{"title":"The effect of online ad campaigns on DDoS-attacks: A cross-national difference-in-differences quasi-experiment","authors":"Asier Moneva, Rutger Leukfeldt","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12649","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12649","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>European law enforcement agencies have begun to use targeted online ad campaigns to raise cybercrime awareness among at-risk populations. Despite their rapid proliferation, there is little research to support their efficacy and effectiveness. This study uses a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design to evaluate the effect of seven campaigns deployed in 2021 and 2022 on the volume of (distributed) denial-of-service or (D)DoS-attacks recorded in six European countries: Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Portugal. The results show mixed effects, suggesting that the campaigns are not clearly effective in reducing DDoS-attacks in the short term.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Law enforcement has partly justified the use of targeted online ad campaigns on the premise that they reduce DDoS-attacks. However, this study shows that the evidence in this regard is inconclusive. If public support for the use of such campaigns is to be secured in the long term, law enforcement will likely need to rely on stronger arguments. The effect of this type of campaigns needs to be further investigated.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12649","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Priyanka Goonetilleke, Alex Knorre, Artem Kuriksha
{"title":"Hydra: Lessons from the world's largest darknet market","authors":"Priyanka Goonetilleke, Alex Knorre, Artem Kuriksha","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12647","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12647","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We present a comprehensive description of Hydra, the largest darknet marketplace in the world until its shutdown in April 2022. We document the main features of Hydra such as dead-drop delivery, feedback and reputation system, escrow, and dispute resolution. Using data scraped from the platform, we quantitatively examine the scale and the structure of the marketplace. We find that it has been highly competitive, geographically covering at least 69% of the Russian population and trading a wide variety of drugs, while also allowing the wholesale trade of drugs and precursors. The dead-drop delivery system used on Hydra was expensive, as the courier costs comprised a substantial proportion of the sale price of drugs on Hydra. We contribute to the research on drug cryptomarkets by studying an unprecedentedly large non-Western marketplace that existed substantially longer than any other known darknet market.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The phenomenon of Hydra shows that shut-down policies applied to darknet marketplaces have a large effect and implicitly shape the whole drug market. Without these policies, a pervasive digitalization of the drug trade can occur. The major cost of allowing marketplaces to grow is the probable increase in the consumption of illegal drugs due to convenience for consumers and facilitated cooperation between suppliers. This cost must be weighed against the potential benefits, including a higher quality of drugs, a decrease in potential violence, and the incentives for a large marketplace to self-regulate. The case of Hydra also suggests the relevance of financial regulation to limit the growth of darknet marketplaces.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12647","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cynthia Lum, Christopher S. Koper, Jin R. Lee, Thomas J. Holt
{"title":"","authors":"Cynthia Lum, Christopher S. Koper, Jin R. Lee, Thomas J. Holt","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12654","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12654","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"109171869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An examination of harm reduction strategies in Oxycodone and Adderall buyer feedback on AlphaBay","authors":"Kenji Logie, Katheryne Pugliese, Alexis Acevedo","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12652","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12652","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Darknet marketplaces (DNMs) are global digital marketplaces used primarily to buy and sell illicit drugs online. High rates of adulterated substances have contributed to the creation of harm reduction policies by DNM administrators to address growing rates of overdose worldwide. This paper explores the extent to which harm reduction occurs in buyer feedback of Adderall and Oxycodone purchased on AlphaBay and how these comments are impacted by AlphaBay's administrator-led “harm reduction” policy. This study finds that harm reduction strategies are present in buyer feedback of Oxycodone and Adderall pills, but AlphaBay's policy has very little impact on the preexisting harm reduction communication within buyer feedback.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>International policy proposals have placed emphasis on addressing the overdose crisis through harm reduction programs that provide people who use drugs with the necessary services and resources to buy and use drugs safely. There have been very few proposals that have considered how these programs can address the unique setting of buying and using drugs purchased on DNMs. Communication occurring among DNM buyers reveals how harm reduction strategies are being employed by users purchasing drugs from DNMs. In particular, these findings offer insight into the shared experiences of drug buyers in anonymous settings and the strategies they are using to protect one another from overdose and other unwanted side effects often caused by adulterated substances. Understanding these strategies highlights the ways in which street-based harm reduction programs can extend their services to online environments to assist buyers with making safe and informed decisions when using substances purchased online.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12652","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding markers of trust within the online stolen data market: An examination of vendors’ signaling behaviors relative to product price point","authors":"Jin R. Lee","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12651","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12651","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The current study examined 1055 stolen data products across 40 vendors on the Open and Dark Web to determine whether different product- and vendor-level behaviors predicted vendors’ trustworthiness as reflected in their product price point. Understanding the mechanisms that convey trust in the underground marketplace is crucial as it could help law enforcement target serious actors and disrupt the larger marketplace. Findings suggest the online stolen data market may resemble an uninformative cost condition where buyers are unable to accurately differentiate credible sellers due to the obscure nature of signaling behaviors.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Law enforcement would benefit from designing fake shops and deceptive forum posts that transmit mixed signals to complicate market participants’ process of interpreting trust signals as intended. These interventions would generate high levels of risk that encourage both buyers and sellers to exit the online illicit marketplace without needing law enforcement arrests. Law enforcement could also target prominent market facilitators to generate a larger disruption that prevents actors from continuing their illicit behavior.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12651","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why do young people start and continue with ethical hacking? A qualitative study on individual and social aspects in the lives of ethical hackers","authors":"Judith E. Noordegraaf, Marleen Weulen Kranenbarg","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12650","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12650","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This qualitative interview study examined individual and social aspects in the lives of 15 hackers who started with ethical hacking before the age of 18. We examined what motivated and stimulated them to start with ethical hacking and how and why they continued. Results show that individual aspects, such as an early interest in ICT (Information and Communication Technology), the motivation to make systems more secure, and thinking of reporting vulnerabilities as a moral duty, contribute to the initiation of ethical hacking. Social aspects, such as role models, mainly play a role in the further development of the ethical hacking career. For example, peers, parents, friends, and hacker communities have a motivating and stimulating effect on young ethical hackers. Similarly, positive reactions from public and private system owners can further stimulate the development and self-image of ethical hackers.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In contrast to criminal hackers, ethical hackers improve cybersecurity, for example, by reporting weaknesses or errors in computer systems. Nowadays, an increasing number of public and private organizations around the world are creating cybersecurity policies and practices around ethical hacking. The interest in hacking usually arises at an early age, making it important to gain knowledge about what stimulates and motivates young people to start and continue with ethical hacking, to inform these policies and practices. Our results show that recognition and reactions from system owners are important in the ethical hacking career. Our recommendations based on these results could stimulate more young people to take the ethical path. Simultaneously, this increases the security of public and private organizations, reducing opportunities for criminal hackers.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12650","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud","authors":"Cassandra Cross","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12645","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12645","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This article investigates the contributing factors (or triggers) to a realization of romance fraud victimization, based on 1015 reports lodged with Scamwatch (Australian online reporting portal for fraud) between July 2018 and July 2019 (inclusive). The article examines the free text narrative of each report to propose five discernible trigger categories: further requests for money; characteristics of communications; verification checks; an offender's action(s); and being told by a third party.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Based on a comprehensive understanding of these five categories, the article advocates for broader messaging approaches to encompass financial literacy and well-being, cyberliteracy and critical thinking skills, cybersecurity practices, and respectful and healthy relationships. Leveraging the use of these wider education and awareness campaigns could improve recognition of romance fraud. Importantly, it is suggested that banks and other financial institutions are in a strong position to focus their efforts on some of these broader messages to effect positive change.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12645","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas J. Holt, Mae Griffith, Noah Turner, Emily Greene-Colozzi, Steven Chermak, Joshua D. Freilich
{"title":"Assessing nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks using aspects of Situational Crime Prevention","authors":"Thomas J. Holt, Mae Griffith, Noah Turner, Emily Greene-Colozzi, Steven Chermak, Joshua D. Freilich","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12646","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12646","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research Summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study utilized a quantitative analysis of 246 cyberattack incidents reported in the Extremist CyberCrime Database to identify significant predictors of nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks relative to those performed by non-nation-state-sponsored ideological actors. Clarke and Newman's Situational Crime Prevention framework for terrorism was used to identify differential opportunities to successfully affect targets on the basis of tools, weapons, and the ability to access targets in online settings. The analysis noted nation-state-sponsored attacks were less likely to use high-visibility attack methods and more likely to utilize attack methods leading to data breaches. In addition, they were more likely to target state governments and military entities relative to ideological actors.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy Implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Nation-state attacks are more difficult to identify or mitigate while in process, requiring a more robust national cybersecurity policy framework to be implemented that moves beyond current practices. There is a need to better utilize all aspects of government, from legislation to grant funding, in order to deter cyberattacks from continuing into the future.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12646","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Décary-Hétu, Camille Faubert, Julien Chopin, Aili Malm, Jerry Ratcliffe, Benoît Dupont
{"title":"“Like aspirin for arthritis”: A qualitative study of conditional cyber-deterrence associated with police crackdowns on the dark web","authors":"David Décary-Hétu, Camille Faubert, Julien Chopin, Aili Malm, Jerry Ratcliffe, Benoît Dupont","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12642","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12642","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Crackdowns are law enforcement strategies based on the principles of deterrence theory, which stipulates that offenders are rational actors who will refrain from crime if perceived risks are higher than perceived benefits. Studies have shown that the effects of police street drug crackdowns are mostly short termed and followed by considerable displacement. In the early 2010s, an important part of illicit drug trades moved online to cryptomarkets, and law enforcement agencies have responded by engaging in online drug crackdowns. In this study, we focus on the perceptions of dark web users in order to determine, from a qualitative “data-driven” perspective, whether police online crackdowns may have a cyber-deterrent effect by analyzing 1796 forum posts. Our results show that these events trigger psychological and practical consequences that participants claim to have a conditional, although minor, deterrent effect. In the majority of cases, dark web users claimed to engage in several forms of spatial and tactical displacement.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our study suggests that police crackdowns on the dark web have limited, short-term effectiveness in curbing illicit activities. It proposes that innovative policing approaches such as problem-oriented policing and “pulling levers/focused deterrence” strategies, which involve identifying key actors and engaging with them, be potentially extended to the dark web. While this approach is promising, it emphasizes the need for further research to assess its efficacy in the online realm, as it is a largely uncharted territory for law enforcement.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12642","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hunter M. Boehme, Ian T. Adams, Christi Metcalfe, Peter Leasure, Melissa S. Nolan
{"title":"Does scientific research change minds? Linking criminology and public perceptions of policing","authors":"Hunter M. Boehme, Ian T. Adams, Christi Metcalfe, Peter Leasure, Melissa S. Nolan","doi":"10.1111/1745-9133.12644","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1745-9133.12644","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Research summary</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study investigates the impact of scientific research findings on public views of policing topics. Specifically, we conducted an original survey experiment to determine whether research information treatments influence respondents’ views on the effectiveness of the police in reducing crime, defunding and refunding police budgets, and use of body-worn cameras. Our results indicated that presenting confirmatory research information had a significant positive impact on perceptions of police effectiveness in reducing crime and use of body-worn cameras compared to comparison groups. Conversely, presenting “negative” research information had a significant negative effect on these perceptions. Interestingly, neither positive nor negative research information treatments related to defunding versus refunding the police had a statistically significant impact on respondents compared to comparison groups, suggesting that research findings have limited effects on more ideologically complex policing topics.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Policy implications</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Scientific research can effectively shape public perceptions of police effectiveness in reducing crime and the use of body-worn cameras, but it has limited effects on politically charged issues, such as defunding and refunding the police. To enhance the impact of evidence-based policing, we suggest that police administrators collaborate with researchers to evaluate new policies and disseminate these findings widely to the public. Additionally, researchers should strive to make their research more accessible to the general public, beyond academic journals, scientific conferences, and paywalls. We recommend using open-access platforms, social media, and other media outlets to disseminate unbiased, evidence-based research on policing that is digestible to the public.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47902,"journal":{"name":"Criminology & Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9133.12644","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71507084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}