Information and Network Security
Student 1 Post:
Internet technology is one of the most beneficial discoveries made by humans as it provided a platform for performing numerous essential activities. Basing on usage and accessibility, the internet is divided into the dark web, the deep web, and the surface web (Weimann, 2016). The dark web is a section of the internet that individuals can only access using special browsers. The creators and participants of this portion of the dark web intentionally made it inaccessible from regular search engines. Weimann (2016) highlights that although the concealed nature of this part of the internet relates to illegal activities, the dark web may not necessarily be used for criminal purposes. Most scholars argue that only bad activities can be conducted in the dark, supporting the negative notion about the dark web. Although the dark web may have legitimate users, its hidden and anonymous nature makes it a hotspot for criminal activities.
Despite the hidden nature of the dark web, individuals can still access it by using onion networks. Unlike the surface web where there is a direct interaction between the server of the visited website and the computer, the onion network entails the existence of several layers between the website and the user (Chertoff, 2017). Most individuals who visit the dark web use Freenet, I2P, and Tor to access such websites. Although the use of such software is not illegal, it can be applied in accomplishing unlawful objectives.
Most criminals maintain and promote their business through the dark web, as they cannot easily be traced. They also access any information that they can use for criminal activities. For instance, after the Target hacking, hackers placed customer data on auction on the dark web. Buyers could then easily purchase this information to conduct their criminal activities (Chertoff, 2017). The dark web also offers a black-market platform where criminals can easily sell or purchase illegal services and goods such as fake IDs, weapons, and illicit drugs. Wicked crimes such as child pornography and human trafficking are also dominant in the darknet.
Once individuals have access to the dark web, they can easily locate the marketplace by searching for it. For instance, before its removal, Silk Road was the most famous criminal marketplace, and its search can currently offer numerous alternatives (Vogt, 2017). Depending on the criminal activity that they wish to conduct, they have a variety of options to attain their required services. The users of such a website should always beware of the individuals they are transacting with as it could either be a criminal who enjoys making more people victims of the criminal activities or law enforcement officers seeking to arrest criminals (Vogt, 2017). Law enforcement officers invaded Silk and arrested William Ulbricht, its founder (Vogt, 2017). Therefore, although one can easily access the illegal goods and services that they require, they do so at their peril as they can be conned or even arrested.
Law enforcers still apply the saying of ‘following the money’ in dealing with the cybercrime conducted on the dark web. Criminals in the darknet counter these steps made by the law enforcers through conducting their transactions using cryptocurrency, which is secure and untraceable. The most commonly used cryptocurrencies are blockchain and bitcoins, whose underlying transactions are uncertain. Such steps hamper the steps taken by law enforcement to deal with the criminal activities on the dark web.
In my opinion, the dark web will remain the hotspot of criminal activities due to its undiscoverable and anonymous nature. Despite the law enforcers’ awareness of the illegal activities, they might never arrest the culprits. Therefore, the dark able will always exist, and there is not much that can be done about it.
Student 2 Post:
I had discovered an extremely sad article about a cyberbullying case that occurred here in Florida. A 12-year-old girl decided to hang herself in connection to bullying that occurred online. After a police investigation, two middle schoolers (one boy and one girl) were arrested in connection with the death. The two suspects confessed to their actions and admitted that they started both rumors online and around school claiming that the victim had a sexual transmitted disease; they called her vulgar names online and threatened to expose personal and sensitive details of her life to the public. The victim also told the male suspect that she attempted to hang herself; the boy told her “if you’re going to do it, then just do it”. The suspects both admitted to knowing that they caused the victim emotional distress. In the article it states that the bullying may have not led to her death, it may just have been coincidental that this occurred the week/days before her death. Police discovered during their investigation that several middle school children had unrestricted and unmonitored access to social media apps. (Press, T.A 2018) Personally, I believe that this girls death was caused by the bullying that occurred. She had attempted to commit suicide once and failed, then was successful the second time. this was after the boy told her to do it. it is too coincidental that this occurred at the same time the bullying was also occurring.
The rise of technology has had a major impact on cyberbullying. Online bullying includes spreading rumors, posting incrementing images, and cyberstalking. Cyberbullying can sometimes be less distressing in comparison to in person bullying, but it can also be more threatening. As per the 2017 School Crime Supplement, it was indicated that nationwide, about 20% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying. Among students who reported bullying at school during the year, 15% were bullied online or by test. (Facts about Bullying, 2019) According to the CDC, cyberbullying is more likely to happen against female students who were in the 9th grade. (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2018)
Cyberbullying often goes unreported. Children may feel embarrassed or ashamed to be a target. Another reason that kids do not report cyberbullying is fear of getting their technology taken away. Some parents take away technology privileges away as a punishment; if there is bullying and harassment occurring online, parents may restrict their access to social media.
When it comes to prevention against cyberbullying, parents are usually the best people to intervene and prevent it. Parents should monitor their kids’ social medias and cell phones to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Parents should also report anything that seems skeptical.Other then the parents monitoring their kids, other precautions need to be taken. Every state besides Montana has a law against bullying, nearly half of those states have extended the statues to cover cyberbullying as well. these laws are regularly implemented through student code of conducts, which means that policies sometimes differ among schools and states. Personally, I believe that there should be a nationwide statue for bullying that includes cyberbullying. The laws should not only be implemented in the school code of conduct but places where activity takes place as well, for example, school sports and clubs and outside sports, clubs, and activities. This law should also be strictly followed. If students know the consequences of bullying, it may deter them in acting it out.
***BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE***
Summary for Week 3 (Example for Students)(1000 words or more)
Review
The global economy has made overseas business as efficient as ever with the ability to speak and see one another through international calls and video-chatting (e.g. Skype and FaceTime). Social media platforms make it possible for someone in Boca Raton, Florida to instantaneously see a new Instagram post from their favorite K-Pop artist in South Korea. Gone are the days of hours of library research. Research can be access from thousands of journals from nearly any computer or laptop anywhere in the world. In essence, the rapid growth of the internet as allowed most corners of the world to stay constantly connected.
However, these advances in the internet, have been quickly followed by criminals pioneering innovative ways to use the internet as a medium for new, criminal enterprises. Despite the fact that cybercriminals have existed as long as the internet, a criminal justice response to these pioneer criminals is lacking. “Who are they [victims of cybercrime] going to complain to?” was a statement made by the Internet Godfather, Brett Johnson, in reference to the lack of organized response against cybercriminals (Demetis, 2018). This coupled with the lucrative profits associated with cybercrime and the low-risk of getting caught, makes this criminal behavior appealing to opportunistic criminals.
Victims of cybercrime are not divided by race, class, or gender. Entire corporations or institutions or the individual at home on their personal device are at risk of various forms of cybercrime. The opportunistic nature of cybercriminals means victims of cybercrime are seldom similar to one another. However, the costs of cybercrime are devastating. The costs could be monetary, physical, emotional and psychological (Saridakis, Benson, Ezingeard, & Tennakoon, 2015). Despite the costs, the public has little apathy for cybercrime, paying closer attention to violent crimes (Holtfreter & Meyers, 2015).
Cybercrime is difficult to study, and therefore prevent, are for a few reasons. There is still a lack of an operational definition for cybercrime (Holtfreter & Meyers, 2015). There is also a lack of official data on cybercrime, making studying the scope of the problem difficult (Holtfreter & Meyers, 2015). Perpetrators of cybercrime can also easily remain anonymous, making identifying perpetrators nearly impossible. The transnational nature of cybercrime makes policing it nearly impossible, especially with the variation in laws from country to country (Holtfreter & Meyers, 2015). All of which are contributing factors to the limited research associated with cybercrime. Going forward into this class and a future career in criminology, it will be important for criminologists to find explanations for why individuals perpetrate cybercrime, who are the victims of cybercrime, and how can cybercrime be prevented.
Analysis
The criminal justice response aspect of the readings had some limitations. First, harassment in a physical workplace is still a prevalent issue in criminal justice today. There is a lack of reporting for fear of it affecting the workplace environment. Victims of bullying do not reported for fear of further abuse or for the belief that the incident was not seriousness enough to report. These are issues that criminal justice has not developed solid solutions to. Yet, harassment online will have similar issues. People will not report for fear of retaliation from the perpetrator or fear of public perception. If criminal justice is still behind on useful responses to those physical crimes, how are they expected to catch up to the internet and solve interpersonal cybercrimes?
Secondly, my debit card information has been compromised twice. My family’s phone plan with Sprint was compromised, our phones cancelled, and new iPhones were bought and being shipped to another country. Both incidences resulted in inconvenience for myself. I had to wait two weeks to receive a new debit card and was stuck for hours in a Sprint store settling the situation. In both situations, I never engaged with the criminal justice system. I never reported this to the police. I’m sure this is the typical reaction from other victims as well. Why do we not report this specific type of crime when it is perpetrated against us when we report so many others? I never reported the crime bechttps://essaygroom.com/cybercrime-3/ause I did not, and still do not, believe anyone within the realm of criminal justice could have contributed. Bank of America removed the fraudulent charges with little questions asked and Spring was able to restore our phones. If the police were involved, they would have likely asked, “Have you contacted your service provider?” The point is, in these situations of fraud, the service providers were realistically the only ones who could do something to remedy the situation. This fact highlights the uselessness of criminal justice response in certain circumstances. In my opinion, a more valid approach to reducing cybercrime stems from education, which will be discussed in detail in the application portion of the summary.
Routine Activity Theory is a popular theory to apply to cybercrime (Leukfeldt & Yar, 2015). Logically it makes sense. As Harley et al. (2018) argued, “digital scams and threats to information security will continue to exist as long as there are people in society willing to harm others simply because they have the opportunity to do so” (p. 28). In essence, cybercrime a crime for the opportunistic criminal who targets personal information. However, I was skeptical that any one theory could explain all forms of cybercrime. Leukfeldt and Yar (2015) applied Routine Activity Theory to six forms of cybercrime (e.g. malware, hacking, identity theft, consumer fraud, stalking, and threats) broken down into three categories: high-tech, fraud, and interpersonal cybercrime (Leukfeldt & Yar, 2015). As expected, their results demonstrated mixed support.
Visibility was important in all six cybercrimes which seems valid (Leukfeldt & Yar, 2015). Visibility indicates that an individual is highly exposed to cybercriminals online. The way to become more visible is to be online more. If one is online more, then they are sharing their personal information more thus exposing them to all of the crimes this study looked at. However, capable guardianship was most important in hacking and stalking. Hacking, identity theft, and stalking were least supported RAT variables (Leukfeldt & Yar, 2015). Perhaps there are other ways in which these types of criminals are gaining access to their victims outside of the victims’ own behaviors. Therefore, RAT cannot explain all forms of cybercrime perfectly.
One conclusion made by Leukfeldt and Yar (2015) was weak and lacked alternative explanation. Contrary to their predictions, low income tended to increase risk of victimization. The authors could not explain these results; however, one reason why low income could increase risk of victimization is about awareness of safe, smart internet practices. The data for this study came from 2011 survey data. At that time, the internet was solidified as a part of daily life in the developed world. That being said, it is reasonable to say that most individuals are visible on the internet either at work or at home, which increases access to potential victims and personal information. However, individuals of a lower income have a tendency to be less educated, especially in the STEM fields. As a result, such individuals are less likely to be educated in terms of protecting their personal information from new tactics of internet hackers and forms of identity theft; thereby leaving them more vulnerable to victimization than higher income individuals. If this alternative explanation were true, policy should aim to educate individuals on how to become their own capable guardians.
Application
Based on the readings, one of the most important role players who can play an integral role in reducing cybercrime is the individual. The individual could be their own savior or their own worst enemy when it comes to stolen information. Internet users learning and practicing safe habits online serve as proactive measures to eliminate victimization all together. Good internet practices are similar to individuals who would not go to an ATM in the middle of the night or who avoid certain areas. One minimizes their risk of becoming victimized by avoiding practices that leave them vulnerable. By going on the internet, there is an automatic risk associated with it. However, avoiding the internet is unlikely in the same way avoiding risky places are. For example, I take a risk having to walk to my car at 9:30pm after my graduate classes. However, carrying pepper spray is a safety precaution to take when walking late at night is inevitable. When using the internet, there are preventative measures that can be taken to make the experience safer. Having virus protection, changing passwords often, and knowing how to identify phishing scams are safety precautions one can take when internet visibility is inevitable.
Based on this and RAT, education is the key policy implication. As argued earlier, there is little the criminal justice system can have a proactive role in. In my opinion, policy that is grounded in Routine Activities Theory is an effective method of preventing cybercrime victimization because it leads to educating the public. There are several issues with attempting to police cybercrime and not enough effective solutions. According to Holtfreter and Meyers (2015), suggest that increased capable guardianship can reduce victimization on two platforms: internet users and internet service providers. Neither of these two roles involve the criminal justice system. These two entities can protect information in different ways whether it be through increased awareness and safe internet surfing practices or increased protection of individuals’ personal information.
Works Cited
Demetis, D. (2018, January 2). How the ‘Original Internet Godfather’ walked away from his cybercrime past. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/how-the-original-internet-godfather-walked-away-from-his-cybercrime-past-interview-88822
Harley, D., Cobb, S., Dorais-Joncas, A., Gutierrez, C., & Anscombe, T. (2018). Cybersecurity Trends 2018: The Cost of Our Connected World. Enjoy Safer Technology, 1-30.
Holtfreter, K., & Meyers, T. J. (2015). Challenges for Cybercrime Theory, Research, and Policy. The Norwich Review of International and Transnational Crime, 54-66.
Leukfeldt, E. R., & Yar, M. (2016). Applying Routine Activity Theory to Cybercrime: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Deviant Behavior, 37(3), 1-18.
Saridakis, G., Benson, V., Ezingeard, J.-N., & Tennakoon, H. (2015). Individual information security, user behavior and cyber victimizations: An empirical study of social networking users. Technological Forecasting Social Change, 102, 1-11.
Original Post (Example for Students)(500 words or more)
Movie Piracy
Movie piracy is not something new. It has existed since the VHS era, continued to DVDs and now online downloads. What happened over the years was more of a change in not only how the movies get pirated, but also how governments got involved in tracking down the pirates.
VHS tapes were introduced in the mid 1970s, but it wasn’t until the late 80s that I heard about movie piracy and ironically, got involved in doing them as well. Back in the 1980s, while still in high school and prior of the boom of the Blockbuster stores, I worked at a family-owned video store. My job not only consisted of supervising the store, but also watching the movies so I could advise our clients. One day, a client asked me if I wanted to make some extra money on the side by copying movies. This was my introduction to the world of piracy.
Back in the 80s, pirating movies was more work than people today can image. You needed two VCRs, plus cables and you had to monitor the whole copy process. Nowadays, we have software that will do it in a matter of minutes. According to www.storyofmovies.org, “film piracy is the illegal copying and distribution of movies in print, videos, DVDs or electronic files.” (2005) Needless to say, this concept includes the music industry as well. What I find ironic is that although piracy is frowned upon, we can easily find the software to burn DVDs at a local BestBuy, Walmart or even online.
I believe that everything comes down to money and how much of it the film industry loses when their movies get pirated or even released online before they come out in the theater. According to www.sdtimes.com,“the highest instances of software piracy come not from underdeveloped nations, but from highly populated countries with thriving technology sectors.” (2014) The United Sates is among the top ten nations when it comes to movie piracy. According to www.statista.com, “the online TV and movie industry in the United States would lose 11.58 billion U.S. dollars to piracy in 2022.” (2018)
Some of the questions that we must ask are, how do the movies get pirated before being released? Is there a mole in the film industry? In 2015, the film “The Hateful Eight” was released online before its debut and the FBI linked the producer of the remake of “Point Break” to this act. Both films were scheduled to be released in theaters at the same time and he apparently thought that this would increase the revenue for ticket sales of his film’s premiere.
After doing some research on how the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) fights the movie piracy, I found that combating the issue is easier said than done. One suggestion that I found was to place a watermark on all of the movies before releasing them. Since I’m in the video/film business myself, I tend to place watermarks on all of my videos to discourage copies. Although I find this suggestion to be a good one, I don’t think it actually prevents illegal copies since I’ve seen pirated movies that had the watermark on them which said “For Academy Award consideration” on them, indicating that even the Oscar voting committee has been illegally circulating films. If anything, it is just a minor annoyance to have to watch a movie with a watermark on it.
Another suggestion was to not let anyone enter the movie theater with an electronic device (such as a camera, phone, etc). This is a method that I find mainly at premier screenings (I’ve attended a few and seen this happen) but I can see how it could be becoming a headache for not only the audience but the theater employees as well (for example, the possibility of losing items or people leaving the theater and forgetting to retrieve their devices).
These observations are mainly what I call physical prevention, but what about online privacy and all those “illegal” websites? In 2016, the MPAA teamed with the web registry Radix to go after piracy sites. According to www.thewrap.com,“Radix will work with other registry partners to contact a given website operator to seek evidence of copyright infringement.” (Verhoeven, 2016). One of the most recent arrests regarding a known “illegal” website was that of Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm. The arrest obviously did not prevent people from going to other sites to download movies, but made them a bit smarter in trying to prevent themselves from being caught (such as the use of a Virtual Private Network or VPN).
In my opinion, movie piracy will always exist. The evolution of pirating movies went from VHS copies, to DVD and now it is online. There are many websites that you can visit to find movies. We must also ask ourselves whether people who go online to download the film or just watch it should also be punished or just the person who uploaded it. Although I do not encourage anyone to do so, if you decide to illegally download and/or copy movies, you must be smart in how you do it so that you don’t get caught in a law suit or end up inadvertently allowing hackers to access your computer or getting a virus.
References:
The Film Piracy Problem. (2005). Retrieved January 14, 2020, from http://www.storyofmovies.org/common/11041/pdfs/film_piracy_teachers_guide.pdf
The Top 20 countries for software piracy. (2014, November 19). Retrieved January 14, 2020, from https://sdtimes.com/license-misuse/top-20-countries-software-piracy/
Online TV and movie piracy revenue by country 2016-2022. (2018). Retrieved January 14, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/778342/global-online-tv-movie-revenue-loss-piracy-country/
Verhoeven, B. (2016, May 13). MPAA Teams With Web Registry Radix to Smoke Out Piracy Sites. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.thewrap.com/mpaa-teams-with-web-registry-radix-to-smoke-out-piracy-sites/
Reply to students post (500 words or more)