How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?
Cyber technology allows offenders to attack victims from remote, hidden locations. In the past, if someone wanted to steal your money, they would need to physically rob you, impersonate you or coerce you in some way. Today, we access our money using digital tools accessible from anywhere. If it’s not adequately protected, a bad actor has the ability to gain unauthorized access to it from similarly anywhere. Additionally, it’s easy to transfer data via the web, which gives social engineers a new avenue to manipulate someone into transferring funds to them. The opportunities for this kind of crime drastically increased with the advent of the internet and cell phone technology.
Cyberbullying is a new realm of crime that exists now due to cyber technology. While a traditional bullying scenario would take place in face-to-face confrontations, cyber bullying happens over the internet. This makes the offender an ever-present threat as they have the capability of reaching their victim anywhere and anytime. This can create a constant state of concern in the victim which can have devastating consequences. This often takes place on social media. Social psychologists and other experts have been sounding the alarm about the impact of cyber bullying on our mental health.
Like cyberbullying, cyberstalking is a novel version of a traditional crime that has been made more insidious through use of technology. A cyberstalker has many ways to monitor and reach their victim. Additionally, it’s easy to do this anonymously which makes these crimes difficult to address. Much like with other forms of cybercrime, cyberstalking allows a victim to be impacted from anywhere in the world. This makes the victim feel helpless and exposed as they are constantly at risk.
The novel character of these crimes has created new challenges for law enforcement that will continue to be reasoned with moving forward. Ensuring that this new framework adequately addresses the problem is crucial to building a safer world.