Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity and International Law UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

The online Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity and International Law aims at training participants in international law and applied practices to investigate and combat malicious cyber activities, as well as at providing them with in-depth knowledge of existing cybercrime prevention strategies at various levels, with a focus on the international dimensions of cybercrime and cybersecurity.

Participants will also be trained in all areas and disciplines related to law and revolving around cybersecurity: criminology and social sciences, victimology, psychology, economics, organizational sciences, and computer science.

The partner organizations:

The LL.M. in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity and International Law is organized by UNICRI and UPEACE in cooperation with the Centre of Security and Crime Sciences (CSCS).

UNICRI is one of the main training and research institutes of the UN System. It was established in 1968 and is mandated to support countries worldwide in preventing and countering crime and promoting justice and security in support of human rights, peace and development. Over the years the Institute has developed a sound expertise in research and training, which is reflected in the organization of several capacity-building activities and specialized postgraduate courses.

The University for Peace (UPEACE), headquartered in Costa Rica, is a Treaty Organization established in 1980 through an International Agreement approved by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 35/55, and has the mandate “to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace and with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations”. By virtue of the mandate granted to it by Article 15 of the Charter of the University for Peace, annexed to the International Agreement Establishing the University for Peace, UPEACE conducts Master and Doctorate Degree programmes in fields that promote peace and security.

The Centre of Security and Crime Sciences is a joint research Centre of the University of Trento and University of Verona. Founded in 2021, the Centre conducts applied research and high-level training activities aimed at identifying, analysing, preventing and mitigating risks related to security, safety, crime and risk management. The Centre’s research and knowledge dissemination activities are developed using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates data from the fields of criminology, law, statistics, mathematics, information sciences, sociology, human sciences and engineering to produce tailored solutions to tackle security and safety issues of modern global challenges.

The LL.M. is carried out fully online, and it is complemented by a final 2-week optional series of workshops taking place at the United Nations Campus in Turin in 2024. The LL.M. is idea for those wishing to pursue a Master’s degree by engaging in flexible learning arrangements from where they work at any time.

Depending on each student’s background and interest, the programme is functional for careers as:

• Prosecutors and law enforcement officials dealing with cybercrime investigation and judicial cooperation
• (International) cybercrime lawyers
• Transnational cybercrime analysts
• Researchers investigating transnational cybercrime in public and private research institutions
• Officials from international organizations working on cybercrime and relevant policies
• Cyber risk management analysts and business continuity professionals in international industries

Through a combination of recorded videos, live webinars, self-study material and readings, selected participants will acquire in-depth knowledge on the theoretical and practical aspects related to cybercrime, cyber organized crime, cyberterrorism and terrorist use of internet, cyberwarfare, AI and cybercrime, hate crimes online, and online counterfeiting.

The LL.M. will focus on the cybercrime phenomena, its perpetrators and victims, as well as the analytical tools needed to understand the ever-changing problems of cybercrime. Once the phenomena of cybercrime have been analysed in detail, the tools to prevent and counter it -from both a legal and technological perspective- will follow and the study plan will culminate with the Cybersecurity challenges and possible ways to prevent and address it.

In addition, foundational courses on international and comparative criminal law will be part of the LL.M. curriculum and the legal perspective will be incorporated to the various subjects.

The LL.M. covers the following subjects:

Foundational Legal Courses:

Public International Law

Comparative Criminal Law

Part 1. The Phenomena

• Cybercrime
• Cyber Organized Crime
• Cyberterrorism and Terrorist Use of Internet
• Cybercrimes, Cyberwarfare and International Peace
• Artificial Intelligence Cybercrime
• Hate Crimes Online

Part 2. The Actors

• Cyber Criminals: hackers
• Cyber Criminals: activists
• Criminal Organizations on the Internet & Non-State Actors
• Cybercrime Victims

Part 3. Tools for understanding

• Cybercrime Theories
• Research Methods and Measuring Cybercrime
• Psychology of Cybercrime and Human Factors
• Economy of Cybercrime

Part 4. Tools for combating and preventing

• Public International Law
• Comparative Criminal Law on Cybercrime
• International Legal Frameworks on Cybercrime
• International Law Applicable to Cyberwarfare
• International Police and Judicial Cooperation in Cybercrime Matters
• Hacking by Law Enforcement & related Legal Framework
• Basics of Legal Forensics for Public & Private Investigations
• Basics of Image Forensics for Public & Private Investigations
• Software Security (Introduction to)
• Open Source Intelligence & Cybercrime
• New Perspective in Cybercrime: from AI to Metaverse & Virtual Reality
• Use of Algorithms & AI for Investigation and Criminal Trial
• Use of AI for Prevention
• Risk Management & Cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity Governance & Crisis Management in International Companies
• Cybersecurity Social Engineering Solutions
• Public-Private Partnerships against Cybercrime
• Cybercrime Prevention
• Workshop I on Cybercrime (Online Counterfeiting & Human Trafficking)
• • Workshop II on Cybersecurity (Comparative Analysis of National Security Strategies and Cybersecurity in Healthcare)

The academic curriculum of the Master’s programme is divided into two phases:

• Online phase: 29 May 2023 – 7 June 2024.
• In-person workshops (optional): 17 – 28 June 2024.

The final graduation project will consist of a paper to be submitted after having completed all courses.

Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be awarded an LL.M. degree officially issued by UPEACE.

Students will be equipped with knowledge of the main trends on cybercrimes with a focus on the profiles of perpetrators and victims, the most-up-to-date intelligence operations, and the methods and analytical tools implemented to continuously understand, adapt, and respond to cybercrime.

The LL.M. is designed to train university graduates and professionals into highly interdisciplinary law experts able to analyse, prevent, investigate and counter cybercrime, in order to protect the community, institutions, and businesses.

The LL.M. aims to build the capacities of interdisciplinary experts who will be able to communicate at all levels with all fields related to cybersecurity, to understand technical issues, to combine the understanding of the problems with technical and non-technical solutions, drawing also on information and communication from technology specialists.

During the Master, participants will interact with lawyers, law enforcement agents and prosecutors, officials of international organizations and industry professionals who deal with cybercrime and cybersecurity in their daily work, providing an operational, case-based approach that addresses real-world problems.

With these considerations in mind, the LL.M. Degree will enable participants to have the required knowledge and skills to engage, or further develop, a professional career as:

• Prosecutors and law enforcement officials dealing with cybercrime investigation and judicial cooperation
• (International) cybercrime lawyers
• Transnational cybercrime analysts
• Researchers investigating transnational cybercrime in public and private research institutions
• Officials from international organizations working on cybercrime and cybercrime policy
• Cyber risk management analysts and business continuity professionals in international industries