Article Review #1
Introduction
The article focuses on how cyberattacks and cyber threats influence the creation and enforcement of cybersecurity policies. The article lists the 2021 Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds cyberattacks as a reason for increased focus on the policies being created for cybersecurity (Snider et al, 2021). This is because the aftermath of these attacks exposed the severe lack of access to cybersecurity by the U.S government. The aftermath also created a newfound enthusiasm to mandate private cyberattacks reporting by organizations (Snider et al, 2021). The article’s hypothesis is to determine if the exposure to non-lethal or the lethal cyberattacks influence the support for certain cybersecurity policies. The independent variable is the lethality of the cyberattacks and the dependent variable is the support for certain cybersecurity policies. This experiment is conducted by a randomized survey consisting of 1,022 Israeli participants that were exposed to lethal and non-lethal cyberattacks against national infrastructure.
Public Approval
The public was more than willing to participate in the efforts to provide better cybersecurity. This resulted in more than 280 cybersecurity bills and resolutions being introduced in 40 states and territories (Sinder et al, 2021). The government having access to private information created a spot on contention within the public. While the public understood that it was necessary for the government to have access to cybersecurity, the main debate is should the government have complete surveillance and access to private information. This belief stems from the belief that the government isn’t being honest about why they need this security and surveillance in place. The way each bill and resolution is worded creates confusion among the public. One of the principles of cybersecurity is parsimony. Parsimony is when scientists keep the explanation as simple as possible. This allows the public to understand why a bill exists and what it is supposed to do.
The Participants
The experiment was conducted using 1,022 Israeli participants. The three groups used in this experiment were the lethal, non-lethal, and control groups. The lethal group consisted of 387 participants. The non-lethal group consisted of 374 participants. The control group consisted of 361 participants. The mean age amongst the participants was 41. The gender distribution of the participants was 49.96% male and 50.04% female. The political orientation of the participants revealed 44.35% (452) defined as right wing, 38.28% (390) defined as centrist, and 17.37% (177) defined as left wing. This indicates the right-wing slant apparent in recent Israeli elections (Snider et al, 2021).
The Experiment
The experiment contained three primary variables, and they were the predictor variable (exposure to cyber-attacks), the dependent variable (support for cybersecurity policies), and the mediator variable (threat perception). This allows for social scientists to determine the behaviors of each of the participants. This is called empiricism, and it is used to determine the behaviors based on the senses. The research used in this experiment was obtained from surveys that were conducted after each group viewed their respective T.V. reports. The data obtained from these surveys were turned into empirical models to correctly demonstrate the data from each group. The data revealed that the lethality of the cyberattacks formed the beliefs of what cybersecurity policies should be enforced. However, the data shows that there is no direct correlation between exposure to cybersecurity attacks and the support for prevention regulation policies (Snider et al, 2021).
The Importance of these groups
These groups are important because they include participants with varying belief systems and determine if the political views play any factor in the support of policies. It isn’t often that an experiment is conducted, and results indicate a clear pattern within the sample size. As an American, I can confidently say that I wasn’t aware of the constant cybersecurity attacks that Israeli constantly faces. It’s important for the voices of the people of Israel to be heard and acknowledged. It also shows the ethical neutrality that must be conducted during the experiment. Ethical neutrality is adhering to the ethical standards when scientists are conducting their research. This article included a random mixture of the Jewish Israeli population within their data. The Jewish population has been marginalized and completely ignored during some of the most horrific events in history. The inclusion of the Jewish Israeli population proves that their opinion is valued and that they do matter. This article relies heavily on the ethical principles discussed in class because those principles must be followed or the experiment can’t be used because the ethical rights of the participants were violated.
The contribution of this study
This study contributed to understanding how Israel handles their cybersecurity and how the implementation of those policies effect the population of Israel. This study also provided what the population values and wants as policies for their cybersecurity. It was noted in this article that Israel has been the target of many cyberattacks and their policies serve as an example that the maintaining of cybersecurity is important.
Conclusion
This article discussed the importance of cybersecurity and conducted an experiment that indicated what type of policies get supported by the impact of non-lethal and lethal cyberattacks. The data obtained during this experiment indicates what is important for the cybersecurity of the Israel population. The small sample size is improved by the inclusion of differing political beliefs. The different participants helped improve the source of the data. It also serves as an example to the United States as it was discussed earlier had a severe lack in cybersecurity that was exploited during the Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds cyberattacks.
References
Snider, K. L. G., Shandler, R., Zandani, S., & Canetti, D. (2021). Cyberattacks, cyber threats, and attitudes toward cybersecurity policies. Journal of Cybersecurity, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyab019
Article Review #2
Introduction
This article focuses on the digital crimes that are being committed in the digital world. The focus is on cryptocurrency and how it is used to defraud victims. The article’s hypothesis is to determine what are the most common financial crimes where cryptocurrency is used. The independent variable that was present in the article is the different types of studies that were conducted. The dependent variable is the how cryptocurrency was used in the crime. The experiment mentioned in the article is the four separate studies that were conducted.
The Studies
The first study was called “Modus Operandi and Blockchain Analysis on Romance Scams: Cryptocurrency-Driven Victimization” (Keyser et al., 2025). This study revolved around how to gain the trust of the victim by messaging on dating or messaging apps (Keyser et al., 2025). Once the trust is gained, the plan to defraud can be launched with fake investments schemes or fabricated emergencies. When they have obtained the money, the person will ghost the victim, leaving the victim to be betrayed and left in financial ruin. The second study was called “The Legal Response to the Intrusion into Digital Identity in Social Media” (Keyser et al., 2025). This study revolved around the legalities of determining if the fake profiles on social media can be met with criminal charges. This is because assuming the identity of someone is already identity theft and any crimes that are committed while posing as someone has repercussions. This happens because it is nearly impossible to determine if someone is who they say they are on a profile on social media. The third study was called “Policy Considerations of Open-Source Intelligence: A Study of Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Patterns (2014-2024)” (Keyser et al., 2025). This study revolves around the open-source intelligence like Bellingcat is being used to collect malicious data from individuals. The open-source causes issues because it is open to the public, meaning anyone can use it or modify it. This provides the challenge of successfully passing legislation to protect individuals that might be at risk of their data being maliciously taken. The fourth and final study was called “A Study of Pattern of Cybercrime Abuse of Individual Internet Users in Umuahia North LGA, Abia State of South-Eastern Nigeria” (Keyser et al., 2025). This study revolved around a sample group of 924 and determined if different areas encounter higher rates of cybercrime victimization. This study was conducted to determine which policies should be implemented by the policy makers in Nigeria.
Studies Outcome
The outcome of these studies has led to the almost obvious conclusion that the advancements in technology and how people interact with it can dictate how someone could be targeted for cybercrimes. The entire article discusses how people have historically interacted with these crimes and how to determine if someone is in danger of becoming a victim of these crimes. This just proves that all across the world these cybercrimes are being committed, and the cybersecurity is being made to counteract any exploitation of vulnerabilities within the security of either data or financial information.
In Conclusion
This article discusses the depth of cybercrime that happens across the world. The cybersecurity that has been used across the world constantly faces challenges that exploit potential vulnerabilities. The studies that were presented in this article were conducted separately and come to the same conclusion that cybersecurity is an essential need across the world. This article discussed the importance of cybersecurity against cybercrime.
References
Keyser, C., Dearden, T., Parti, K., & Choi, S. (2025, August). Navigating the Digital Frontier: New Perspectives on Cybercrime and Governance [Review of Navigating the Digital Frontier: New Perspectives on Cybercrime and Governance]. International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime; Digital Commons. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1222&context=ijcic