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Scientific paper ID 2757 : 2025/3
CONVERGENCE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
Serghei Ohrimenco1, Zoran Čekerevac2 The convergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) represents a transformative force reshaping modern digital economies, including their shadow counterparts. This paper continues the author`s prior research on the shadow digital economy (SDE), examining how the integration of advanced technologies — such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things — contributes to new digital infrastructures while simultaneously spawning hidden, often illicit, economic activities. Through exploration of the 3C innovation framework and technological granularity, the study emphasizes how convergence amplifies both progress and vulnerability. The SDE is defined considering multiple perspectives, from socio-economic impact to its association with corruption and digital currencies. The paper also analyzes the emergence of criminal products and services — malware, espionage tools, and monetization models within the DarkNet — resulting from this convergence. Risks such as cybersecurity threats, digital inequality, and erosion of regulatory visibility are addressed, positioning the SDE as a parasitic construct embedded in legal digital ecosystems. Ultimately, the paper argues that digital convergence not only accelerates technological integration but simultaneously demands critical rethinking of transparency, accountability, and control within increasingly porous digital environments.
Information and Communication Technologies CyberSecurity Shadow Digital Economics Digital Economics CyberThreats Convergence of ICT.Information and Communication Technologies CyberSecurity Shadow Digital Economics Digital Economics CyberThreatsSerghei Ohrimenco Zoran Čekerevac BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] RYBALCHENKO L., OHRIMENCO S., ”The impact of cybersecurity and crime on national security”. – 2024. [2] OHRIMENCO S., CERNEI V., Shadow digital technologies–threats to national security //International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – ”Economics, Management, Finance and Banking”. – 2022. – pp. 343-349. [3] OHRIMENCO S., ORLOVA D., CERNEI V., Cyber Threats Modeling: An Empirical Study //Business Management. – 2023. – Т. 33. – №. 3. – pp. 90-106. [4] OHRIMENCO S., BORTA G., CERNEI V., ”The digital world has a long shadow” //The Elgar Companion to Information Economics. – Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024. – pp. 481-504. [5] Technology Convergence Report. https://www.weforum.org/publications/techno... [Accessed 27 7 2025] [6] RESCH, M.M., ·GEBERT, J., KOBAYASHI, · H., TAKIZAWA, H., BEZ, ·W. (Editors). “Sustained Simulation Performance”, 2022 [7] HUANG, I. et al., “The convergence of information and communication technologies gains momentum” //The global information technology report. – 2012. – p. 35-45. [8] ENSTE, D. H., SCHNEIDER, F., “The shadow economy: an international survey”. – Cambridge University Press, 2013. [9] SCHNEIDER, F. “Estimating the size of the shadow economies of highly-developed countries: Selected new results” //CESifo DICE Report. – 2016. – Т. 14. – №. 4. – pp. 44-53. [10] SCHNEIDER, F., “Shadow economy //Encyclopedia of Law and Economics”. – Springer, New York, NY, 2014. – pp. 1-13. [11] SCHNEIDER, F., “Size and measurement of the informal economy in 110 countries” //Workshop of Australian National Tax Centre, ANU, Canberra. – 2002. – Т. 17. – pp. 1-50. [12] BERDIEV, A. N., GOEL, R. K., SAUNORIS, J. W., “Global cryptocurrency use, corruption, and the shadow economy: New insights into the underlying linkages” //American Journal of Economics and Sociology. – 2024. – Т. 83. – №. 3. – pp. 609-629. [13] OHRIMENCO, S., BORTA, G., CERNEI, V., “Estimation of the key segments of the cyber crime economics” //2021 IEEE 8th International Conference on Problems of Infocommunications, Science and Technology (PIC S&T). – IEEE, 2021. – pp. 103-107 [14] OHRIMENCO, S., BORTA, G., “The Nature Of Shadow Digital Economics” //MEST Journal. – 2021. – Т. 9. – №. 1. [15] OHRIMENCO, S., BORTĂ, G. “The Structure of Shadow Information Economics” //Information Technologies and Security. – 2012. – С. 278-283. [16] OHRIMENCO, S., BORTĂ, G. “Informal Economics of Information Threats” //Application of information and communication technology and statistics in economy and education. – 2013. – С. 27-33. [17] CZABAŃSKI, J., “Estimates of cost of crime: history, methodologies, and implications”. – Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008 [18] TROIA, V., “Hunting cyber criminals: a hacker`s guide to online intelligence gathering tools and techniques”. – John Wiley & Sons, 2020. [19] MEHAN, J., “CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime and CyberActivism: An i-depth guide to the role of standards in the cybersecurity environment”. – IT Governance Publishing, 2014. [20] CLOUGH, J. “Principles of cybercrime”. – Cambridge University Press, 2015 [21] ČEKEREVAC, Z., DVORAK, Z., ČEKEREVAC, P., “Is the ‘Dark Web’ Deep and Dark?”, 2016, FBIM Transactions, pp. 53-65, |
