Reconsidering crime and technology: what is this thing we call cybercrime?

Journal article

Cybercrime is not a solely technical subject but one that involves human offenders who are susceptible to social scientific study. Yet, despite calls for cybercrime research to be mainstreamed, the topic remains a niche area within legal studies and the social sciences. Drawing on the most significant findings over recent years, this review aims to make the subject more accessible to a wide range of scholars by softening some of the perceived boundaries between conceptions of cybercrime and conventional crime. It examines these key themes in the literature: definitions and categories of cybercrime, cybercrime marketplaces, the governance of cybercrime, the importance of “place” within the world of cybercrime, cybercriminal networks, a discussion of what is new or old about cybercrime, and how we should define the concept going forward. The empirical literature on these themes suggests a simple definition is most appropriate: Cybercrime is crime that uses digital technology in a significant way.

Authors: Lusthaus, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Annual Reviews
• Journal: Annual Review of Law and Social Science
• Volume: 20
• Pages: 369-385
• Publication date: 2024-10-01
• Acceptance date: 2024-04-12
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041822-044042
• EISSN: 1550-3631
• ISSN: 1550-3585
• Language: English
• Keywords: cybercrime; technology; cyber-dependent crime; FFR; crime; cyber-enabled crime