Title:
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Investigating cybercrime profiling and trends analysis
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The Internet can be considered a double-edged sword because while
offering a range of benefits, it provides criminals with the opportunity to
extend their work to areas and places previously unimaginable. Therefore,
all countries face the same challenges on how to fight cybercrime and how
to effectively promote security to their citizens and organisations.
In Jordan, cybercafes have become "culturally acceptable alternatives" and a
haven for individuals wanting to engage in some form of deviant behaviour
away from the prying eyes of society. The aim of this research is to examine
the online behaviours of individuals living in two different cyberspaces
(English and Non-English). The literature currently available has no such
conducted research. Therefore, this research has attempted to address this
significant gap in the research by examining the relationship between online
behaviour and computer victimisation in two countries; the UK as an
example of an English cyberspace in a developed country, and Jordan as a
Non-English cyberspace in a developing country.
This thesis, in addition, draws attention to the growIng numbers of
cybercrime victims, and the techniques used by cyber criminals to victimise
them. Understanding the trends of cybercrime and the strategies employed
by cyber criminals in order to commit cybercrime will help us to identify the
steps that needs be taken to prevent such criminal activities.
This study investigates individuals who do or do not take precautions to
guard themselves against cybercrime, and examines how their perception of
law influences their actions towards incidents of cybercrime. In this study,
'guardianship' refers to actions or procedures that individuals take to ensure
that any given computer is secure before they go online, and is linked to the
awareness of risks associated with the use of the Internet that an individual
may have.
Environmental crime theories are popular because of their success in solving
traditional crime; Life-style Routine Activity Theory (LRA T) is a good
example of these traditional crime theories. The particular interest of this
thesis is how to benefit from these crime theories in the fight against
cybercrime victimisation. This study has assessed a new theoretical model
derived from LRA T. This new conceptual model expands upon digital capable
guardianship elements by adding the element of "Awareness", using
statistical evidence to demonstrate its key significance in bringing about
online harmony alongside the three pre-existing elements (Formal Social
Control, Informal Social Control, and Target Hardening).
The conceptual model and theoretical basis of this research suggests that it
is not only computer-related Formal Social Control (FSC) aspects which can
have an impact upon an individual's perception of online activities, but also
posits that an individual's awareness can influence their online behaviours.
The results of this research allows us to determine the effectiveness of both
FSC and "Awareness" on the behaviours of individuals within the overall
efforts of a society to fight cybercrime victimisation. This is an extension to
the existing literature which typically focuses on technical perspectives to
ensure computer security.
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