Cybercrime

Question 1

What does computer crime involve? Moore 2005

Answer 1

Computer crime involves commission or targeting of crime through computers or networks (Moore, 2005)

Question 2

What is the essay about? What academics are you focusing on?

Answer 2

Essay is about challenges created by cybercrime through use of criminological theories and academics such as Matthew Williams, David wall, and David Lyon in order to apply RAT to determine how the challenges have become apparent

Question 3

What did halder and jashankbar 2011 define cybercrime as?

Answer 3

Halder and jasqhankbar 2011 define it as offences committed with motivations of harm or loss directly or indirectly using modern technology

Question 4

What does cybercrime encompass? What 4 categories did wall 2001 put it into?

Answer 4

Cybercrime encompasses a broad range of activities. Wall 2001 divided it into 4 categories; cyber trespass (hacking/viruses), cyber theft (phishing/fraud), cyber porn and cyber violence (hate speech/stalking).

Question 5

What is an example of cybercrime? (Yar 2006)

Answer 5

An example of cybercrime is Gary McKinnon who has been charged for various crimes for hacking unto nasa and us military computers (yar,2006)

Question 6

Prior to the digital revolution, what were the two other revolutions? What is the digital revolution? (Newburn, 2007)

Answer 6

Prior to digital revolution, industrial and information revolutions occurred, with digital revolution being change from mechanical to digital technology (newburn 2007

Question 7

Currently a report estimate what about damage caused by cybercrime? What did the Microsoft report suggest about it? (Microsoft 2011)

Answer 7

Currently a report estimated that annual damage caused is 45 billion, however Microsoft report suggested that such survey based estimations are potentially flawed (microsoft, 2011)

Question 8

Within criminology what is cybercrime? What does Lyons 2001 state about the new realm created by cyberspace and traditional crimes?

Answer 8

Cybercrime is the most prolific issue within criminology. Cyberspace has created a new realm where new crimes can be committed. Traditional crimes have declined while cybercrime increases, due to the porous nature of cyberspace (Lyons 2001)

Question 9

What does Lyons 2001 regard about physically burgling a home compared to online phishing?

Answer 9

Lyons regards that it is less strenuous to phish or ha k rather than physically burgle a home.

Question 10

What types of crime will the essay focus on?

Answer 10

Essay will focus on crimes that can be committed in traditional way or adapted for online such as phishing or online identity theft

Question 11

What has the routine activity theory RAT been used to explain? What did hindleberg et al (1978) argue about differences in risks of victimisations and what they are associated with?

Answer 11

RAT has been used to explain differences in rate of victimisation. Hindleberg et al 1978 argued that differences in risks of victimisation are associated with differences in lifestyle, routine activities people have and the more routine they are the easier it is for criminals to plan criminal activity.

Question 12

What have academics compared cyberspace to in order to claim increases in cybercrime ? What is this characterised as? (Wall and Williams 2014)

Answer 12

Academics have compared cyberspace to a frontier town in order to explain the rise in cybrcrime, characterised by criminal opportunities and self regulation (wall and williams 2014)

Question 13

The effectiveness of self regulation has been explored by what?

Answer 13

Effectiveness of self regulation has been explored via RAT (williams 2015)

Question 14

What do several empirical applications point to? (Choi, 2008)

Answer 14

Several empirical applications point to significant facts of frequent or varied routine online activity and lack of capable guardians has on cybercrime (choi 2008)

Question 15

What is phishing the most common technique in what? How can credentials also be obtained (williams 2015)

Answer 15

Phishing is the most common technique in online identity theft, credentials can also be obtained via malware installed without user knowledge (williams 2015)

Question 16

What did Matthew Williams 2015 do? What does rat take focus over? Why is this particularly salient to the study of cybercrime?

Answer 16

Matthew Williams 2015 conducted his own research into online identity theft and how rat applies. Rat takes criminal event focus over the criminal, which is particularly salient to the study of cybercrime as a challenge of cybercrime is the lack of access to cyber criminals to study their motives (low levels of apprehension)

Question 17

What did Newman and Clarke 2003 argue about Internet target accessibility and visibility?

Answer 17

Newman and Clarke 2003 argued that Internet target accessibility and visibility (increased by frequency of online activities) are discriminating characteristics between victims and non victims.

Question 18

What did yar 2006 find about applicability of RAT to cybercrime?

Answer 18

Yar 2006 found that core aspects of RAT could be applied to cyber settings, however application of suitable targets proved problematic as RAT theory holds that organisation of time and space are essential for explanation, however cyberspace is spatio temporaly disorganised (victims and offenders never co present)

Question 19

What did Eck and Clark 2003 suggest about RAT and how it could be adapted to explain the gap yar 2006 suggested?

Answer 19

Eck and Clark 2003 suggested that RAT could be adapted to explain the gap yar 2006 suggested, shared physical space to include shared networks

Question 20

What did Reyn 2013 find about 4 measures of RAT ?

Answer 20

Reyn 2013 found that 4 measures of RAT (online shopping, banking, downloading and emailing) significantly increased identity theft

Question 21

What did Matthew Williams 2015 findings resonate with?

Answer 21

Matthew Williams findings 2015 resonates with Wilcox et al 2007 where guardianship (target hardening with locks) in high guardianship areas had reduced victimisation compared with low guardianship areas

Question 22

What does this comparison of online that and burglary highlight as a challenge of cybercrime?

Answer 22

This comparison between online theft and burglary highlights a challenge of cybercrime; the Internet is harder to police due to wide scale and target hardening online may not hold the same level of deterrence as with Wilcox et al 2007

Question 23

What did Williams 2015 find about routine activity and his study?

Answer 23

Williams 2015 found that site of routine Internet access is an important factor in the targeting of online identity theft victims. Increased rate of victimisation for frequent users of Public computers compared with private was found

Question 24

As RAT suggests, online identity theft victims are more likely to occur when? (Reyns, 2013)

Answer 24

As RAT suggests, online identity theft victims more likely too occur when mots td offender and suitable targets interact on the same networks with low guardianship (reyns 2013)

Question 25

What are the challenges of cybercrime with regards to RAT, cyberspace etc?

Answer 25

Challenges resonate with ruling of RAT, rare access to criminals, porous nature of cyberspace, tracking etc

Question 26

What did vold 2002 criticise about RAT ? What did Williams 2015 state about research on cybercrime using RAT?

Answer 26

Vold 2002 criticised that RAT is mostly based on the offender so does not cover all aspects of a crime - Williams 2015 stated that evidence and investigations into cyberspace and RAT is fresh therefore findings are not 100% reliable. RAT cannot explain random or unplanned crimes as well