Tech and Crime Test 1

What are 'official' sources of cybercrime data?

Crime data collected and reported by government agencies that aim to show the prevalence of cybercrime.

What are the main sources of official cybercrime data?

Police reports (UCR in the U.S. and UCR 2.4 in Canada) and victimization surveys (NCVS in the U.S. and GSS:CS in Canada).

What does UCR stand for?

Uniform Crime Reporting.

What is the purpose of the UCR system?

To provide police agencies with a standardized set of procedures to classify their crime data.

What does Canada's UCR 2.4 include?

New cyber-related violations, such as non-consensual distribution of intimate images and identity theft.

What is the Crime Severity Index (CSI)?

A measure that standardizes and weights reported crimes based on their relative harm to the community.

What is a limitation of police report data?

Underreporting of crimes, especially cybercrimes, which are often part of the 'dark figure' of crime.

What does the term 'dark figure' of crime refer to?

Crimes that are not reported to the police and thus not recorded in official crime statistics.

Why are cybercrimes particularly susceptible to underreporting?

They are often hidden, trivialized, and perceived as less serious by victims and witnesses.

What is the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)?

A platform where victims of cybercrime in the U.S. can submit complaints, established by the FBI.

What is a major concern regarding the data from IC3?

It is estimated to capture only 10-12% of the total number of national cybercrime incidents.

What are victimization surveys used for?

To measure the prevalence and impact of crime by directly asking victims about their experiences.

What is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)?

An official U.S. government survey run annually that collects data on crime experienced by households.

What is the General Social Survey (GSS) in Canada?

A survey that measures Canadians' safety and includes questions about crime victimization.

How does UCR data differ from victimization surveys?

UCR data represents crime rates, while victimization surveys represent victimization rates.

What is the significance of the year 1972 in U.S. crime surveys?

It marks the beginning of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

What is the sample size of the NCVS?

Approximately 150,000 people aged 16 and older.

What types of questions are asked in the NCVS?

Questions about types of crime experienced, victim characteristics, and reporting to police.

What does 'definition-sensitive' crimes mean?

Crimes whose reported rates are sensitive to changing laws and definitions.

What is an example of a cyber-related violation in UCR 2.4?

Identity theft.

What is one methodological challenge in studying cybercrime?

The ethical implications of researching sensitive topics online.

What is a creative approach to studying crime on the Internet?

Using digital ethnography to understand online behaviors and communities.

What is the role of the Bureau of Justice Statistics?

To run the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and provide crime data in the U.S.

What are the NCVS supplements that collect data on cyber-related crimes?

NCVS-SVS (cyberstalking) and NCVS-ITS (identity theft)

What is the General Social Survey (GSS) - Canadians' Safety?

An official Canadian government survey run every 5 years that collects data on crime experiences, victim characteristics, and perceptions of safety.

What specific cyber-related issues does the GSS:CS address?

Experiences of cyberstalking, cyber-harassment, and cyberbullying.

What is the Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime (CSCSC)?

A government survey measuring the impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses.

What key insight was found in the 2023 CSCSC data?

16% of Canadian businesses experienced a cybersecurity incident.

What are some limitations of victimization surveys?

Self-report data can be misreported, refusal to participate, and samples may not capture non-resident victims.

What are common research methods used in cybercrime studies?

Quantitative methods (surveys), qualitative methods (interviews), computational methods (data scraping), and creative approaches (honeypots).

What is the main critique of surveys in cybercrime research?

Misrepresentation due to memory issues, social desirability bias, and intentional deception.

What is the purpose of interviews in cybercrime research?

To collect in-depth qualitative data about offenders' experiences, behaviors, motivations, and rationalizations.

What is trace interviewing?

A technique where researchers use participants' digital traces to guide the interview.

What challenges does digital ethnography present?

Technical issues, digital literacy requirements, safety risks, and maintaining appropriate social distance from subjects.

What are computational methods in cybercrime research?

Methods that involve the collection and analysis of digital trace data from the Internet.

What is data scraping?

Automated retrieval, processing, and storage of digital trace data from websites.

What are some ethical concerns related to computational methods?

Difficulties in obtaining informed consent, data protection, and privacy rights.

What are honeypots in cybercrime research?

Tools that record the actions of cybercriminals by creating fake networks or websites.

What is the purpose of capture-the-flag exercises?

To identify and resolve cybersecurity flaws by recruiting skilled individuals to test system vulnerabilities.

What is the Zone-H Defacement Archive?

A repository of self-reported hacking events used for research on hacking target suitability.

What is a key insight from the 2023 CSCSC survey?

Over $10 billion was spent on cybersecurity prevention and measures by Canadian businesses.

What is a significant methodological concern when studying cybercrime?

The need for interdisciplinary collaboration due to the complexity of data analysis.

What is a creative approach in cybercrime research?

Innovative methods like honeypots and procuring illicit datasets to gather data on cybercriminal activities.

What is the importance of self-care in digital ethnography?

To maintain researcher safety while spending time in potentially toxic online environments.

What are the types of data collected in digital ethnography?

Comments, chat logs, screenshots, video, audio, and other digital traces.

What is the role of machine learning in analyzing digital trace data?

To automate analysis and make predictions based on training data.

What is the significance of maintaining confidentiality in surveys?

To decrease participants' fear of self-incrimination and encourage honest responses.

What is the socio-technical perspective on technology?

It suggests a mutual shaping between technology and society, where technology influences actions, knowledge, norms, and values.

What are affordances in the context of technology?

Affordances are the design or properties of an object that suggest how users may interact with it, structuring behavioral possibilities and constraints.

How can online environments affect social behaviors?

They can afford both positive behaviors, like honest self-disclosure, and negative behaviors, such as trolling.

What is cyber-criminology?

An interdisciplinary subfield that studies how and why people commit different types of cybercrimes and how to address them.

What unique challenges does cybercrime present?

It involves changing technology, structural differences from face-to-face environments, and requires diverse explanations and theories.

What is a simple definition of cybercrime?

Cybercrime includes any computer-mediated activities that are illegal.

What complicates the definition of cybercrime?

The distinction between illegal activities and those that violate informal norms, as well as fragmented legal jurisdictions.

What is the difference between cybercrime and cyber-deviance?

Cybercrime refers to illegal activities, while cyber-deviance includes actions that violate informal norms.

What is cyber-theft?

A type of cybercrime where technology increases the scope, scale, or reach of the original crime.

What typology does Wall (2001) introduce for classifying cybercrimes?

It focuses on the victims or targets, including cyber-violence, cyber-trespass, cyber-deceptions and thefts, and cyber-pornography.

What is cyber-violence?

Cybercrime against persons (interpersonal).

What is cyber-trespass?

Cybercrime against property.

What are the challenges for criminal justice in addressing cybercrime?

The internet is transnational with no universal laws, leading to issues like 'sham standards' and minimal investment in cybercrime resources.

What is the conceptual dualism in cybercrime?

The distinction between 'cyber' and traditional crimes, which can lead to inappropriate application of existing legal frameworks.

What are the two main types of predictors of cybercrime?

Individual-level predictors and structural predictors.

Which demographic is more likely to commit cybercrimes?

Men, particularly those endorsing hyper-masculine attitudes.

What age range is most commonly associated with cybercriminals?

12 to 35 years old, with peak offending in the early 20s.

How does digital literacy relate to cybercrime?

Higher digital literacy is associated with participation in some types of cybercrime.

What psychological trait is linked to increased participation in cybercrime?

Feelings of anger, which predict interpersonal forms of cybercrime like trolling.

What is meant by 'digital affordances' in the context of cybercrime?

Specific features of online environments that create more criminal opportunities.

How does anonymity affect online behavior?

It reduces fear of consequences, increasing engagement in trolling and cyber-aggression.

What is asynchronicity in online communication?

Delayed communications that remove immediate feedback and can desensitize users to consequences.

What role do non-verbal cues play in online interactions?

Fewer non-verbal cues make it harder to express empathy, leading to increased cyber-aggression.

Why are social norms less salient in online environments?

Difficulties in identifying universal social norms lead to fragmented normative codes.

What is 'tolerable deviance' in online communities?

Subcultural norms that permit certain behaviors that may be considered deviant elsewhere.

What is the significance of the 'digital native thesis'?

It suggests that younger generations are more adept with technology, but requires further testing.

How does increased time spent online relate to cybercrime?

It predicts both cybercrime perpetration and victimization due to more opportunities for convergence.

What is the impact of anger on cyberbullying?

Higher levels of anger and frustration among cyberbullies lead to more aggressive online behavior.

What is the relationship between digital literacy and social learning?

Digital literacy development is often facilitated by social learning within subcultures.

What are some common individual characteristics of cybercriminals?

Demographics such as gender, age, and psychological traits like anger.

What is a key environmental factor influencing cybercrime?

Structural conditions of online platforms that provide opportunities for criminal behavior.

What is the effect of digital traces in cybercrime?

They can persist and facilitate non-temporal convergence between offenders and victims.

What is the Internet described as in terms of space?

A virtual space with instantaneous global connectivity, disembodied, decentralized, and 'anti-spatial'.

How does the Internet affect victimization?

It removes geospatial and time barriers, increases access to a larger global pool of targets, and facilitates deviant social learning.

What are the three traditional theories applied to cybercrime?

Rational choice theory, social learning theory, and self-control theory.

What does rational choice theory suggest about cybercrime?

It involves a calculated decision to engage in cybercrime by weighing benefits against costs.

How do digital architectures impact punishment as a deterrent?

They may weaken the effect of punishment, making it less of a deterrent.

What do social learning theories state about online criminal behaviors?

They are learned through interactions with others, including tactics and justifications.

What are techniques of neutralization in the context of cybercrime?

Justifications for engaging in cybercrime, such as denial of responsibility or denial of injury.

What does self-control theory suggest about cybercrime?

Cybercrime results from opportunities available to individuals with low self-control.

What are the three elements of Routine Activity Theory?

Motivated offender, suitable target, and capable guardian.

How is target suitability conceptualized differently in cybercrime?

It may involve different criteria compared to traditional crime, considering online environments.

What is the debate between Continuists and Transformationists regarding cybercrime?

Continuists view cybercrime as 'old wine in new bottles', while Transformationists see it as a 'novel phenomenon' requiring new theories.

What is cyber-integrated theorizing?

Integrating digital elements into traditional theoretical models to understand their impact on criminology.

What is digital drift?

The phenomenon where digital architectures facilitate drifting into and out of deviance.

What is cyber-psychopathy theory?

The heightened expression of psychopathic traits in digital environments.

What does space-transition theory propose?

Behavioral patterns differ between online and offline spaces due to different structural conditions.

What is the role of situational crime prevention in digital environments?

It involves strategies to reduce opportunities for cybercrime, often referred to as 'target hardening'.

What critiques do Transformationists have of Routine Activity Theory?

They argue that the theory's assumptions about space and time do not apply well in cyberspace.

What is the impact of anonymity in online offending?

Anonymity can reduce self-regulation and increase the likelihood of engaging in cybercrime.

What is meant by 'context-congruent theorizing'?

Starting with assumptions about online behavior rather than traditional criminal behavior.

What does the term 'cyborg crime' refer to?

Automated technologies acting as criminal agents within an Actor-Network Theory framework.

What is the importance of understanding digital architectures in criminology?

They provide new opportunities for theorizing and understanding criminal behavior in online contexts.