The individual’s role in cybercrime prevention: internal spheres of protection and our ability to safeguard them

Abstract

Purpose As a well-known social institution, crime prevention has traditionally been in the purview of public authorities. However, the ceaseless increase in the use of online resources and governments’ responsibilisation approach to cybercrime prevention has created an ecosystem, which necessitates the empowerment of individuals. By introducing the concept of internal spheres of protection, the purpose of this paper is to show how traditionally public responsibilities require increased facilitation by individuals to adequately safeguard what they value. Design/methodology/approach This is a brief conceptual paper, which recasts the individual’s role in cybercrime prevention through a critique of the routine activity theory (Cohen and Felson, 1979) and explains how responsibilisation (Garland, 1996) has created an unavoidable need to provide individuals with the knowledge and tools required to avoid online victimisation. Findings In the context of cybercrime, criminological theories that are limited in considering the individual both as the target of crime and the person likeliest to prevent it are quickly becoming outdated. Public authorities either cannot intervene or are moving away from intervening on citizens’ behalf to effectively stymie the pressure from cybercriminals. Thus, there is a need of an approach that starts with individuals and their value-based motivations. Originality/value The concept of internal spheres of protection is a novel way of looking at cybercrime prevention. The internal spheres are based on individuals’ values, and the value of security in particular, and take cyber-knowledge as a point of departure towards safeguarding such values, i.e. through risk-decreasing actions and the use of relevant tools.

Mazephishing: The Covid-19 Pandemic as Credible Social Context for Social Engineering Attacks

“…Additionally, the analytical framework can provide support in explaining the proliferation of scams in the immediate aftermath of disruptive events such as natural disasters or disease outbreaks. Thus, the threeelement mazephishing concept may support media literacy and cybersecurity training initiatives (Kikerpill 2021) by introducing and emphasising the significance of credible social context in the general scam ecosystem.…”

“…Steps to limit the impact of fraud ought to clearly recognise the universal nature of compliance (Norris et al 2019: 242), including an acknowledgement of the ease with which people can come into contact with cybercriminals (see Kikerpill 2021). Since the basic tenet of social engineering attacks is to elicit compliance and action (Khonji et al 2013), the observable tool in such compliance-gaining efforts is the transmitted message.…”

Phishing victimization among Malaysian young adults: cyber routine activities theory and attitude in information sharing online

“…day-to-day online activities) may increase the odds of being exposed to cybercrime threats, particularly, falling trap to a phishing attack (Ngo et al , 2020; Graham and Triplett, 2016; Ghani and Ghazali, 2019). Changes in individuals’ daily routines, such as an increment of time spent online, will lead them to have a high likelihood of becoming vulnerable cybercrime victims (Kikerpill, 2020; Tharshini et al , 2022). More specifically, the aforementioned discussions are supported by the routine activity theory (RAT).…”

“…More specifically, the aforementioned discussions are supported by the routine activity theory (RAT). RAT explains and links the relationship between individual online routine activities and cybercrime victimization risk (Kikerpill, 2020; Leukfeldt and Yar, 2016; Leukfeldt, 2014; Choi and Lee, 2017; Choi et al , 2019). In addition, the Malaysian National Cyber Security Agency disclosed that cybercrime cases such as phishing in Malaysia have increased by 82.5% during the lockdown periods (Tharshini et al , 2022).…”

“…In addition, the Malaysian National Cyber Security Agency disclosed that cybercrime cases such as phishing in Malaysia have increased by 82.5% during the lockdown periods (Tharshini et al , 2022). This is because people spent more time online because of the recent spread of COVID-19 as they were abiding by the government-imposed lockdowns (Kikerpill, 2020).…”