of illegal crime
can directly be funded from the sales of illicit opium?
 How does opium and illegal drug trafficking effect the political and economical sectors of
Afghanistan? What incentives are there for farmers to switch from opium to another cash crop?
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Bloc Positions
Western Bloc: Members of the Western Bloc agree that the opium produced in Afghanistan can be
directly traced to terrorist activities. The bloc strongly feels that the United States is justified in the
eradication of opium fields because it directly finances Taliban activity.
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
How is it that the farmers receive so little from illicit drugs, even though the cost of opium is
considerably higher? What does this show about the structure of the society?
Bibliography:
http://www.unodc.org/documents/cropmonitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2009_su
mmary.pdf
Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009- The survey describes the effect of opium on the economy and
political system.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/Publications/4488131164651372704/UNDC_Ch1.pdf -Provides an overview and introduction to opium in Afghanistan.
http://www.usip.org/files/resources/taliban_opium_1.pdf -Describes how opium benefits the Taliban.
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/magazine/27AFGHAN-t.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2&hp –
Compares and contrasts Afghanistan to other countries and tries to establish if it is a narco-state.
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Cyber Crime
Internet-related crime is a very contemporary issue; the Internet has only started to become widely
accessible in the last fifteen years. As a result of this, the international response has been much slower
as it is oftentimes difficult to even fully define the problem, let alone articulate laws to combat it. For
the sake of avoiding unnecessary semantics within the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), the body will attempt to categorize digital crime into three categories: crimes that target
computer networks or devices directly for personal gain (Cyber Crime); crimes facilitated by
computers or networks, targeting a third party that is independent of the device or network (Cyber
Terrorism). A third category of Internet-related crime does exist but focuses on the exploitation of
children through pornography and child grooming (sexual solicitation of children by adults). Though
serious, this last category falls more under the jurisdiction of other UN bodies and is being addressed
independently of the UNODC. Cyber Crime, for UNODC purposes, will refer to examples of crimes that
primarily target networks or devices in and of themselves. These crimes typically tend to be less
destructive than acts of cyber terrorism as they usually target just one, or a small group of individuals
via a single computer or network, thus victimizing only those using the affected computer or network.
While Cyber Crime is not to be taken lightly, it is decidedly less dangerous than its counterpart,
Cyberterrorism. Typically, the aim of Cyber Crime is little more than small personal gain, the crimes
tend to victimize individuals rather than governments or nations and in a way Cyber Crime may be
harder to keep tabs on and stop than Cyberterrorism as a result of its smaller, less ambitious nature
and the ease with which cyber criminals may operate.
Examples of Cyber Crime would include: malware; computer viruses; denial of service attacks; fraud
and identity theft; and phishing scams. Malware is short for malicious software and is designed to
infiltrate a computer system without the informed consent of that system’s owner. The terminology is
used to refer to a variety of forms of the aforementioned software such as viruses, worms, Trojan
horses, spyware, dishonest adware and crimeware. Malware is the element that typically enables all
other forms of cyber crime as it is what physically attacks the computer itself and enables further
crimes to be committed.
Crimeware is software that is designed to specifically automate cyber crime. This form of malware
perpetrates identity theft in order to access a computer user's online financial services accounts and
payment information from online retailers for the purpose of taking funds from those accounts or
completing unauthorized transactions that benefit the programmer controlling the crimeware.
Viruses, worms and Trojan horses are actually fairly similar in their aims though their methods differ.
Virus is a term oftentimes erroneously given to all malware-related computer issues, but a true virus
has no reproductive ability and must be spread from one computer to another via some form of
executable code. A virus needs a host, typically some type of file or directory and in order to be spread
that file or directory needs to be carried over to the target computer via a floppy disk, CD, DVD, USB
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Topic 3: Combating Digital Crime
Introduction
With the worldwide proliferation of the Internet, countries face a new and constantly changing
problem in Internet-related crime. The ramifications and difficulties in combating Internet-related
crime are much more nuanced than they may appear at first blush. The problem extends well past the
lighter examples such as the American recording industry’s battle against pirated music or Twitter’s
battle with Iranian cyberterrorists. Rather, as the world transitions to an increasingly digital model that
sees larger amounts of sensitive information, intelligence and national and international
communication utilizing the Internet, security becomes an integral issue.
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Digital Piracy/Copyright Infringement
There are other examples of cyber crime as well, though in these instances the international
repercussions may be less than the issues posed to individual countries, for instance, copyright
infringement. In a way, copyright infringement serves as a microcosm for the entire issue of cyber
crime. The parties victimized by copyright infringement are typically individuals and businesses, mostly
authors, musicians and those associated with television and motion pictures. Despite international
copyright laws, however, the parties responsible for the dissemination of copyrighted materials are
often located in countries without strict laws and restrictions on Internet activities. Countries in Eastern
Europe and former Soviet states are some of the biggest digital offenders, serving as a safe haven for
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
drive or (as has become more problematic recently) it can now be sent over the Internet. Viruses
almost always cause some form of damage, though sometimes it is negligible if noticeable at all;
typically it is limited to just the corrupting or modifying of files, programs or directories
on a given computer.
A worm acts in much the same way as a virus, only it needs no host file. Rather, a worm is a selfreplicating program that uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers on that network
without any intervention. Worms almost always cause some sort of harm to the network, even if just
by consuming bandwidth. A Trojan horse is a non-self-replicating malware that appears to perform a
desirable function for the computer user but instead offers unauthorized access to the user's computer
system.
The many forms of aforementioned malware, as well as many undefined (in this guide), examples are
the tools through which other cyber crime can be committed, acts such as identity theft, fraud,
phishing scams and denial of service attacks. As has been previously stated, crimeware, Trojan horses
and other malicious software can be used to steal identities, gain access to financial resources and
commit various acts of fraud. Likewise, phishing is used to much the same end as crimeware and Trojan
horses, but rather than taking the form of malware it takes the form of a website, email or in some
cases instant message that resemble the look and feel of an established business or institution but
serve only to steal an individual’s information, passwords or credit card information when entered.
While these attacks may victimize one individual or several across a network, the ramifications of these
acts can be much further reaching. Fraudulent transactions have effects on not only the victims of the
identity theft but also presents issues for banks and businesses and serves to drain resources from
government and police bodies that must then investigate (typically without much success) the crimes.
Another form of Cyber Crime is a Denial of Service attack. As of this point in time, Denial of Service
(DoS) attacks still constitute cyber crime rather than cyberterrorism but the distinction is becoming
increasingly less defined. A DoS attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its
intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it
generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service
from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely.
The most recent example of such an act was the December 2009 hacking of the Internet site Twitter by
a self-proclaimed group of Iranian terrorists. The attack was especially pertinent as a result of Twitter’s
influence during the conflict over the Iranian elections in June 2009, but the aims and intentions of the
group attacking the site arguably fell more in line with terrorist objectives than with those of a cyber
criminal. While DoS attacks have traditionally fallen in line more with the objectives of cyber criminals
in the past, it is worth noting that as the world transitions to a more internet reliant model such attacks
also serve terrorist interests by undermining integral government servers and making necessary
services that had been made available through the internet inaccessible to large portions of a country’s
population. As of now, DoS attacks straddle the line between acts of cyber crime and acts of
cyberterrorism.
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Digital Drug Trafficking
Drug traffickers are increasingly taking advantage of the Internet to sell illegal substances through
encrypted e-mail and other Internet Technology. Some drug traffickers arrange deals at Internet cafes,
use courier Web sites to track illegal packages of pills, and swap recipes for amphetamines in
restricted-access chat rooms.
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hackers and those partaking in digital crime.
The issue of digital piracy of copyrighted materials is a fairly divisive one. Groups like the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well as various watch-dog organizations and artistic groups in
mostly Western nations tend to paint the issue as one of the more grievous crimes being committed
across the internet. But despite the somewhat disruptive ramifications and the economic damage it
does, a good portion of the world feels that the problem is not large enough to merit exceedingly large
international attention. The problem is two-fold: the victimized parties tend to be a fairly wealthy
subset of people in Western countries and the means through which copyrighted materials are
circulated are not always clearly understood, clearly illegal or in a position to be well legislated
or regulated. For instance, the BitTorrent (oftentimes referred to simply as a torrent, BitTorrent also
refers to a specific torrent client as well) is a commonly used Peer to Peer (P2P) method of
downloading files and information and is commonly used to pass along copyrighted materials. The
BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files, and it has been estimated
that it accounts for approximately 27-55% of all Internet traffic (depending on geographical location) as
of February 2009. The issue with torrent files, however, is that they do not contain the actual copyright
information but rather serve more as a map or instruction manual for downloading smaller bits of the
file from other individuals and then reconstructing said file on the machine.
The BitTorrent protocol allows users to disseminate only a piece of a file in conjunction with other
users that have other complementary pieces. The result is that individuals can download files rapidly
without drastically reducing bandwidth. One of the other side effects is that as a result of the
incomplete pieces of copyright material being sent, it is difficult to prosecute for copyright
infringement. Whereas older P2P servers and other methods saw a more singular transfer where one
individual computer was sending one file to another computer, these transfers occur across numerous
machines and networks. The question of whether individual pieces of a copyrighted file still bear the
same restrictions as whole copyrighted files has been an issue in addition to the fact that the torrent
file itself is not, in and of itself, a violation of copyright laws but rather a set of directions for a
computer on how to break the law. In addition, the technology is also used for legal activities as well.
As such, making the protocol illegal (as some have suggested) would be highly impractical in addition to
infringing on the rights of individuals who utilize the technology for just purposes.
In addition to the technical issues, there are problems with the locations of copyright violators. Many
offending parties are located in states where laws regulating the use of the internet are either years
behind more developed nations or even purposely set up in a way to allow for such activities. As
mentioned above, countries in Eastern Europe, former Soviet states and an increasing number of
Middle Eastern states are seeing a spike in illegal activity on the internet, not just limited to copyright
infringement.
For the purposes of the UNODC, the committee will focus on only certain issues with regard to
copyright infringement. The committee will focus on conditions that foster the practice (in addition to
other illegal internet activities) but the practice itself is outside the scope of the UNODC and may be
left to individual governments and other agencies to police. Rather, the UNODC is interested in other
forms of Digital Crime that endanger a greater portion of the international community, not the pockets
of a select group of wealthy artists.
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The rise in Internet drug trades could also be attributed to the newfound ability to eliminate face-toface communication. These virtual exchanges exude a safer environment for the transactions that may
entice otherwise disinclined individuals to more comfortably purchase illegal drugs. The more criminal
effects that are often associated with drug trades are severely minimized and the filtering process that
comes with physical interaction fades away. Furthermore, drug recipes (such as those meant for
making methamphetamines and other similar chemical drugs) were carefully kept secrets. But with
modern computer technology, this information is now being made available to anyone with computer
access.
Examples of Cyber-Terrorism
One of the biggest issues in the battle against digital crime, specifically with regard to Cyber Terrorism,
is the lack of documented methodology in performing a digital attack. As a result, portions of the
international community and proponents of less stringent internet restrictions have made the claim
that cyber terrorism is more an issue of hype than of legitimate threat. While this opinion has not been
widely adopted by the international community, it does still serve to undermine the issue in much the
same way as the dissenting opinion on man-made environmental change manages to muddy that
debate.
Recent examples of Cyber Terror are numerous, though the ramifications of each act range in terms of
degree of severity. Over a decade ago in 1998, ethnic Tamil guerrillas swamped Sri Lankan embassies
with 800 e-mails a day over a two-week period. The messages read "We are the Internet Black Tigers
and we're doing this to disrupt your communications." Intelligence authorities characterized it as the
first known attack by terrorists against a country's computer systems.
Also in 1998, one of the first successful Cyber attacks was performed when Spanish protestors
bombarded the Institute for Global Communications (IGC) with thousands of bogus e-mail messages. Email was tied up and undeliverable to the Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) users, and support lines
were tied up with people who couldn't get their mail. The protestors also spammed IGC staff and
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Cyber Terrorism
Cyber terrorism is a distinction given to acts that utilize a computer or network to attack a third party.
There are known examples of cyber terrorism, but much like with cyber crime and all forms of digital
crime as the internet evolves, the methods and creativity of digital crime continues to evolve with it.
The definition of cyber terrorism as given by Kevin G. Coleman of the Technolytics Institute is “the
premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, against computers and/or networks,
with the intention to cause harm or further social, ideological, religious, political or similar objectives.
Or to intimidate any person in furtherance of such objectives.”
Coleman’s definition fits in with the UNODC-prorposed categorization of cyberterrorism, acts such as
the previously mentioned attack on Twitter by Iranian cyberterrorists are meant more to undermine a
site and cause general panic than to cause any sort of actual damage (besides a negligible hit to ad
revenues) but acts of cyber-terrorism targeting larger more integral servers and computers could
potentially yield nightmarish results.
Currently, the UN response to Cyber Terrorism has been lacking and any response from the
international community has been mostly limited to Western countries. The Secretary of State for the
United States, Hillary Clinton, recently called upon the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to
formalize a plan to combat cyberterrorism, but much like the rest of the international response, the
member states of NATO lack regional influence to combat digital crime at its site. In order to fully
engage the issue, the entire international community must come together, as unlike many other
issues that face the world, even the smallest of countries can have a major role in regard to Internetrelated crime.
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member accounts, clogged their Web page with bogus credit card orders, and threatened to employ
the same tactics against organizations using IGC services. They demanded that IGC stop hosting the
Webs site for the Euskal Herria Journal, a New York-based publication supporting Basque
independence. Protestors said IGC supported terrorism because a section on the Web pages contained
materials on the terrorist group ETA, which claimed responsibility for assassinations of Spanish political
and security officials, and attacks on military installations. IGC finally relented and pulled the site
because of the "mail bombings."
In 1999, an act of cyber terror occurred against NATO computers. The computers were flooded with
email and hit with a denial of service (DoS) attack. The hackers were protesting against the NATO
bombings in Kosovo. Businesses, public organizations and academic institutions were bombarded with
highly politicized emails containing viruses from other European countries.
In 2000, the first documented use of malware as several worms were released that took advantage of
holes in Microsoft operating systems, though the first truly dangerous worms failed to materialize until
2003 when a worm called the Slammer (a.k.a. Sapphire) worm infected thousands of consoles in about
30 minutes across numerous countries including the US, the Republic of Korea, Finland and Japan. The
worm managed to affect numerous networks including airlines and banks and even disabled a security
monitoring system at a nuclear power plant in Ohio.
2001 saw an Australian man gain remote access to sewage systems in Maroochy Shire and dump
thousands of gallons of sewage into the local waterways. At about the same time, terrorists in Romania
illegally gained access to the computers controlling the life support systems at an Antarctic research
station, endangering the 58 scientists involved. Fortunately, however, the culprits were stopped before
damage actually occurred.
More recently, there has been a spike in cyber-crime as each day thousands of people gain access to
the internet. The Russian Business Network (RBN) was registered as an Internet site in 2006. Initially,
much of its activity was legitimate. But the founders soon discovered that it was more profitable to
host illegitimate activities and started hiring its services to criminals. The RBN has been described by
VeriSign as "the baddest of the bad". It offers web hosting services and Internet access to all kinds of
criminal and objectionable activities, with individual activities earning up to $150 million USD in one
year. It specialized in and in some cases monopolized personal identity theft for resale.
In 2007, Estonia saw one of the strangest examples of a cyber terror attack when an unknown group
perpetrated a massive cyber attack in response to the removal of a World War II monument from the
city of Talinn. The attack took the form of a DoS in which selected sites were bombarded with traffic in
order to force them offline; nearly all Estonian government ministry networks as well as two major
Estonian bank networks were knocked offline. In addition, the political party website of Estonia's
current Prime Minister Andrus Ansip featured a counterfeit letter of apology from Ansip for removing
the memorial statue. While a single man was convicted of launching the attacks in 2008, the initial
belief from Estonia was that it had been perpetrated by Russia, meaning this attack actually served to
destabilize the relationship between two states, a far graver consequence than the denial of service on
numerous Estonian government websites.
In November 2007, another former Soviet state was victimized by cyber criminals when the website of
Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchencko was attacked by a radical Russian nationalist group, the
Eurasian Youth Movement. Though many of these attacks seem superficially unimportant or lacking
grave consequences, they also demonstrate a propensity for much greater damage. Whether it’s
disabling a country’s financial systems, stealing vital intelligence or destabilizing diplomatic
relationships in a region, cyber terrorism bears a very real and threatening prospect in the future and
one that must be addressed.
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Problems Combating the Issues
Currently the biggest issue facing the international community in the battle against digital crime,
specifically in regards to Cyber Terrorism, is the fragmented legal front put forth by the rest of the
world. There exists no universal set of laws or regulations for the Internet, rather it is up to each
individual state to establish its own laws and police the internet as it deems fit.
This results in a broad range of regulation spanning from nearly non-existent laws and regulations in
some countries to nearly fascist regulations in other. For instance many of the states in the former
Soviet bloc have next to no law policing the Internet. The result of this lack of consistent regulation is
that a number of illicit and highly illegal digital crimes are perpetrated within their borders against the
rest of the world on a daily basis.
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Quantifying the Risk of a Cyber Attack
To understand the potential threat of cyber terrorism, two factors must be considered: first, whether
there are targets that are vulnerable to attack that could lead to violence or severe harm; and second,
whether there are actors with the capability and motivation to carry them out. While a great number
of nations employ very advanced digital security, the ability to attack vital computer systems is evolving
as fast, if not faster, than the corresponding security measures. The United States, who many consider
to be at the forefront of digital security, has been victimized a number of times by cyber attacks on
their intelligence servers. Countries like China, Greece, India, Israel, and the Republic of Korea have all
been in the spotlight before by the US media for attacks on information systems related to the CIA and
NSA. Though these attacks are usually the result of curious young computer programmers, the United
States has more than legitimate concerns about national security when such critical information
systems fall under attack. In the past five years, the United States has taken a larger interest in
protecting its critical information systems. It has issued contracts for high-level research in electronic
security to countries such as Greece and Israel to help protect against more serious and dangerous
attacks.
While even the most proactive of states are at a digital security risk, lesser developed countries
choosing to utilize the Internet for sensitive national functions find themselves situated in very
precarious territory. And as states continue to transition into a web-model that sees even more of their
integral services as well as good portions of their country’s private commerce come online, the areas of
vulnerability that can be exploited by cyber criminals continue to grow.
The second of the two factors in assessing the risk of a cyber attack is the capability and motives of the
perpetrators. As has been evidenced by numerous examples and advancements in computer-related
technology, the capability to stage digital attacks increases on a daily basis, as do many of the motives
(as fueled by regional and international conflict). A distinction has to be made among the three basic
types of cyber terrorists. The professionals, those who, by order of their sponsors, aim at inflicting
physical or cyber damage onto victim’s resources, the amateurs, who find pleasure in applying cyber
graffiti defacing corporate or government websites, and the thieves, who have immediate personal
economic benefit from their actions.
The professionals are cyber terrorists who operate behind a variety of façades – political extremists,
religious fanatics, revolutionaries, and the like. The fact remains that cyberspace allows the
cyberterrorists anonymity, and the potential impact of their attacks, as well as their timing, is
unpredictable. It must be recognized that the technical education, the experience and the expertise of
the cyber terrorists, especially of the professionals, parallels that of the networks design experts. In
addition to this technical background, cyber terrorists also develop knowledge on the network
architecture of the victim’s resources. It must also be recognized that professionals are not malevolent
volunteers, but well sponsored operatives of political, military, or economic interests, either state or
private.
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Interpol
The UNODC is clearly the primary UN agency to combat digital crimes but it is vital that the UNODC
cooperate with Interpol, the international police agency based out of France. Interpol hosted the 7th
International Conference on Cyber-Crime in September 2007 in New Delhi, India. Representatives from
many of Interpol’s 188 member countries assembled in New Delhi to discuss and coordinate strategies
to combat cybercrime and cyber-terrorism and to draw upon Interpol’s signature I-24/7 program that
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Conversely, China has some of the strictest Internet regulations in the entire world. Chinese citizens
have access to a very subjugated version of the Internet where information is heavily controlled and
activity is highly monitored. Even the perception of wrongdoing on the Internet in China can lead to
incarceration and social sites such as Facebook are completely illegal.
One of the biggest problems facing the defense of digital crime is the disparity in perception by many
of the countries around the world. While larger more developed countries may view these crimes as a
matter of national defense and a major international issue, other countries choose to prioritize
development issues or other security issues above digital security. By some legal definitions, digital
crime does not even constitute an actual offense. A common example is when a person starts to steal
information from sites, or cause damage to, a computer or computer network. This can be entirely
virtual in that the information only exists in digital form, and the damage, while real, has no
physical consequence other than the machine ceases to function. In some legal systems, intangible
property cannot be stolen and the damage must be visible, e.g. as resulting from a blow from a
hammer. Where human-centric terminology is used for crimes relying on natural language skills and
innate gullibility, definitions have to be modified to ensure that fraudulent behavior remains criminal
no matter how it is committed.
Additionally, many states fight international efforts to modify their own internet laws as they feel it is a
violation of their sovereign right to police themselves and mete out their own justice. This can be
especially problematic when mixed with numerous Western states’ attitudes towards terrorism. The
United States, for instance, has pledged that regimes that support terror are akin to terrorists
themselves and will be opposed. Though this doctrine may be pragmatic when applied to physical
terrorism where violence is physically perpetrated, it could potentially destabilize a region if the same
doctrine is applied to cyber terrorism. Though this may seem like an outlandish possibility, a large
enough act of cyber terrorism could be all it takes to set off major international hostilities.
Additionally, there is a feeling by many lesser-developed countries that combating digital crime could
be a misappropriation of their already finite resources. As with maritime piracy, many countries are
already engaged in expensive defensive programs aimed at stamping out other forms of terrorism and
defending their country’s physical resources. Any expenditures to defend their digital resources may
not be fiscally possible, especially in light of the contemporary economic slowdown.
Finally, many human rights groups caution against a more regulated Internet for a number of reasons,
not the least of which is the violation of personal privacy that may occur as a result of increased
monitoring. While different countries have different concepts of personal freedoms and liberties, one
uniform solution would not likely satisfy the rights of all people in different countries around the world.
For instance, China imposes extremely strict restrictions that would constitute a complete violation of
American rights if applied to the United States. Even small measures such as new flexibility in the
American government’s monitoring the Internet activities of its citizens by the Patriot Act and Google’s
admission that it keeps search records for all its users have been met with harsh criticism. The broad
range of perspectives on digital crime and the disparity in laws and regulations with regards to the
internet, which is a non-tangible, intellectual concept to begin with, make combating the issue of
digital crime increasingly difficult.
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allows all member countries to share essential information about international criminal activity.
Integrating Interpol’s expertise and existing networks into the UNODC’s programs for combating all
forms of digital crime is a fundamental step forward for the world community.
Conclusion
In order to formulate a plan to combat digital crime many obstacles must first be overcome; the least
of which is international consensus and the determination of whose place it is to police the Internet.
Many countries feel that the responsibility falls to individual states and police forces to monitor activity
within their own borders. This assumes a certain degree of altruism and that other states have the
resources to accomplish such tasks. While many states would undoubtedly attempt to police digital
crime in their own countries, the world community is not likely capable of such an independent
solution to this problem. Consensus would be hard to reach without building an international legal
framework for the Internet, a concept that would undoubtedly offend the sovereign sensibilities of
many countries and civil liberties of many people. For the UNODC to proceed, it must first determine
whether policing and combating digital crime falls under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the
UNODC, and if so what aspects of digital crime are relevant and which can be left up to individual
countries to police. Additionally, the UNODC needs to assess what, if any, measures can be utilized by
the international community in combating this nuanced and constantly evolving problem.
Useful Sources
Baranetsky, Victoria (2009) “What is cyberterrorism? Even experts can't agree” Harvard
Law Record.
"Defining Malware: FAQ". technet.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
Denning, Dorothy E. (2000) Testimony before Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism, US
House of Representatives, Georgetown, Washington DC.
"Estonia fines man for 'cyber war'". BBC. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
F-Secure (March 31, 2008). "F-Secure Quarterly Security Wrap-up for the first quarter of
2008". Press release. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
Fafinski, S. (2009) Computer Misuse: Response, regulation and the law Cullompton:
Willan.
Jacobson, Roberta Beach (2001-11-27). "Copyrights and Wrongs".
www.articlestree.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
Kostopoulos, George K. (2008) “Cyberterrorism: The Next Arena of Confrontation”
UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
Guiding Questions
 Is Digital Crime an issue that has plagued your nation? What, if any, attacks have been
perpetrated against your nations or groups living in your nation?
 Does your nation rely heavily on internet based services and agencies? Which of these
web-related entities could be potentially at risk and does your nation currently employ
any web-based security systems for protecting those assets? What initiatives are your country
currently pursuing with regard to this issue?
 What types of laws and restrictions does your country have in place with regards to
the internet? How have these laws changed recently and what is your country’s position
on an international legal framework with regards to internet activity.
 What are the penalties for web-based crimes in your country?
 What degree of social freedoms does your country currently offer and how would
your citizens respond to legislation that may infringe upon their civil liberties in the
context of the internet?
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UNODC Background Guide | SWCHSMUN 2012
IBIMA Volume 6.
Poulsen, K. (2003, August). Slammer worm crashed Ohio nuke plant network. Security
Focus.
Williams, M. (2006) Virtually Criminal: Crime, Deviance and Regulation Online,
Routledge, London.
Weimann, Gabriel (2006). Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges.
United States Institute of Peace,U.S.
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