Policing Cybercrime: The Challenges

Policing is..

a very broad term and can refer to all the enforcement agencies and can include citizens who do their due diligence in policing crime

Problems with cybercrime

• Stigma of fear created around cybercrime

  • Often can stem from sci-fi media and sensationalization

• Fear is 10-100x larger than actual victimization

Reasurrance Gap

the difference between public expectations for safety and security in the face of cybercrime and what law enforcement agencies can realistically deliver

Culture of Fear (Reassurance Gap)

Media sensationalization, disproportionate fear of victimization (10-00x statistic) all create a culture of fear surronding cybercrime

Pressures police into allocating unnecessary resources in order to satisfy public fears

Prosecuting Cybercrime:

77% of cybercrime prosecutions have been indicted

Tendency to underreport cybercrime

• Can occur from banks avoiding to do this to maintain their prevent ruining their reputation

Prosecutions under the Communications Act 2003

Sections 1-7 deal with online behavior

Social Networks and Cybercrime

Social Network Sites often proliferate cybercrime

• Assaults may occur through online insults

• Trolling is covered in section 127 of the Communications Act (2003)

• Police must engage with the public and bring in sectors against cybercrime

  • e.x. Policing sex offenders by collaborating with online vigilantes

De Minimis Criminal Activity

Many criminal activities are considered to be “De Minimis”, or too small to be individually prosecuted

Individual Crime in Cyberspace

The internet allows one individual to control an entire criminal process

• e.x. a million dollar heist 30 years ago can be perpetrated by a single man now with ICT’s

One person can commit many small crimes and extract large amount of money from the system

Jurisdictional Variations

Consistency between jurisdictions on cybercrime is an issue

• Some don’t even recognize cybercrime

Further complications over which country has jurisdiction over a cybercrime during prosecution

Reporting Criminal Behavior

Lackluster cybercrime reports due to people not feeling comfortable expressing how they have been victims of crimes

Some corporations don’t report it to authorities to maintain their reputation as secure services to their customers/clientele

Intelligence

Lack of intelligence regarding the combating of cybercrime

• Police need to improve cyber framework to strategically combat it

Distributional: meaning it can take places all over the world at the same time - demonstrating how powerful this form of crime is

Internet Regulation Beyond the Police

Police play such a small role in internet regulation despite assumptions

Some cybercrime criminals are very responsible when pursuing this form of crime and have these moral rules they follow

•  internet is a civilized process

Internet users…

Censor eachother; considered a form of regulation

Online Security Managers

individuals responsible for enforcing rules on the internet

e.x. moderators on certain websites or apps

• The threat of exclusion can moderate behavior 

What are ways to regulate cybercrime?

• Self Regulation 

  • People regulate themselves and prevent themselves of participating 

• Uses of online intelligence

  • Where they have a system of stopping individuals of stating or posting something that is harmful or insulting 

• User Agreements

  • People sign these agreements stating that there are regulations in place of what is considered acceptable and not acceptable behaviour 

• Non-governmental agencies

  • Agencies that are not a part of the government and participate in helping stop cybercrime 

  • Ex. CPNI, GCHQ

Key Points from Part 1:

Culture of Fear Surronding Cybercrime

Actual Offences vs. Prosecutions

Communications Act 2003

Usage of Social Networks and Crime

Key Points from Part 2:

De Minimis Crime

Jurisdictional Regulations

Reporting (Under / Over) of online behavior

Internet Regulation Beyond the Police

Police Regulation in Practice