If You See Something Suspicious Online, Report It: An Investigation into Addressing and Overcoming the Challenges in Cybercrime Reporting
Open Access
- Author:
- Bidgoli, Morvareed
- Graduate Program:
- Informatics
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 19, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Peter Forster, Major Field Member
Jens Grossklags, Special Member
Anna Squicciarini, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Eric Baumer, Outside Unit & Field Member
Mary Beth Rosson, Major Field Member
Mary Beth Rosson, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- cybercrimes
cybercrime reporting
information policy
information security
cybersecurity - Abstract:
- After a physical crime occurs, an important action typically takes place: the reporting of the crime to the police. However, this action becomes more complex for a victim to properly execute when a cybercrime is experienced, which can be partly explained by a lack of knowledge about cybercrimes and computer security. Cybercrime reporting is crucial because it can provide a wealth of knowledge such as the prevalence of cybercrimes, the types and nature of the cybercrimes present, and the various resulting types of loss or harm for the victim (e.g., financial, psychological, emotional). Moreover, cybercrime reporting data is actionable for two reasons: (1) prevention tips can be produced to educate computer users of how they can mitigate their future cybercrime risk and (2) such information can be useful for the appropriate law enforcement agencies to potentially reach a proper crime resolution (i.e., the perpetrator getting caught, recovery of stolen property). Despite the importance of cybercrime reporting, we observe a well-cited history of cybercrimes that go unreported. Therefore, in this dissertation we aim to make strides towards alleviating this issue by not only better understanding victims’ cybercrime reporting behaviors, but also offering recommendations on how existing cybercrime reporting processes (overseen by both governmental/law enforcement agencies and industry companies) can be improved upon to encourage victims to report. Given the growing prevalence of cybercrimes, we believe that effectively addressing the challenges existing within the cybercrime reporting space will not only bolster the efforts of those responding to today’s cyber threats, but also protect the everyday computer user.