cybercrime Flashcards
Cybercrime…
Encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers and networks.
Computer technology has become…
an integral aspect of modern life, involved in communication to finance (Moore, 2011; Smith, 2011)
Cybercrime is also…
An ever growing area of crime due to the speed, convenience and anonymity with which crimes can be committed online. There is also a lack of borders physical or otherwise to prevent a wide range of criminal activities.
Traditional crimes can now be conducted through the Internet such as…
Hate crimes, identity theft, fraud and credit card theft
What challenges does cyber crim present to criminology..?
A whole new set of crimes not available outside of digital devices such as; hacking, phishing and spyware (Wall, 2007). It also makes it difficult to apply criminological theory to a whole new set of crimes. It also raises issues with digital surveillance and identity.
What is one of the main controversies link to cybercrime?
Digital surveillance and it’s impact on civil liberties.
The movement to cybercrime is known as one of the…
Fastest diffusions in human history (Nguyen & Alexander, 1996)
What are the four categories of cybercrime in Wall’s 2001 typologies?
Cyber-trespass (hackers often trespass to penetrate security systems)
Cyber-deception/theft. (Identity theft)
Cyber-porn (though materials may not be illegal, Internet has fostered growth of support for deviant sexual behaviours (DiMarco, 2003) also popular place for paedophiles (Quayle & Taylor, 2002)
Cyber-violence (threaten, bully, stalk or harass others (Finn, 2004)
Social learning theory…
Has been applied to a wide range of criminal and deviant behaviour over the last 50 years (Akers, 1998)
It states crime is learned through associations with criminal definitions, interacting with antisocial peers is a major cause and criminal behaviour will become repeated if reinforced via Criminal subcultures.
it is also one of the most commonly tested criminology theories (Gau, 2009; Pratt et al, 2009)
It applies to cybercrime because…
Learning is a large part of cybercrime, as you must know not only how to use computers but how to use them illegally (Skinner and Fream, 1997)
Those who associated with peers who engaged in piracy online were more likely to engage themselves (Higgins and Marcum, 2011)
Perceived positive reinforcement such as financial (free music/movies) and social (praise) rewards. (Holt and copes, 2010)
Global subculture of hacking that communicates (Meyer, 1989) and peer associations can predict hacking behaviour ( Holt, 2007) hackers maintain peer relationships with other hackers on/offline
Social learning theory relative to cybercrime is…
The most empirically supported theory. It supports cybercrimes such as piracy and computer hacking however more needs to be done on it’s explanation for cyber-violence (bullying) and cyber-theft (fraud). However research only focuses on the peers and definitions area of SLT and ignores the imitation and reinforcement elements (Burruss et al, 2013)
What is routine activity theory?
Situation theory devised by Cohen and Felson (1979) states that crime occurs due to the intersection of a motivated offender, a suitable target and the lack of a capable guardian. It has been applied to many categorises of crime but was originally called into question regarding it’s applicability to cybercrime (Yar, 2005)
It applies to cybercrime because…
Online lifestyles can be easily tracked and monitored via spyware, as technology is so ingrained into today’s society routine can be monitored and exploited. Research has found that those spending more time and engaging in risky activities online were likely to be victimised (Pratt et al, 2010) following routine activity theory this would be support for the fact victimisation was due to increased exposure to motivated offenders.
Bossler et al (2012) found support for RAT of cyber-violence as those increasing exposure to motivated offenders via using chat rooms and discussions boards were likely to be harassed/bullied online.
What is general strain theory…
Agnew (1992) individuals may engage in crime as a response to strain, which can be considered a failure to achieve positively valued goals/removal of positive stimuli and this causes negative emotions (anger/frustration)
It explains cybercrime because…
Through some empirical research… Various life strains cause delinquency (Broidy, 2001). It has been found the cyberworld is an ideal place to vent frustrations/anger on others without direct contact which may explain cyber-violence (Moon et al, 2011). Although not much research has been done on GST for other forms of cybercrime, theorist understand how general strain theory can be further applied to politically/ideologically driven hacking groups such as Anonymous, as they may experience strains relating to frustration at real world issues or perceptions of government policies (Olsen, 2011)
