Episoder
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About Our Guest:
Dr. Tom Holt
https://cj.msu.edu/directory/holt-tom.html
Key Topics Discussed:
Dr. Tom Holt emphasized the urgent need for consistent and evidence-based cybercrime training in law enforcement, pointing out disparities in how local agencies handle these crimes.He highlighted the challenges agencies face in responding to cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes, particularly in rural areas.Dr. Holt discussed the development of training modules covering both basic digital evidence handling and specialized topics tailored to agency needs.The conversation underscored the importance of bridging resource gaps between rural and urban agencies.Dr. Holt explained how police leadership’s support is crucial for improving the adoption and effectiveness of training programs.The prevalence of interpersonal cybercrimes like sextortion and fraud, often encountered by local officers, was addressed.Dr. Holt elaborated on long-term evaluation plans for these training programs, aiming to measure their impact on officers and agencies.He also discussed the potential for a national standard curriculum to bring consistency to cybercrime training across the U.S.Papers and Resources Mentioned:
Articles on the Training Center Initiative:Cybercrime Training at MSU –https://cj.msu.edu/community/cyber-center/cyber-center-home.htmlProgram announcement - https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2024/msu-receives-$1M-to-create-center-for-cyber-security-trainingOther:
This episode was recorded on location in at HEC Montreal. The occasional background noise from students only adds to the vibrant atmosphere of the discussion. So you can’t complain about the noise being distracting, consider it an authentic experience!
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Episode Notes
Episode Summary
Introduction to Open Science – Asier Moneva introduces open science, emphasizing transparency and replicability as essential to modern research.Importance of Transparency – He explains how transparency builds trust, enabling other researchers to assess rigor and replicate findings accurately.Preregistration and Registered Reports – Asier discusses these practices, which require researchers to specify methodologies and hypotheses before data collection to reduce bias.Challenges in Adoption – He notes that implementing open science practices can be challenging due to academic pressures and resource limitations.The “Publish or Perish” Culture – We highlight how the pressure to publish quickly can conflict with the time-intensive requirements of open science.Academic Incentives and Misaligned Goals – We critique the academic reward system that often favors quantity over quality, which can detract from scientific rigor.Advantages for Public Accessibility – Open science also enhances public accessibility, making research available beyond academia and helping inform public policy.Ethical Considerations in Research – Asier emphasizes that open science fosters ethical research practices by reducing questionable practices like p-hacking and selective reporting.Benefits of Open Science for Collaboration – The approach encourages collaboration across disciplines and institutions, providing a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues.Real-World Example of Retraction – He mentions a case where a research paper was retracted due to lack of transparency, illustrating the importance of open science practices.Role of Preprints in Open Science – Asier advocates for preprints as a way to share research and receive feedback before formal publication.Challenges with Platform Fragmentation – He observes that the proliferation of research-sharing platforms can hinder accessibility if findings are scattered across multiple sources.Future of Registered Reports – Asier sees registered reports as a future standard, as they align research design with ethical and rigorous science.Open Science as a Solution to Publication Bias – Open science practices help address publication bias by promoting the dissemination of all research findings, regardless of outcomes.Closing Thoughts on Transparency – Open science is about ensuring reproducibility and holding science accountable, aiming to make research as transparent and accessible as possible.About Our Guest:
Asier Moneva
https://asiermoneva.com
https://nscr.nl/en/medewerker/asier-moneva/
https://www.thuas.com/research/research-groups/team-cybercrime-cybersecurity
https://github.com/amoneva
https://osf.io/7ce24/
Resources and References Mentioned in This Episode:
The Open Science Framework (OSF)
The OSF is an open-source platform supporting transparent and reproducible research across disciplines.
The Open Science Framework:
https://osf.io/
Paper Introducing Registered Reports
This foundational paper outlines the concept of registered reports, a publishing model aimed at reducing bias and enhancing research rigor.
Paper introducing "registered reports":
https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-20922-001.html
Retraction Case Study
A recent retraction of a notable article on the replicability of social-behavioral research findings offers insights into challenges within open science practices.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: High replicability of newly discovered social-behavioural findings is achievable:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01749-9
Retraction Note: High replicability of newly discovered social-behavioural findings is achievable:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01997-3
Podcast episode discussing the retraction in depth:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rygrbUNocfCEEGd1Byn0V?si=vJDuzQT3S7yJqDEUMycF1w&t=178
Other:
This episode was recorded in a hotel lobby corner with music playing in the background. If the audio sounds a little unusual at times it is because of the noise removal being used to remove that noise being combined with other ‘sound enhancement’ features. I had to go back in and play around with the audio directly before I was even a little happy. The tools work well but they are a little unpredictable. I am increasingly wary of ‘it just works’ audio editing tools. I would have left it in, but the bots chasing copyright infringement are ravenous and indiscriminate.
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Manglende episoder?
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Episode Notes:
The research focuses on analyzing the representation of passwords and cyber threats in films, particularly how password guessing and hacking scenes influence public perceptions of security.Movies both reflect societal attitudes towards cybersecurity and shape them, as many viewers learn about cyber behaviors through entertainment rather than formal education.The research indicates that films often oversimplify or dramatize hacking scenes, leading to unrealistic expectations about password security.A key finding from the research is that while weak passwords (e.g., “12345”) are mocked in films, even strong passwords are often guessed or hacked with ease, sending the wrong message to audiences about the value of strong security practices.There may be value to educating the public about cybersecurity in the same way people are taught first aid in Germany—everyone should know the basics.One of the challenges of using crowd-sourced subtitle data for academic research was that it required additional work to assure reviewers that the research is ethical.About our Guest:
Maike Raphael
https://www.itsec.uni-hannover.de/en/usec/team/raphael
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Raphael, M. M., Kanta, A., Seebonn, R., Dürmuth, M., & Cobb, C. (2024). Batman hacked my password: A subtitle-based analysis of password depiction in movies. In Proceedings of the Twentieth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (pp. 199-211). USENIX Association. https://www.usenix.org/conference/soups2024/presentation/raphael
Other relevant resources:
Information and supplementary materials on the paper "Batman Hacked My Password"
https://www.itsec.uni-hannover.de/de/usec/forschung/medien/password-depiction-in-movies
If you are interested in the right to download the subtitles.
The data source (opensubtitles.org) statement regarding copyright.
https://www.opensubtitles.org/en/dmca
The website has an API with the no limit to the total number of subitles that can be downloaded, only rate limiting. The research team didn't obtain the subtitles this way, but the source they got them from may have. In either case it shows opensubtitles.org views about how their service can be used.
https://opensubtitles.stoplight.io/docs/opensubtitles-api/e3750fd63a100-getting-started
Other:
I had a bunch of movie clips that I was going to include as examples, but with the way that platforms handle DMCA I just don't want to have to bother with trying to assert a claim to fair use. If you are interested I would recommend having a look at the password scene from Horse Feathers (1932) with Groucho Marx, and there is a scene in Iron Man 3 (2013) where Tony Stark asks James Rhodes for his password, and everyone laughs at the bad password. I recommend you watch Kung Fury from 2015 for their parody treatment of the "hackerman". It is actually on YouTube https://youtu.be/bS5P_LAqiVg?si=-OL8Mr1OLY9Dd081
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About our Guest:
Judith Donath
https://cyber.harvard.edu/people/jdonath
Key Discussion Points:
Understanding Signaling Theory:The foundation of signaling theory in communication.The balance between honest and deceptive signals.Evolutionary Biology and Communication:Darwin's insights on animal communication.Zahavi's Handicap Principle and its role in ensuring signal honesty.Maynard Smith's Index Signals and their reliability without cost.AI and the Evolution of Communication:The impact of AI on the reliability of communication signals.Challenges posed by deepfakes in video and audio.The arms race between deception technologies and verification methods.Cultural and Institutional Roles:How culture and institutions uphold the reliability of signals.The interplay between technological advancements and societal norms.Future of Communication in the Digital Age:Strategies for developing secure communication channels.Balancing privacy with the need for verification.The role of trusted sources in maintaining signal integrity.Papers and Books Mentioned:
Turing, A. M. (1950). Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind, 59(236), 433-460. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/LIX.236.433
Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate selection—a selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53(1), 205-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3
Veblen, T. (1899). The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Macmillan.
https://moglen.law.columbia.edu/LCS/theoryleisureclass.pdf
https://dn720401.ca.archive.org/0/items/theoryofleisurec01vebl/theoryofleisurec01vebl.pdf
Weizenbaum, J. (1966). ELIZA—A computer program for the study of natural language communication between man and machine. Communications of the ACM, 9(1), 36-45. https://doi.org/10.1145/365153.365168
Donath, J. S. (2002). Identity and deception in the virtual community. In Communities in cyberspace (pp. 37-68). Routledge.
https://vivatropolis.com/papers/Donath/IdentityDeception/IdentityDeception.pdf
Current Progress on the forthcoming book: Signals, Truth & Design
https://vivatropolis.com/judith/signalsTruthDesign.html
Donath, J. (2014). The social machine: designs for living online. MIT Press.https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/4037/The-Social-MachineDesigns-for-Living-Online
Other:
The Story about the Ferrari executive Deepfake attempt
https://www.carscoops.com/2024/07/ferrari-ceo-impersonator-uncovered-by-colleague-in-deepfake-call/
We geeked out for a moment on Programming languages. Learn about them here.
The C language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)
Introduction to C
https://www.w3schools.com/c/c_intro.php
APL Language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)
Learn APL
https://xpqz.github.io/learnapl/intro.html
Try APL
https://tryapl.org
LISP Language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_(programming_language)
Learn LISP
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-lisp/
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Notes:
Background in Sociology: Dr. Miranda Bruce started in sociology, focusing on the dynamics of power and institutions.PhD Research: Her PhD explored the Internet of Things (IoT) using post-structuralist French theory to understand technological reality.Transition to Cybercrime: Transitioned from IoT research to a project on the geography of cybercrime, partnering with a local Australian university and the University of Oxford.Cybercrime as a Local Phenomenon: Emphasized that cybercrime is not just a global issue but has significant local dimensions.Mapping Cybercrime: Developed methods to map cybercrime hotspots to understand where cybercrime is coming from and why.Importance of Local Factors: Identified that local factors play a crucial role in the proliferation of cybercrime in specific areas.Intervention Strategies: Stressed that intervention strategies must be tailored to local conditions as one-size-fits-all approaches are ineffective.Challenges in Measuring Cybercrime: Discussed the difficulties in accurately measuring where cybercrime originates due to technical limitations.Survey of Experts: Utilized expert surveys from cybercrime intelligence and investigations to gather data on cybercrime hotspots.Bias in Data Collection: Addressed potential biases in the data collection process and took steps to ensure diverse and reliable sources.Use of Proxy Data: Chose expert survey data over technical measures or legal cases to get more accurate insights into cybercrime geography.Findings: Key findings indicated that countries like Russia, Ukraine, China, the United States, and Nigeria are significant sources of cybercrime.Analysis of Results: Plans to analyze the collected data to create theoretical models explaining why cybercrime is prevalent in certain areas.Future Research Directions: Aims to develop detailed case studies and collaborate with policymakers to use the data for effective interventions.Open Data: Highlighted the importance of making the data open source to enable further research and collaboration across disciplines.About our guests:
Dr Miranda Bruce:
https://www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/people/miranda-bruce
https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/miranda-bruce
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Bruce, M., Lusthaus, J., Kashyap, R., Phair, N., & Varese, F. (2024). Mapping the global geography of cybercrime with the World Cybercrime Index. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249850Bruce, M., & Phair, N. (2020). Mapping the geography of cybercrime: A review of indices of digital offending by country. IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy. https://doi.org/10.1109/EuroSPW51379.2020.00013Other:
If you were interested in the topic of this episode, you might also enjoy episode 36 "Cyber criminals are people too".
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Notes:
Dual Research Focus: Dr. Huey historically focused on policing and victimization, particularly in marginalized communities.Burnout and Shift: Burnout from trauma research led her to shift focus to applied policing research around 2012-2013.Economics of Policing: The federal government's focus on the costs of policing and the "economics of policing" initiative influenced her new research direction.Research Gaps: Realized that existing policing research in Canada had little practical value for informing policing practice and policy.Evidence-Based Policing: Joined the Society for Evidence-Based Policing (SEBP) in the UK to produce actionable research for police and policymakers.Right-Wing Extremism: Discussed the rise of right-wing extremism and its new tactic of targeting police officers, including cop baiting.Cop Baiting Incidents: Examples include interventions by Romana Didulo at the Peterborough Police Service and incidents in Vancouver during trans rights celebrations.Operational Stress: Emphasized the operational stress injuries faced by police officers due to regular exposure to horrific incidents.Public Misconceptions: Highlighted the issue of public and media criticism of police without a full understanding of the complexities involved.Misinformation: Explained how misinformation and disinformation spread about police actions, leading to doxxing and harassment of officers.Cyber Sleuths: Described incidents where online activists exposed personal information about police officers, increasing the risks they face.Convoy Protests: Referenced research on convoy protests and the targeting of police, emphasizing the reality versus media portrayal.False Narratives: Pointed out the persistence of false narratives, such as those surrounding the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, which continue to spread online despite being disproven.Call for Applied Research: Called for more applied research to address specific issues in policing and cyber-security rather than broad theoretical studies, stressing the need for better public education to combat misinformation.About our guests:
Dr. Laura Huey
https://sociology.uwo.ca/people/profiles/Huey.html
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Huey, L., & Ferguson, L. (2024). ‘No one wants to end up on YouTube’: sousveillance and ‘cop-baiting’ in Canadian policing. Policing and Society, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2024.2329239
Huey, L., & Ferguson, L. (2024). “All These Crazies”: Right-Wing Anti-Authoritarian Politics and the Targeting of Public Police. Deviant Behavior, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2024.2338890
Huey, L. (2024) The Cascade Effect: An Oral History of the Policing of the Convoy Protests, Independant: 979-8882979859
Other:
Dr Huey provided her own ‘bleep’ noises for this episode to save me the work of having to add them in post production.
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Notes:
Joakim Kävrestad is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Jönköping University, with a background in networking and cybersecurity.He shifted his focus to the societal and psychological aspects of cybersecurity, emphasizing human behavior.Joakim developed Context-Based Micro-Training (CBMT) to provide cybersecurity training at relevant moments, improving user engagement and retention.CBMT integrates training into real-world scenarios, such as reading emails or creating passwords, to address common cyberattack methods.Traditional cybersecurity training methods are critiqued for their lack of effectiveness in retaining user attention and knowledge.Joakim used a design science approach to refine CBMT, involving over 1800 survey participants and 300 experiment participants in the process.Evaluations show that CBMT supports secure user behavior and is well-received by users.The importance of usability in security practices is emphasized, highlighting that user-friendly training increases adoption and compliance.CBMT provides a guide for practitioners on implementing effective cybersecurity training and supports procurement decisions.Future research should explore the interplay between training and other support mechanisms, as training alone is insufficient to ensure comprehensive cybersecurity.About our guests:
Joakim Kävrestad
https://ju.se/personinfo.html?sign=KAVJOA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joakimkavrestad/
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Kävrestad, J., Hagberg, A., Nohlberg, M., Rambusch, J., Roos, R., & Furnell, S. (2022). Evaluation of Contextual and Game-Based Training for Phishing Detection. Future Internet, 14(4), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14040104Kävrestad, J. (2022). Context-Based Micro-Training: Enhancing Cybersecurity Training for End-Users (Doctoral dissertation). University of Skövde. ISBN 978-91-984919-9-9. Link to dissertationKävrestad, J., & Nohlberg, M. (2020). Context-Based Micro-Training: A Framework for Information Security Training. 14th International Symposium on Human Aspects of Information Security and Assurance (HAISA), Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece, 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57404-8_6Other:
The button that makes a noise at a street crossing is called a “pedestrian call button” Interestingly they work differently in different countries, They look different, they feel different, they make different noises, some of them have haptic indicators, some call for the lights to change, some don’t, some make sound all the time others just provide more accessible indicators when pressed.
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Notes:
Introduction to Cybercrime Research: Dr. Hutchings and Ahn Vu introduce their work at the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre.Global Conflicts and Cyber Activities: Discussion on how global conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza, spur cybercrime activities like website defacements and DDoS attacks.Cyber Tactics During Warfare: Insights into how cyber tactics are employed quickly after conflicts start, with a focus on how these activities serve both political propaganda and cybercriminal interests.Deplatforming Hate Groups: In-depth analysis of the challenges faced when deplatforming hate groups, specifically referencing the Kiwi Farms case.Temporary Effects of Cyber Attacks: Observations on the short-lived nature of heightened cyber activities post-conflict, with a decline in interest and activities after initial spikes.Challenges of Cybercrime Research: Discussion on the difficulties in tracking and attributing cyber attacks, particularly those by decentralized and loosely organized groups.Unintended Consequences of Deplatforming: Exploration of how attempts to silence harmful online communities can lead to increased attention and unintended reinforcement of these groups.Closing Thoughts: Dr. Hutchings and Ahn Vu summarize the ongoing challenges and the evolving landscape of cybercrime in the context of international security and online governance.About our guests:
Dr. Alice Hutchings:
https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ah793/
Anh V. Vu
https://www.cst.cam.ac.uk/people/vv301
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Anh V. Vu, Alice Hutchings, Ross Anderson. No Easy Way Out: the Effectiveness of Deplatforming an Extremist Forum to Suppress Hate and Harassment. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P'24)
Anh V. Vu, Daniel R. Thomas, Ben Collier, Alice Hutchings, Richard Clayton, Ross Anderson. Getting Bored of Cyberwar: Exploring the Role of Low-level Cybercrime Actors in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict. In Proceedings of the ACM World Wide Web Conference (WWW'24)
Other:
No AI's were harmed during the creation of this episode, however they were definitely involved in the work of editing and drafting copy.If you want to hear more from Dr. Hutchings, you can find her way back on episode 4 .... 101 episodes ago ....Apologies if the end of the episode seemed a little loud. -
Episode Notes:
Dr. Tom Holt discussed the nascent stages of cybercrime research during his doctoral studies, highlighting its evolution into a more recognized and competitive field.He emphasized the growth of cybercrime studies and the challenges of carving a niche within an expanding academic and professional landscape.Dr. Holt pointed out the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration between social sciences and computer science as crucial for advancing cybercrime research.The importance of online subcultures and ideological spaces in cybercrime dynamics was discussed, noting their influence on criminal activities and group formations.He delved into the realm of ideologically motivated cyber attacks, underscoring the need for better legal and enforcement frameworks to address such threats.Dr. Holt provided examples of cyber attacks by extremist groups, showing a strategic shift towards cyber tactics for ideological, not financial, reasons.The conversation highlighted the critical role of comprehensive data in understanding the scope and nature of cyberterrorism and ideological cyber attacks.Reflecting on his career, Dr. Holt offered insights on the importance of continuous learning and interdisciplinary collaboration for researchers in the cybercrime field.About our guests:
Dr. Tom Holt
https://cj.msu.edu/directory/holt-thomas.html
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-holt-3242a322/
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Cassandra Cross & Thomas J. Holt (2023) More than Money: Examining the Potential Exposure of Romance Fraud Victims to Identity Crime, Global Crime, 24:2, 107-121, DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2023.2185607
Holt, T. J., Turner, N. D., Freilich, J. D., & Chermak, S. M. (2022). Examining the Characteristics That Differentiate Jihadi-Associated Cyberattacks Using Routine Activities Theory. Social Science Computer Review, 40(6), 1614-1630. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393211023324
Thomas J. Holt, Jin Ree Lee, Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak, Johannes M. Bauer, Ruth Shillair& Arun Ross (2022) An Exploratory Analysis of the Characteristics of Ideologically Motivated Cyberattacks, Terrorism and Political Violence, 34:7, 1305-1320, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2020.1777987
Thomas J. Holt, Joshua D. Freilich & Steven M. Chermak (2022) Examining the Online Expression of Ideology among Far-Right Extremist Forum Users, Terrorism and Political Violence, 34:2, 364-384,DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2019.1701446
Other:
Wait for wisdom, Learn to listen, Succession is Success.
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Notes:
Dr Chang's background in law and sociology led him to specialize in criminology, particularly cybercrime, after observing its emerging relevance.He chose to pursue his PhD in Australia due to scholarship opportunities and the chance to work with a leading cybercrime researcher.Dr Chang discusses virtual kidnapping, a scam where victims are manipulated into isolating themselves, enabling scammers to demand ransom from their families.He highlights the challenges of combating cybercrime, including jurisdictional issues and the need for international police collaboration.Dr Chang emphasizes the importance of public awareness and education to prevent scams, as well as better victim support systems.The interview also touches on the role of financial institutions in preventing scams and the potential future threats posed by technologies like AI and ChatGPT in cybercrime.About our guests:
Dr Lennon Chang
https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/lennon-chang
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Chang, L. Y.-C., Zhong, L.-Y., & Grabosky, P. (2020). Virtual Kidnapping: Online Scams with ‘Asian Characteristics’ During the Pandemic. In Crime and Justice in Digital Society (pp. 112-113). ResearchGate. Note: APA format typically requires publisher information, which is not provided in this excerpt.Other:
The intro an outro was drafted using generative AI. I think it gave a different flavour.
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Notes:
The software developed by Bryce Westlake, Russell Brewer and colleagues aims to assist law enforcement agencies in identifying perpetrators of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offences by using multiple biometric markers.The unique function of the software is its capability to synthesize, triage, and systematically review all evidence holdings that law enforcement might seize, thereby automating the process and speeding up investigations.The software can ingest a variety of media files, extract multiple biometric features from those files, and identify subjects contained within, matching them across data sets, reducing investigator exposure to CSAM and speeding up the investigative process.One of the key aspects addressed by the software is the ability to identify new content, overcoming the limitations of current reactive methods used in combating CSAM (i.e. matching file hashes).The software is leverages social networking analysis and other techniques to assist investigators to identify links between offenders, victims, places and objects, potentially opening new avenues or focusing detective work.The project aims to connect law enforcement agencies nationally and globally, enabling them to share information and collaborate on cases, despite the challenges posed by different laws and data transmission regulations.The software's ability to systematically catalog and review all available data provides a more comprehensive and unbiased investigative process as choices about which media is reviewed, reducing the impact of investigator intuition and fragmented intelligence.The software has received funding for research and development, leading to the creation of a functional prototype for law enforcement in Australia and they are now looking at having it implemented by police more widely. The development of AI technology has a positive impact on the technology, as new matching tools are "plug and play".One of the challenges faced in implementing the software is convincing law enforcement to adopt new technologies and methods, as they may be hesitant to change from established routines, despite the potential benefits of the new system.About our guests:
Russell Brewer
https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/russell.brewer#professional-activities
Bryce Westlake
https://www.brycewestlake.com
https://www.sjsu.edu/justicestudies/about-us/directory/westlake-bryce.php
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Brewer R et al. 2023. Advancing child sexual abuse investigations using biometrics and social network analysis. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 668. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti78948
Westlake B et al. 2022. Developing automated methods to detect and match face and voice biometrics in child sexual abuse videos. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 648. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti78566
DEVELOPING AUTOMATED SOFTWARE TOOLS: To Detect Child Sexual Abuse Material Online.
https://adelaidecybercrime.org/software
Other:
This interview
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About our guests:
Russell Brewer
https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/russell.brewer
Lennon Chang
https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/lennon-chang
Benoit Dupont
https://www.benoitdupont.net/en/
Steven Kemp
https://www.udg.edu/ca/directori/pagina-personal?ID=2003705
Rutger Leukfedt
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/rutger-leukfeldt#tab-1
Katalin Parti,
https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-sociology/faculty/katalin-parti.html
Bryce Westlake.
https://www.brycewestlake.com
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens. Harper.
https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/
Other:
I edited this one on the road, apologies if the quality is not quite what you are used to.
The next episode will be at the start of next month.
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Summary:
The main points of this episode are:
Celebrating the 100th episode of cybercrimeology and reflecting on the podcast's journey over the past three years.Discussing the use of new technologies, such as AI, for analyzing and understanding the podcast's content.Analyzing the podcast's content using natural language processing and summarization techniques to identify recurring themes and research topics.Identifying common themes in the podcast, including abuse in relationships, privacy invasion, law enforcement in cybercrime, social engineering, and age-related factors in cybercrime.Discussing various research methodologies covered in the podcast, such as technographs, online experiments, and survey research.Highlighting the dedication of guests who share their time and research without any financial incentives.Answering questions about the process of creating each episode, including research, interviews, editing, and production.Discussing the volume of work represented by 99 episodes totaling over 5 hours of content and involving 96 guests.Reflecting on the impact of the podcast and its growth over the past three years, including achieving 100,000 downloads.Looking forward to the future of the podcast and the potential for new technologies to enhance its content and reach.About our guests:
Alloy:
https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/text-to-speech
voicing generations from
ChatGPT
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
The BART model:
https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers/model_doc/bart
The DistilBERT model:
https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers/model_doc/distilbert
Results:
Which terms were spoken about the most and what was the sentiment around those ?
NounOccurrencesFilesOccurredInSentimentScoreSumpeople25299492.60830581188202time11338379.5210649research13968079.49750900268553way10057473.79837167263031things12387372.45885318517685lot11177170.87118428945543data9034644.24124717712402kind6674443.9891608crime8854342.725725710392005cyber8054139.68457114696503cybercrime4813836.90566980838775thing3933635.59294366836548security5273130.89444762468338information4672928.87013864517212Was there a change in the sentiment of the podcast after the end of pandemic conditions, assuming that the pandemic ended at the end of Q3 2021?
The model is given by:
yi∼Normal(μi,σ)yi∼Normal(μi,σ)
where
μi=β0+βafter_event⋅xiμi=β0+βafter_event⋅xi
Here, the parameters are defined as follows:
β0β0: Intercept, with a Student's t-distribution prior with 3 degrees of freedom, a location parameter of 0.8, and a scale parameter of 2.5.βafter_eventβafter_event: Coefficient for the predictor variable (after_event), with a flat prior.σσ: Standard deviation of the response variable, with a Student's t-distribution prior with 3 degrees of freedom, a location parameter of 0, and a scale parameter of 2.5.This provided the results as follows:
Population-Level Effects:
Estimate Est.Error l-95% CI u-95% CI Rhat Bulk_ESS Tail_ESS
Intercept 0.37 0.06 0.26 0.48 1.00 3884 2917
after_event 0.39 0.08 0.23 0.54 1.00 3561 2976
Family Specific Parameters:
Estimate Est.Error l-95% CI u-95% CI Rhat Bulk_ESS Tail_ESS
sigma 0.38 0.03 0.33 0.44 1.00 3608 2817
Other:
The model overlooked Mike Levi's contribution to the History series. That is a bit unfair.
Where there were multiple guests, I did not include them all in the database, hence "no specific guest listed"
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Notes:
- Rutger Leukfeldt discusses his background and how he became involved in cybersecurity research. - The importance of cybersecurity education and the new cybersecurity bachelor program at Leiden University.
- The need for a multidisciplinary approach to cybersecurity, which includes not only technical skills but also social and legal aspects.
- Hack_Right is a program designed for juvenile offenders in the Netherlands who have committed cyber-dependent crimes. The program aims to provide education and support to help young offenders turn away from cybercrime and develop positive skills and behaviors. Dr Leukfeldt emphasizes that the program is not about Russian hackers or fraudsters who make millions, but rather about those kids who are experimenting and need help. He also mentions that the program was evaluated through a research study conducted by the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), which found that the program was effective in reducing recidivism among young offenders who participated in the program.
- Regarding interdisciplinary research, Dr Leukfeldt explains that it can be difficult because different disciplines have different traditions and expectations when it comes to research. For example, one discipline may prioritize publishing in academic journals, while another may prioritize presenting at conferences. This can create practical issues for a team that is trying to work together, as different members may have different timelines and goals. Additionally, traditional reviewers may not be familiar with other fields, which can make it challenging to defend interdisciplinary research against criticism. Rutger notes that these challenges can be overcome through effective communication and collaboration, but they do require effort and a willingness to work across disciplines.
- Rutger emphasizes the importance of being constructive and thoughtful in providing feedback. He suggests that reviewers should not only point out flaws in a paper but also offer suggestions for improvement. Additionally, he notes that good reviewers should try to approach a paper with an open mind and be willing to learn from it, even if they are not experts in the field. By doing so, reviewers can help to ensure that research is rigorous, relevant, and impactful. Rutger encourages everyone to strive to be that kind of reviewer who provides constructive feedback and helps to improve the quality of research.
About our Guest:
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/rutger-leukfeldt#tab-1
https://nscr.nl/en/medewerker/dr-rutger-leukfeldt/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rutgerleukfeldt
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
J. A. M. Schiks, Susanne van ’t Hoff-de Goede & Rutger E. Leukfeldt (2023) An alternative intervention for juvenile hackers? A qualitative evaluation of the Hack_Right intervention, Journal of Crime and Justice, DOI: 10.1080/0735648X.2023.2252394
Loggen, J., Moneva, A., & Leukfeldt, R. (2024). A systematic narrative review of pathways into, desistance from, and risk factors of financial-economic cyber-enabled crime. Computer Law & Security Review, 52, 105858.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2023.105858
Other:
Dutch police send young hackers to intern at IT companies
https://nltimes.nl/2018/12/18/dutch-police-send-young-hackers-intern-companies
20 Companies Pledge Support for the Hack_Right Program
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/20-companies-pledge-support-for-the-hack-right-program/
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Notes:
- Dr. Benoît Dupont has written a book on the ecology of cybercrime, which was born from his frustration with the segmentation of research on cybercrime within criminology and between disciplines.
- The book argues that all research on cybercrime should be connected because we all live in the same digital ecosystem. - There are many hurdles and obstacles in the way of making positive change in the fight against cybercrime, but Dr. Dupont is optimistic about our chances.
- Residual cybercrime will always subsist, but it can also help identify vulnerabilities in technologies that the industry hasn't identified, which can help improve security.
- It's important to address the needs of victims of cybercrime, which is often forgotten.
- The government has the data or the tools to generate the data but needs to work with the private sector and academia to make sense of the data and agree on a roadmap for anti-cybercrime and anti-cybercrime control and prevention.
About our Guest:
Dr. Benoît Dupont
https://crim.umontreal.ca/repertoire-departement/professeurs/professeur/in/in15263/sg/Benoît Dupont/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benoit-dupont-9369702/
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Dupont, B., Grabosky, P., & Shearing, C. (2003). The Governance of Security in Weak and Failing States. Criminal Justice, 3(4), 331-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/146680250334001
Berg, J., Nakueira, S. & Shearing, C. 2014. Global Non- State Auspices of Security Governance. In: Bersot, H. & Ariigo, B. Eds. The Routledge Handbook of International Crime and Justice Studies. Routledge, 77-97
Other:
“Much time and energy have been devoted by taxonomists to isolating morphological patterns of species and subspecies and determining the geographic ranges of each. This is only a stepping stone to further progress in many lines- units around which accumulations of knowledge could be formed for comparison with one another. Until such units are stabilized so that they can be recognized, specific knowledge cannot accumulate - it will of necessity be generalized because, without such standardization, one worker cannot add to the specific knowledge of others.” pp.3.
Woodbury, A. M. (1952). Ecological taxonomy. Science, 115(2992), 3-3.
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Notes:
Dr. Kemp initially moved to Spain and worked as an English teacher before deciding to go back to university to study a social science. He ended up choosing criminology due to the available classes in the morning.While in university, Dr. Kemp became interested in corporate crime and white-collar crime, but later specialized in cybercrime due to its potential for funding and career opportunities.Dr. Kemp discussed the challenges of studying in a different country and in a non-native language. He initially had limited Spanish proficiency but learned the language to a level where he could pursue a degree taught mainly in Spanish.Cybercrime is still significantly underreported, with organizations often weighing the incentives and reasons not to report, such as reputational damage and potential increases in insurance premiums.Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face difficulties in reporting cybercrimes due to the technical abilities and resources required. The reporting systems are not conducive to SMEs, and there is a need for assistance and support from states to streamline the reporting process for smaller organizations.Dr. Kemp emphasized the importance of distinguishing between reporting cybercrimes to police and criminal justice authorities versus reporting to cybersecurity providers. He noted that there seems to be more interest in private organizations reporting to other private organizations, possibly due to concerns about reputational damage.Dr. Kemp highlighted the limited access to data in Spain and Latin American countries, which hinders research in those regions. He mentioned the lack of a culture of evaluation and the absence of centralized data repositories. This limitation is problematic due to the questionable generalizability of research findings from other countries to Spain and Latin America.Dr. Kemp expressed the need for more longitudinal surveys to better understand the effectiveness of cybersecurity controls and tools. Cross-sectional surveys have limitations in establishing causal relationships and unraveling the timing of control implementation and incidents.Dr. Kemp discussed his upcoming book on cyber fraud, which aims to bring international literature on the topic of cybercrime to the Spanish-speaking world. He acknowledged the challenge of applying research findings from other countries to Spanish-speaking contexts, particularly concerning offender characteristics and prevention measures.Dr. Kemp mentioned his recent work on online victimization and older people, focusing on the impact of fear of crime and the digital divide. He emphasized the need to address older adults' concerns and promote their full participation in the digital society.About our guest:
Dr Steven Kemp
https://www.udg.edu/ca/directori/pagina-personal?ID=2003705
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-kemp-ed/
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Kemp, S., Buil-Gil, D., Miró-Llinares, F., & Lord, N. (2023). When do businesses report cybercrime? Findings from a UK study. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 23(3), 468-489. https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211062359
Kemp, S. (2023). Exploring public cybercrime prevention campaigns and victimization of businesses: A Bayesian model averaging approach. Computers & Security, 127, 103089.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2022.103089
Kemp, S. (2022). Fraud reporting in Catalonia in the Internet era: Determinants and motives. European Journal of Criminology, 19(5), 994-1015. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370820941405
Other:
I am pretty sure I mis-pronounced ‘Girona’, my apologies to the good people from that part of the world.
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About our guests:
Dr. Katalin Parti
https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-sociology/faculty/katalin-parti.html
https://www.linkedin.com/in/partikat
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
PROS: Performances to Reduce Online Scams
https://liberalarts.vt.edu/research-centers/center-for-gerontology/pros--performances-to-reduce-online-scams.html
Parti, Katalin, and Faika Tahir. 2023. "“If We Don’t Listen to Them, We Make Them Lose More than Money:” Exploring Reasons for Underreporting and the Needs of Older Scam Victims" Social Sciences 12, no. 5: 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12050264
Parti, K. (2022). “Elder Scam” Risk Profiles: Individual and Situational Factors of Younger and Older Age Groups’ Fraud Victimization.
https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/112369/Parti_IJCIC_2022.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Boal, A. (2000). Theater of the Oppressed. United Kingdom: Pluto.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. United States: Herder and Herder.
https://envs.ucsc.edu/internships/internship-readings/freire-pedagogy-of-the-oppressed.pdf
Other:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Oppressed
My laptop died a few hours before completing this episode. At this point I am guessing it was some kind of issue with the latest update. It is currently a brick. Good thing I spend a lot of time thinking about resilience otherwise this episode would not have happened.
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About our guests:
Kenrick Bagnall
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenrickbagnall/
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
KonCyber the Podcast
https://koncyberthepodcast.podbean.com
Other:
If I took anything from Kenrick's story, besides of course all of the policing and technical stuff, it was that you are not too old to seek or take advice nor are you too old to start again.
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About our Guest:
Dr Teresa Scassa
https://techlaw.uottawa.ca/people/scassa-teresa
https://www.teresascassa.ca
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Robinson, P., & Scassa, T. (2022). The Future of Open Data.
https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/43648/1/9780776629759_WEB.pdf
Scassa, T. (2020). Designing data governance for data sharing: lessons from sidewalk Toronto.
Scassa, T., Robinson, P., & Mosoff, R. (2022). The Datafication of Wastewater:: Legal, Ethical and Civic Considerations. Technology and Regulation, 2022, 23-35
Scassa, T. (2022). The surveillant university: Remote proctoring, AI, and human rights. Can. J. Comp. & Contemp. L., 8, 271.
Scassa, T. (2023). Regulating AI in Canada: A critical look at the proposed artificial intelligence and data act. The Canadian Bar Review, 101(1)
Other:
This episode was edited using an 'AI' tool for part of the workflow and part of the intro was written by AI. The intro was then rewritten and some of the work of the other AI tool had to be redone manually. We are at the 'click a button and it is done' stage yet.
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About our guests:
Dr. Richard Frank
https://www.sfu.ca/criminology/about/faculty/criminology-faculty/richard-frank.html
Noelle Warkentin
https://www.sfu.ca/iccrc/members/memberprofiles/Noelle-Warkentin.html
Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:
Noelle Warkentin, Richard Frank, Yuxuan (Cicilia) Zhang & Naomi Zakimi (2022) Potential cyber-threats against Canada’s critical infrastructure: an investigation of online discussion forums,Criminal Justice Studies, 35:3, 322-345, DOI: 10.1080/1478601X.2022.2081568
Frank, R., & Mikhaylov, A. (2020). Beyond the ‘Silk Road’: Assessing illicit drug marketplaces on the public web. Open Source Intelligence and Cyber Crime: Social Media Analytics, 89-111.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-41251-7_4
A. T. Zulkarnine, R. Frank, B. Monk, J. Mitchell and G. Davies, "Surfacing collaborated networks in dark web to find illicit and criminal content," 2016 IEEE Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics (ISI), Tucson, AZ, USA, 2016, pp. 109-114, doi: 10.1109/ISI.2016.7745452.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7745452
Other:
- Vis mere
