Marie-Helen
Maras
Professor
Education
DPhil in Law, University of Oxford
MPhil in Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Oxford
Msc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Oxford
MA in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of New Haven
BS in Computer and Information Science, University of Maryland University College
BS in Psychology, University of Maryland University College
Bio
Dr. Marie-Helen (Maria) Maras is a tenured Full Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and the Director of the Center for Cybercrime Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Her academic background and research cover the evolution of transnational crime (e.g., cybercrime, smuggling of migrants, and trafficking in persons and drugs), transnational security issues (e.g., war and terrorism), surveillance, and the legal, political, social, cultural, and economic impact of digital technology. She has secured approximately seven million dollars in funding to support cutting-edge research on the darknet and emerging technologies; research on AI applications in criminal justice; the development of a state-of-the-art cybercrime investigation and digital forensics research facility; training and technical assistance for U.S. federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial criminal justice agencies; and international counter-cybercrime training and needs assessments. Dr. Maras is the author of numerous peer-reviewed academic journal articles and books, including Real Criminology (Oxford University Press, 2024); Cybercriminology (Oxford University Press, 2016); Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws, and Evidence (now in its second edition; Jones and Bartlett, 2014); Transnational Security (CRC Press, 2014); CRC Press Terrorism Reader (CRC Press, 2013); and Counterterrorism (Jones and Bartlett, 2012), among other publications. She has served as Chair of the Policy Committee of the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Cybercrime; as a member of the Panel on Cybercrime Classification and Measurement of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and as a Mercator Fellow at the Friedrich–Alexander University of Erlangen–Nuremberg in Germany. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Maras has served as a consultant and contributed extensively to international capacity-building efforts for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the International Development Law Organization (IDLO); and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Before her academic post, she served in the U.S. Navy for about seven years, gaining significant experience in security, international investigations, and law enforcement as a Navy Law Enforcement Specialist and Command Investigator. Early in her military career, she worked as an Electronics and Calibration Technician.
JJC Affiliations
Professional Memberships
Chair, Policy Committee, American Society of Criminology, Division of Cybercrime (2023 - 2025)
Member, American Society of Criminology, Division of Cybercrime
Member, American Society of Criminology, Division of International Criminology
Member, European Society of Criminology
Scholarly Work
Select Publications
Books
Maras, M.-H. (2024). Real Criminology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Maras, M.-H. (2016). Cybercriminology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Maras, M.-H. (2014). Transnational Security. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Maras, M.-H. (2014). Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws and Evidence (2nd edition). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Maras, M.-H. (2012). Counterterrorism. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., and Maras, M.-H. (2012). Exploring Criminal Justice: The Essentials (2nd edition). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Maras, M.-H. (2011). Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws and Evidence. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Journal Articles (*denotes student co-author; ** dual first authorship)
Maras, M.-H. and Logie, K.* (2024). Countering the Complex, Multifaceted Nature of Deepfakes: An Augean Task? Crime Science (Special Collection on Measuring, Detecting, and Preventing Cyber Social Threats), 13(31), 1-17.
Logie, K.* and Maras, M.-H. (2024). Doxing: How a darknet shop created the blackmail as a service business model. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, published online July 29, 2024
Maras, M.-H. and Ives, E.* Deconstructing a Form of Hybrid Investment Fraud: Examining ‘Pig Butchering’ in the United States. Journal of Economic Criminology, 5 (Special Issue on Relationship Fraud: Romance, Friendship and Family Frauds), 100066.
Nicolai, F.,** Maras, M.-H.,** Trautmann, J., and Schneider, J.* (2024). When Objects Betray You: The Internet of Things and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination. Information & Communications Technology Law, published online May 28, 2024.
O’Brien, W. and Maras, M.-H. Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control: Response, Redress, Risk, and Reform. International Review of Law, Computers and Technology (Special Issue on Digital and Online Violence), 38(2), 174–194.
Maras, M.-H., et al. (2024). The SECI Model and Darknet Markets: Knowledge Creation and Sharing in Criminal Organizations and Communities of Practice. European Journal of Criminology, 21(2), 165–190 [first published online August 19, 2022].
Maras, M.-H., et al. (2023). Decoding Hidden Darknet Networks: What We Learned About the Illicit Fentanyl Trade on AlphaBay. Journal of Forensic Sciences (Special Section on Fentanyl and its Analogs in Forensic Science), 68(5), 1451-1469.
Maras, M.-H. and Miranda, M. D. (2023). Augmented body surveillance: Human Microchip Implantations and the Omnipresent Threat of Function Creep. Technology in Society, 74(102295), 1-15.
Maras, M.-H. and Arsovska, J. (2023) Understanding the Intersection between Technology and Kidnapping: A Typology of Virtual Kidnapping. International Criminology, 3(2), 162 - 176.
Maras, M.-H. et al. (2023). Keeping Pace with the Evolution of Illicit Darknet Markets: Identifying Trust Signals and Developing a Vendor Trustworthiness Index. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 39(2), 276–297.
Maras, M.-H. and O’Brien, W. (2023). Discrimination, Stigmatization, and Surveillance: COVID-19 and Social Sorting. Information & Communications Technology Law, 32(1), 122-148.
Academic and Professional Magazines
Maras, M.-H. (2025). AI Crime: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and What We Need to Know. Freedom From Fear (F3) Magazine, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).
Honors and Awards
2024 Faculty Scholarly Excellence Award, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York.
2024 John Jay Heroine, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (Women’s History Month: Honoring Our Incredible 2024 John Jay Heroines, https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news-events/news/womens-history-month-honoring-our-incredible-2024-john-jay-heroines).