Political Economy Aspects of the Shadow Digital Economy

Abstract

The article analyzes the shadow digital economy (SDE) as a modern threat to cybersecurity. The article formulates and proposes definitions of the SDE, based on the specifics of software production and the life cycle of information services of a criminal nature. In the course of the research, the political economy foundations and general features of the SDE were determined. These include latency, coverage of all phases of the process of social and economic reproduction, the parasitic nature of the activity, and others. Future cyber threats such as Quantum Computing Threats, AI-enabled cyberattacks, Internet of Things (IoT) vulnerabilities, Cyberwarfare, and political manipulation are presented. UDC: 004.056+339.19:004; JEL: D74 E26 F51 K24.