An Analysis of the Nature of Groups Engaged in Cyber Crime

An Analysis of the Nature of Groups engaged in Cyber Crime, International Journal of Cyber Criminology January-June 2014, Volume 8 (1): 1-20.

26 Pages Posted: 3 Jul 2014

See all articles by Roderic Broadhurst

Roderic Broadhurst

School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet); Australian National University (ANU) - Cybercrime Observatory

Peter Grabosky

School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet)

Mamoun Alazab

Cyber Security

Brigitte Bouhours

Australian National University (ANU)

Steve Chon

ANU Cybercrime Observatory, Australian National University

Date Written: February 14, 2014

Abstract

This paper explores the nature of groups engaged in cybercrime. It briefly outlines the definition and scope of cybercrime, theoretical and empirical challenges in addressing what is known about cyber offenders, and the likely role of organized crime groups. The paper gives examples of known cases that illustrate individual and group behaviour, and motivations of typical offenders, including state actors. Different types of cybercrime and different forms of criminal organisation are described drawing on the typology suggested by McGuire (2012). It is apparent that a wide variety of organisational structures are involved in cybercrime. Enterprise or profit-oriented activities, and especially cybercrime committed by state actors, appear to require leadership, structure, and specialisation. By contrast, protest activity tends to be less organized, with weak (if any) chain of command.

Keywords: cybercrime; organized crime; crime groups; Internet crime; cyber offenders; online offenders; state crime

Suggested Citation

Broadhurst, Roderic and Grabosky, Peter and Alazab, Mamoun and Bouhours, Brigitte and Chon, Steve, An Analysis of the Nature of Groups Engaged in Cyber Crime (February 14, 2014). An Analysis of the Nature of Groups engaged in Cyber Crime, International Journal of Cyber Criminology January-June 2014, Volume 8 (1): 1-20., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2461983

Roderic Broadhurst (Contact Author)

School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

Australian National University (ANU) - Cybercrime Observatory ( email )

Peter Grabosky

School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

Mamoun Alazab

Cyber Security ( email )

Australia

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/view/alazabm

Brigitte Bouhours

Australian National University (ANU) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia
+61261250115 (Phone)

Steve Chon

ANU Cybercrime Observatory, Australian National University ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://cybercrime.anu.edu.au

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