Cybercrime in the Pandemic Digital Age and Beyond

Russell G. Smith, Rick Sarre, Lennon Yao-Chung Chang, Laurie Yiu-Chung Lau

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9783031291067
• eBook ISBN:
  9783031291074
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

This edited collection presents current research dealing with crime involving information and communications technologies in the months immediately before, during and following the coronavirus pandemic since 2019. Information and communications technologies played a pivotal role during the pandemic in communicating information across the globe on the risks and responses to the pandemic but also in providing opportunities for various forms of illegality. This volume describes the nature and extent of such illegality, its connection to the pandemic and how digital technologies can assist in solving not only the health crisis but also the associated crime problems. The contributors are established academic scholars and policy practitioners in the fields of cybercrime and computer forensics. This book provides a ready source of content including technological solutions to cybercrime, legal and legislative responses, crime prevention initiatives and policy discussions dealing with the most critical issues present during and following the pandemic.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction: Crime in the Post-pandemic Digital Age
• 2. Pandemics and Illegal Manipulation of Digital Technologies: Examining Cause and Effect in a Time of COVID-19
• 3. Pandemics and Fraud: Learning from the Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Antecedents
• 4. The Human Element of Online Consumer Scams Arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic
• 5. State-Sponsored Economic Espionage in Cyberspace: Risks and Preparedness
• 6. Virtual Kidnapping: Online Scams with ‘Asian Characteristics’ During the Pandemic
• 7. Lessons in a Time of Pestilence: The Relevance of International Cybercrime Conventions to Controlling Post-Pandemic Cybercrime
• 8. Domestic Laws Governing Post-Pandemic Crime and Criminal Justice
• 9. Perspectives on Policing Post-pandemic Cybercrime
• 10.  Digital Criminal Courts: The Place or Space of (Post-)pandemic Justice
• 11. Online Messaging as a Cybercrime Prevention Tool in the Post-pandemic Age
• 12. Artificial Intelligence, COVID-19, and Crime: Charting the Origins and Expansion of Dystopian and Utopian Narratives
• 13. Conclusion: Minimizing Crime Risks in Pandemics of the Future
• Back Matter