Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age » (Revised)

D.S. Wall, Professor of Criminal Justice, Head of the School of Law and member of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, University of Leeds

How has the internet transformed criminal behaviour? What is different about cybercrime compared with traditional criminal activity? What new criminal opportunities have arisen? What impact might cybercrime have on public security?

In this exciting new text, David Wall carefully examines these and other important issues. He discusses what is known about cybercrime, disentangling the rhetoric of risk assessment from its reality.

Looking at the full range of cybercrime, he shows how the increase in personal computing power available within a globalized communications network has affected the nature of and response to criminal activities. Drawing on empirical research findings and multidisciplinary sources he goes on to argue that we are beginning to experience a new generation of automated cybercrimes, which are almost completely mediated by networked technologies that are themselves converging.

We have now entered the world of low impact, multiple victim crimes in which bank robbers, for example, no longer have to meticulously plan the theft of millions of dollars. New technological capabilities at their disposal now mean that one person can effectively commit millions of robberies of one dollar each. Against this background, David Wall scrutinizes the regulatory challenges that cybercrime poses for the criminal (and civil) justice processes, at both the national and the international levels.

This book offers the most comprehensive, and intellectually robust, account of cybercrime currently available. It is suitable for use on courses across the social sciences, and in computer science, and will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

List of Figures and Tables     vii
Preface and Acknowledgements     viii
Acronyms     xi
Introduction     1
Understanding Crime in the Information Age: What are cybercrimes and what do we know about them?     8
Cyberspace and the Transformation of Criminal Activity: How have networked technologies changed opportunities for criminal activity?     30
Computer Integrity Crime: Hacking, Cracking and Denial of Service: How has criminal activity changed in the information age? Part 1     52
Computer-Assisted Crime; Virtual Robberies, Scams and Thefts: How has criminal activity changed in the information age? Part 2     69
Computer Content Crime: Pornography, Violence, Offensive Communications: How has criminal activity changed in the information age? Part 3     103
Cybercrime Futures: The Automation of Offender-Victim Engagement: How is criminal activity continuing to change in the information age?     130
Policing Online Behaviour: Maintaining Order and Law on the Cyberbeat: How is cyberspace policed and by whom?     157
Controlling and Preventing Cybercrime: How are cybercrimes to be regulated and prevented?     186
Conclusions: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age     207
Notes     215
Glossary     219
Cases and References     233
Index     269