Criminalization of Cyber-Espionage According to Jordanian Criminal Legislation

Abstract

This study addressed the criminalization of espionage in Jordanian criminal legislation due to its severity if carried out electronically, which makes the crime, in terms of its conduct, easier and its danger, in terms of the result, greater in undermining the state's security and safety internally and externally. The problem of the study lies in determining the extent to which traditional criminal texts can accommodate the crimes of technical espionage and its uniqueness in a legal model in light of the innovation that has occurred, which has changed its legal nature. Therefore, the study aimed to define the meaning of espionage and the extent to which it can be committed by electronic means, and to explain its pillars, elements, and the scope of its criminalization, as well as to evaluate the criminal policy adopted by the Jordanian legislator in combating espionage on the state's information and secrets to prevent access to them under the threat of punishment on the one hand, and to clarify the scope of penal aggravation in case of tampering with or assaulting this information on the other hand.

      The researcher of this study followed the descriptive and analytical curriculum, by presenting the legal texts criminalized for technical espionage and analyzing its content. The study concluded a series of findings, the most important of which was the identification of the meaning of espionage and the control of its limits, the possibility of accommodating traditional texts of technical espionage offenses to the extent that it does not prejudice the principle of criminal legality on the one hand and the other hand, the protection of State secrets and documents. This requires the amendment of some of the existing legal texts and the enactment of new ones that seek to create a more effective penal legislative system in the face of technical espionage in all its forms.