EPortfolio #12
How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?
The advancement of technology has introduced a highly sophisticated level of cybercrimes and offenders globally. Cyber offending has gone to the point where there are barely any signs of their attacks, and neither is the law enforcement able to track the crimes easily. Victims only realize the attack’s aftermath. In the past, crimes were in-person and face-to-face occurrences, which always brought fear and self-awareness to victims, unlike cybercrimes. Most victims have no idea when they are in harm’s way of offenders, neither do they know how to steer clear or what information to avoid sharing. So much havoc has been created by offenders, changing individuals’ and organizations’ lives daily.
As the world becomes highly reliant on technology due to the ease and comfortability it brings, cybercrime rates are increasing, and traditional crime rates decrease. Research by Tcherni and colleagues revealed online property crime rates show a wave in crime that may override any benefits Americans have enjoyed due to the steady drop in traditional forms of property crime’ (906). According to “Offending and victimization in the digital age,” written by Thomas Holt and Van Gelder, “Although cybercrime offending and victimization have primarily been studied separately, there is evidence of shared risk factors, some of which include; low self-control and risky online routine activities. Cybercrime offending has been found to be a high risk factor for victimization and vice versa. With that in mind, it can be said that cyber offending and victimization do share a correlation, and much further research needs to be done to arrive at a safe conclusion, as has been evident in traditional crimes.
Cybercriminals appear to be much more intelligent than traditional offenders and have every step taken wisely calculated to avoid leaving tracks behind for law enforcement to follow.
Cyber offenders have mastered manipulating both computer software and hardware, which has made it difficult for legal bodies to investigate cybercrimes quickly. Cyber offenders tend to have more self-control. They justify their offenses by thinking they are not physically hurting anyone. The notion of seeing cybercrimes differently than traditional crimes has opened enabled criminals to use this gap for their profit. There is an absolute need to reform cyber laws regularly as the crimes advance. Cyber offenders and white-collar crime must be apprehended and dealt with the same way traditional offenders were dealt with, if not more. The culture of ignoring white-collar crimes must be changed to protect our communities and societies against malicious attacks and help build trustworthiness in the cybersphere as the world is going virtual, especially during this pandemic.
Cited:
Weulen Kranenbarg, Marleen, Thomas J Holt, and Jean-Louis Van Gelder. “Offending and Victimization in the Digital Age: Comparing Correlates of Cybercrime and Traditional Offending-Only, Victimization-Only and the Victimization-Offending Overlap.” Deviant Behavior 40.1 (2019): 40-55. Web