Internet Vulnerabilities & Criminal Activity
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Transcript Internet Vulnerabilities & Criminal Activity
Internet Vulnerabilities &
Criminal Activity
Criminology Theories & Cyber Crime
11.1
4/19/10
Classifications of Cyber Crimes
Cyber trespass
Crossing boundaries into other people’s property &/or cause
damage
Hacking, defacement, malware
Cyber deceptions & thefts
Stealing money or resources
Credit card fraud, IP violations
Cyber pornography
Breach laws of obscenity
Cyber violence
Psychological or physical harm to others
Hate speech, stalking
Cyber Criminals
Broad range of persons
Students, terrorists, amateurs, organized crime groups
More likely to have affluent socioeconomic
backgrounds
Has knowledge of computers & the Internet which
enables him/her to commit crime of choice
Any technically oriented person has potential to
become cyber criminal
Cyber criminal has changed since the ‘80’s and 90’s
when cyber crime was infiltration by hacking
FBI’s Definitions of Cyber Criminals
Crackers
Young offenders seeking intellectual stimulation
Criminals
Adult subgroups
Commit fraud, damage systems undertake
espionage
Vandals
Not pursuing intellectual stimulation
Motivated by revenge
Typology for Cyber Criminals
White-collar criminals
Vengeful criminals
Disgruntled employees
Patient criminals
Desire more than what they have
Negative state of mind not immediately obvious
Desperate criminals
Facing financial crisis
Easiest to catch
Typology for Cyber Criminals cont.
Hackers
Old School Hackers
Computer experts
Used technology in new, innovative ways
Internals
Disgruntled or ex-employees
Cyber punks
Antisocial, socially inept, angst toward the world
Direct anger into cyberspace
Professional criminals & cyber terrorists
Guns for hire
Good at espionage, leave no trace
Newbies & Script Kiddies
Want recognition but lack skills
Usually teenagers looking for recoognition
Typology for Cyber Criminals cont.
Crackers
Obtain & use data illegally, IP violators
Password crackers
Concerned with cryptography & encoding
Will use any means to discover passwords
Executable program crackers
Programs should obey humans
Reverse engineer programs so changes can be made
Have years of experience programming
Can easily discover program weaknesses
Hobbyists
Cross between above 2 groups
Cracks code for knowledge
May release cracked code to the public
Typology for Cyber Criminals cont.
Con artists
Great actors
Motivations
Financial stress - need money
Power - control over victims, smarter, better than victims
Challenge - enjoy what they do, mastered the skill
Punish the victim - victim deserves what they get
Techniques used
Familiarization - flatter victim, gain victims trust
Risk free investments - con man will refund all victim’s money if
the plan fails
Avoiding questions - talk a lot, vague answers, spout useless
jargon
Pressurizing tactics - once in a lifetime chance, will regret it if
not done
Typology for Cyber Criminals cont.
Psycho-criminals
Mentally ill - need no external conditions to commit crimes
Pedophiles
Abnormal sexual attraction to children
Larger pool of victims online
Cyberstalkers
Torment victims at a distance
Usually have sexual motivations, power & control
Serial Killers
Internet used as tool to track down victims
Disorganized - low IQ, social outcast, bad at covering tracks
Organized - high IQ, Know what he/she wants & how too get
away with it. Most dangerous of all cyber criminals.
Crimes in Physical Space vs
Crimes in Cyber Space
Transnational nature and jurisdictional issues
Attacks can take place anywhere from anywhere
Multiple boundaries may be crossed
Physical constraints
Do not exist in cyber space
Crime can happen in milliseconds
Proximity
No physical proximity required
Crimes in Physical Space vs
Crimes in Cyber Space cont.
Scale & multiple victimization
Automated process
Multiple simultaneous victims for the same effort
Conduct at issue may not be illegal
Conduct may not be criminalized in country where
it originates
Cannot extradite criminal unless law of his/her
country is broken
Crimes in Physical Space vs
Crimes in Cyber Space
Perfect anonymity
Can disguise identity in ways impossible in the
physical world
Can achieve perfect pseudonymity
Velocity
Criminal activity can happen very rapidly
Slammer took down large part of the Internet in
15 minutes
Space Transition Theory
1) Persons with repressed criminal behavior (in
the physical space) have a propensity to
commit crime in cyberspace, which
otherwise they would not commit in physical
space, due to their status and position.
Concern for status in physical space does
not transition to cyber space.
Behavior repressed in physical space are not
in cyber space.
Space Transition Theory
2) Identity flexibility, dissociative anonymity, and lack of
deterrence factor in the cyberspace provides the
offenders the choice to commit cyber crime.
Disinhibiting effect allows individuals:
Open honesty about personal issues
To act out on unpleasant needs
Deinidividualization - inner restraints are lost when
individuals not seen as individuals
Leads to behavior that is
Less altruistic
More selfish
More aggressive
Space Transition Theory
2) Identity flexibility, dissociative anonymity,
and lack of deterrence factor in the
cyberspace provides the offenders the choice
to commit cyber crime.
Deterrence factor changes
Attacks can be made from a remote location
Crime reslts not immediately apparent
Space Transition Theory
3) Criminal behavior of offenders in cyberspace is likely
to be imported to physical space which, in physical
space maybe exported to cyberspace as well.
Cyber crime has moved from the single individual
acting for fame to professional criminals
Huge financial gain with little risk
Growth of e-commerce attracts criminals to the net
Space Transition Theory
4) Intermittent venture of offenders in to the
cyberspace and the dynamic spatiotemporal
nature of cyberspace provide the chance to
escape
Cyber space is transient
Cyber space is dynamic
Cyber crimes have do not have spatial temporal restrictions of traditional crimes
Space Transition Theory
5) (a)Strangers are likely too unite together in
cyberspace to commit crime in the physical space;
(b) Associates of physical space are likely to unite to
commit crime in cyberspace.
Cyberspace allows for recruitment and dissemination
Cyberspace is:
Unmoderated
Easy to access
Cyberspace can pose an insider threat
Spy / mole
Disgruntled employee
Space Transition Theory
6) Persons from closed society are more likely
to commit crimes in cyberspace than persons
from open society.
Open society allows individuals to voice
opinions & vent feelings.
Cyberspace allows individuals from closed
societies to express anger & frustrations
through hate messages, web page vandalism,
up to cyber terrorism attacks
Space Transition Theory
7) The conflict of norms and values of physical
space with the norms and values of
cyberspace may lead to cyber crimes.
Cyberspace is international
Societal differences between individuals may
lead to cyber crime
Conflicts between nations carry over into
cyberspace
Routine Activity Theory
Routine activities in conventional societies provide
opportunities for perpetrator to commit crime
Three things must be present for crime to occur:
Suitable target is available
Motivated offender is present
Lack of a suitable guardian to prevent crime from occurring
Assessment of situation determines whether or not a
crime takes place.
Routine Activity Theory
A suitable target can be:
A person
An object
A place
Target comes to the attention of a person searching
for a criminal opportunity
Targets behavior may place target in contact with
perpetrator
No significant deterring mechanism is present
Routine Activity Theory
Motivated Perpetrator
Predatory crime is a method for the
perpetrator to secure basic needs of desires
Actions of perpetrator are intentional and
illegal
Routine Activity Theory
A capable guardian
Police patrol, Security guards
Neighbors, neighborhood watch, dogs
Locks, fences, CCTV systems
Passwords, tokens, biometric measures
Guardians can be formal or informal
Guardians can be human or machine
Guardians MUST be capable of acting as a
deterrent
Opportunity Theory
Opportunity to commit a crime is a root cause
of crime
No crime can occur without the physical
opportunity
Opportunity plays a role in all crimes, not just
those involving physical property
Reducing opportunity reduces crime
Displacement Theory
Reductions in opportunity will not reduce
crime because crime will be displaced to
another location
Opportunity is so compelling that removing
perpetrators will not reduce crime because
other perpetrators will step in
Research on displacement theory has shown
crime is not always displaced
Routine Activity Theory & the Internet
Opportunity to commit crime is multiplied
Target and perpetrator are much more likely
to come in contact with each other
Victim has to keep returning to scene of the
crime
Deterrence comes shifting either events or
circumstances
Neither are easily altered
Routine Activity Theory & the Internet
Cybercrime has more to do with the
effectiveness of indirect guardianship
Internet is open & unmoderated
Mechanisms of the Internet designed to
transfer data, not to examine the data
Internet guardianships are all mechanical
Reactive, respond to some action - IDS
Cannot respond to new, previously untried activity
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Allows for temporary neutralization of values,
beliefs, and attitudes so illegal behaviors can
be performed.
Justification of an act requires the need to
assert its positive values
Used by different types of deviants
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Denial of Injury
No harm or insignificant harm done to victim
No physical information stolen, information in an
electronic form
Belief that downloading is copying not stealing
As long as no one knows their information is being
perused, no harm is done
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Denial of Victim
Victim is deserving of punishment
Four categories of victims
Close enemies who have harmed offender directly
People who do not conform to normative social roles
Groups with tribal stigmas
Remote enemies who hold positions perceived as
questionable or corrupt
Offender may assume role of “avenger” or
“crusader for justice”
May justify actions as revenge
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Condemnation of the Condemners
Divert attention from offenders actions to the
motives and behaviors of those condemning
offender’s actions
Mistrust of authority
Promote decentralization
Price charged by software companies too high and
unfair
Victim failed to protect their computer system
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Appeal to higher loyalties
Offender doesn’t deny damage, act was done to
protect higher loyalties
Loyalty to group
Responsibility to family or spouse
Employer (Corporate crimes)
Claim actions were done to acquire knowledge
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Self-fulfillment
Illegal activity done for
Fun
Excitement or thrill
Computer virtuosity
Offender achieves feelings of superiority & control
Voyeurism
Demonstration of ability
Hacker Neutralization Techniques
Hackers do not use all neutralization
techniques
Denial of responsibility
Sad story
Both external forms of neutralization
Only use techniques based on internal
neutralization
Hackers take pride in what they do
Hackers feel in shame or guilt
Computer Hackers & Social Organization
Mutual Association
Clear interpersonal relationship
No strong or deep interpersonal relationships on
or off line
Social connections relatively shallow
Multiple identities and multiple forum use may
limit ability to form interpersonal connections
Utilize social networks to exchange knowledge and
information
Computer Hackers & Social Organization
Mutual Participation
Groups are stratified rather than centrally
controlled
Participation in groups did not lead to group
attacks
Many do not want an group affiliation
Computer Hackers & Social Organization
Division of labor
Some specialization in group forums does exist
Stratification & division of labor
Small group of moderators
Larger group of users exchanging knowledge &
information
Loose set of rules
Give respect, get respect
No flaming
Large population of users enforcing the rules
Computer Hackers & Social Organization
Extended duration
No group with extended history
Relationships appear transitory
Relationships within forums weak & short-lived