Cyberspace as a criminological category

Introduction: the article deals with the definition and criminologically meaningful features of cyberspace as a new area of public relations. Materials and Methods: the methodology is based on the system complex way and includes the methods of analysis, synthesis, logical and judicial, semantic and comparative legal analysis, generalization. The materials of the study was the theoretical works of Russian and foreign authors. The authors analyzed essential features of cyberspace, media reports on abuses committed through computer systems, the Law of the Russian Federation "On information, Informational Technologies and on Protection of Information, Principle of Informational Security of the Russian Federation, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Result: the article provides a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the concept of "cyberspace" and similar concepts used to denote specific social relations that arise in computer networks, and criminologically significant properties of cyberspace. Based on the conclusions made, the author formulated proposals for improving the criminal legislation. Discussion and Conclusions: the author defines the term "cyberspace", its features that are of criminological and victimologic meaning. The features include certain similarities between usual and physical space that formulate in some cases the same inducement of cyber and non-cyber criminals; Internet-user anonymity as a criminal factor and a factor to criminal growth; criminal competencies that dramatically rise public danger of the committed crimes. The author justifies the need to consider as a criminogenic sign of a number of crimes related to the dissemination of information.