The Center for Cybercrime Studies directed by Dr. Marie-Helen (Maria) Maras, focuses on forms of crime where data, computers and networks are either the target of criminal activity or play a principal role in executing the crime.
Cybercrime is the contemporary version of crime. As social and economic activities increasingly rely on digital devices and the Internet, all crime tends to have a cyber component. For example, the widespread use of cell phones means that even ordinary street crimes usually involve digital evidence and network activity. Cybercrime is frequently associated with denial of service attacks, hacking and, more generally, attacks that take advantage of flaws in computer systems and networks. Yet the most common complaint submitted to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is auction fraud: “I saw it on the Internet; I paid for it; I received nothing” or “What I did receive was not what I saw. “ Like law-abiding citizens, criminals seek to take advantage of Internet systems for lowered transaction costs, economies of scale, access to personal information, and anonymity.
There are no quick technical or regulatory solutions for controlling criminal activities on the Internet or protecting individuals or organizations from harm in cyberspace. Today’s highly complex, interconnected, global information systems provide an extensive attack surface that is almost impossible to secure. Regulatory measures such as legislation, court action and even industry wide security standards often fail to keep pace with rapid changes in technology. Countering misuse and abuse in such an environment is a constant battle.
For 15 years, the Center for Cybercrime Studies has brought together the wide range of expertise needed to understand and deter computer related crime. Center speakers and researchers have also been concerned with the impact on individual privacy that the ever growing use of Internet connected digitial devices raise.
We invite you to peruse our site and to learn about our events, the projects we sponsor, and the work of our affiliated researchers. If you would like to be included on the Center’s distribution list for talks and other events, please send e-mail to CyberCrimeCenter@jjay.cuny.edu