NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository

no dominant force. Unlike traditional organised crime models, ethnicity appears to be
neither a barrier nor an advantage. Cybercriminals will make common cause with
anyone where such links are of mutual benefit. Age, sex, religion, location, ethnicity all
seem to be irrelevant which could define the world of cybercrime as a pure form of
meritocracy. As the opportunities for qualitative and quantitative expansion occur, the
only barrier to entry will be the skills required. The implications for victims, analysts and
law enforcers could not be more daunting.
Crimes such as electronic theft and fraud will occur more rapidly, reducing the likelihood
of being caught. Information about how to compromise a system will be available more
quickly and to more people, which means that opportunistic criminals linked into
organised networks of will no longer be controlled by organised crime – if indeed they
ever were - and these components will come to dominate and define the ecosystem.
The education and ability of criminals to use new technology will also have a major
impact on the nature of crime. In cyberspace, we can expect this to be further
magnified. The relationship between the offender and victim may change, as neither
sees the other as a person. The lack of such awareness may see online offenders
committing more extreme crimes. Equally, if victims have no contact with the offender,
their attitudes to punishment may change. Whether this will see a reduction in demands
for punishment, or an increase in those for harsher penalties, is not clear. 228
The constraints upon cybercrime are unlikely to be as comprehensive as for some other
forms of crime. Whereas narcotics and human trafficking have immense implications for
the welfare and safety of vulnerable groups, this is not perceived to be the case with low
level fraud. When identities and credit cards are stolen, the relevant authorities tend to
react quickly to replace and compensate. As such, the resources available to law
enforcement agencies will tend to be channelled into programmes to combat the types
of illegal activity that pose the greatest threat to vulnerable groups. Therefore, the
environment in which cybercriminals operate is likely to remain benign and increasingly
attractive to a growing number of people, not least from within states and regions where
law enforcement is weak.
228 Davis, R. and K. Pease, (2000), Crime Technology and the Future, Security Journal, p.62.
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