NCJ Number
242345
Journal
Global Crime Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2013 Pages: 52-60
Date Published
February 2013
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this research note is to apply scholarly rigor to the question of whether profit-driven cybercrime can fit underneath formal definitions of organized crime and mafias.
Abstract
To some writers and commentators, fully fledged organized cybercrime is currently emerging. Law enforcement spokesmen and Internet security firms have even made comparisons between the structure of cybercriminal enterprises and organizations like La Cosa Nostra. But, in reality, conventional criminal labels applied to cybercrime are themselves often poorly understood by those who employ them. The purpose of this research note is to apply scholarly rigor to the question of whether profit-driven cybercrime can fit underneath formal definitions of organized crime and mafias. It proceeds in three sections: the first section outlines academic definitions of organized crime, mafias and cybercrime; the second section assesses whether online cybercriminal trading forums, perhaps the most visible and documented examples of cybercriminal organization, might constitute mafias as some contend; the third section briefly discusses some other less documented examples of 'organized' cybercrime and assesses the broader possibility of online groups being classified as organized crime groups. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.