The distributed nature of the Internet requires that security issues be addressed through collaborative efforts within and across various sets of public and private actors. Drawing on nodal governance theory, this article explores one aspect of the role that the general public can and does play in the field of cyber-security: civilian policing of the Internet. In particular, we examine the motives and actions of regular citizens, who use their computer skills to identify, track and collect information on the activities of suspected criminal offenders. Whereas some groups use such information to engage in vigilante acts, the groups that we study work cooperatively with police, collecting information to pass onto criminal justice agencies. We suggest that these collectives and their members are a potentially useful, if under-valued, component of cybersecurity networks.

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Police culture is a set of values that shape how police officers perceive their working environment and act within it. This worldview is shaped by real and perceived dangers associated with police work and characterized by strong group introversion and cynicism toward non‐police individuals and groups. Consequently, an “us versus them” mentality is created and reinforced through officer selection, training, and work experience, which manifests in cynical attitudes toward the public and tacit acceptance of misconduct, metaphorically known as “the blue wall of silence.”