Cybercrimeology

Anomie.exe: Geography, Strain and the Motivated Cyber Offender

Episode Summary

In this episode we have a conversation with Dr. Thomas Dearden from Virginia Tech to delve into the sociological underpinnings of cybercrime, discussing how strain and anomie theories interact with the motivations behind online offending. We talk about the nuances of these theories, how they can shed light on cybercrime, the their potential for cybercrime prevention. Recorded at the Human Factors in Cybercrime Conference, the discussion also touches on some ongoing work focusing on the use of honeypots to study cybercriminal behaviour.

Episode Notes

Episode Summary (Dot Points)

• Understanding Cybercrime through Strain and Anomie Theories
  • Dr. Dearden explains how strain theory and anomie theory provide insights into cybercriminal motivations.
  • Discussion on economic and social pressures that push individuals toward cybercrime, including unemployment, inequality, and lack of upward mobility.
• The Role of Honeypots in Cybercrime Research
  • Overview of honeypots—deceptive systems designed to attract cyber attackers.
  • How honeypots help researchers observe and analyze hacker behaviors in real-world settings.
  • Differences in hacking techniques and motivations across different regions.
• Regional Variations in Cybercriminal Activities
  • Why cybercrime is not uniformly distributed worldwide despite the internet being a global network.
  • Case studies on West African romance scams, Russian cyber operations, and Indian call center frauds.
  • The interplay between legitimate and illegitimate economies in cybercrime hotspots.
• Cybercrime and Economic Opportunity
  • Findings from recent research on how financial strain vs. greed influences cybercrime.
  • The role of cryptocurrency in enabling financial cybercrimes and providing anonymity to offenders.
  • Discussion on how cybercrime prevention strategies need to address offender motivations, not just security vulnerabilities.
• Future Research and Policy Implications
  • The need for broader, structural changes to mitigate cybercrime, rather than relying solely on reactive security measures.
  • How cross-national studies and criminological data collection can improve cybercrime prevention strategies.
  • Upcoming projects on measuring cyber-offending patterns and regional differences in hacking behavior.

About Our Guest

Dr. Thomas Dearden

https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-sociology/faculty/thomas-dearden.html

Papers and Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Dearden, T. E., & Gottschalk, P. (2024).Convenience Theory and Cybercrime Opportunity: An Analysis of Online Cyberoffending.Deviant Behavior.DOI Link

Parti, K., & Dearden, T. (2024).Cybercrime and Strain Theory: An Examination of Online Crime and Gender.International Journal of Criminology and Sociology. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2024.13.19

Dearden, T. E., Parti, K., & Hawdon, J. (2022).Institutional Anomie Theory and Cybercrime: Cybercrime and the American Dream.Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211001590

Related Episodes Featuring Dr. Dearden

Episode 39 : Strained Dreams: Cybercrime and Institutional Anomie

https://www.cybercrimeology.com/episodes/strained-dreams-cybercrime-and-institutional-anomie

Other:

The Human Factors in cybercrime Conference: https://www.hfc-conference.com

We had a chat in a room with a bunch of people just outside having their own great conversations. Kind of nice to get a little bit of that vibe into the mix.  Conferences can be a lot of fun ;)/.

To the best of my knowledge, no bovines were harmed during the recording of this episode.