The number of Austrian cybercrime offenses has increased 8.6 percent in 2013 though the number of solved cases also increased, latest report from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) said Monday.
The total number of reported cases of cybercrime reached 11,199 for the year. The number of solved cases also reached 40.7 percent, a 13.5 percent increase over the previous year, the BK report said.
The figures also revealed that criminals have increasingly been targeting social networks, particularly Facebook and Twitter along with newer trends such as Google Glass, which make people's lives more transparent and thus easier to take advantage of.
"The motives for many cybercrimes are mainly financially-based, along with boredom and a desire for recognition for example with younger hackers," the APA news agency quoted Director of the BK General Fritz Lang as saying.
The BK report said authorities have a difficult job keeping up with the cybercriminals due to their rapidly increasing pace of operation and their use of constantly updated hacking terminology.
Other significant hindrances are encryption and anonymization software.
The BK said its Cybercime Competence Center has reacted with increased professionalization and education, which includes special schooling for its officers on a national and international basis, and cooperation with universities and other tertiary-level institutes, as well as with the Federal Ministry of Justice.