NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
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The trend towards the development and marketing <strong>of</strong> user-friendly tools for criminal<br />
exploitation is rapidly developing into crimeware-as-a-service (CaaS, see below). The<br />
emergence <strong>of</strong> crimeware as a service releases criminals from having to deal with the<br />
technical challenges <strong>of</strong> cybercrimes.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> these services include crimeware toolkits. As noted above, these provide<br />
readymade tools for criminals to gather and sort out the data stolen, minimising the<br />
necessary coding skills to operate them. 211 The director <strong>of</strong> security strategies from a<br />
large IT multinational said “for subscriptions starting as low as $20 per month, such<br />
enterprises sell "fully managed exploit engines" that spyware distributors and spammers<br />
can use to infiltrate systems worldwide. 212 It is likely that CaaS will increasingly hamper<br />
the ability <strong>of</strong> law enforcement to track malicious hackers.<br />
One respected commentator has argued that the virtual relationships within online<br />
communities “[…] encourage the social deskilling <strong>of</strong> the individual through the<br />
specialisation and compartmentalisation <strong>of</strong> interactions.” 213 However, the examples<br />
presented above suggest both increasing acquisition <strong>of</strong> technical skills and deskilling,<br />
depending on the type and activity <strong>of</strong> cybercrime. Consequently, capability is being<br />
spread across a dramatically increasing range and number <strong>of</strong> users. Highly capable<br />
cybercriminals are developing skills that will harvest data worth vast sums <strong>of</strong> money.<br />
However, a barely capable but dogmatic cybercriminal can still make an effective living<br />
with a small investment <strong>of</strong> funds and limited computer literacy.<br />
The cybercriminal ecosystem frames the environment in which networks <strong>of</strong> criminals<br />
specialise, cooperate and compete with the ultimate goal <strong>of</strong> generating an illicit pr<strong>of</strong>it.<br />
Their interconnection and dependence means that to pursue their individual interests,<br />
they need to became part <strong>of</strong> value chains, where different actors specialise, link and<br />
upgrade, driven by innovation. A wide variety <strong>of</strong> actors participate in the cybercrime<br />
211 Finjan, (2008): Web Security Trends Reports, Q1.<br />
212 Gunter Ollman quoted at:<br />
www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=90<br />
15588.<br />
213 Wall, D. (2007), Cybercrime: The Transformation <strong>of</strong> <strong>Crime</strong> in the Information Age, Polity Press, UK, p.33.<br />
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