Chapter 1
- Think carefully about your current access to technology. How many laptops, desktops, tablets, and mobile devices do you own? How much time do you spend online? How would you compare your use of technology to your peers’?
- Take a few moments to think critically about the way in which you share information with the world through online environments. How many social media accounts do you have, and on how many different platforms? Do you cautiously share personal information? How much detail do you place about yourself in posts on any social media platform? Do you use the same credit card for all online purchases? How often do you pirate media? Keeping this in mind, detail the various ways in which you could become a victim of as many forms of cybercrime as is possible.
- Do you belong to any subcultures, on or offline? What are they, and how do you think they affect your activities and attitudes toward the world around you?
- How much overlap do you see between real-world crimes and cybercrimes? Should we have distinct terms to recognize crime or deviance in online environments, or should all offenses just be classified as crimes, regardless of where and how they occur?
Chapter 2
- How can police agencies improve their response to cybercrime, especially in light of the continuous evolution of technology and communications applications?
- If federal agencies have the greatest responsibility to investigate cybercrime but have difficulties arresting offenders due to limited extradition relationships, how can we improve their ability to deal with these offenses?
- What issues can you see in having corporations play a more prominent role in combatting cybercrime through the use of civil lawsuits?
- How do we balance security and privacy? Should Edward Snowden be viewed as a traitor that diminished national security or a hero protecting individual rights of privacy?
Chapter 3
- Think about the various ways that you have seen hackers portrayed in popular media over the last few years. Are they heroic characters or dangerous criminals? Do the representations conform to any of the realities of the hacker subculture, or do they simply further stereotypes about hackers as a whole?
- If hacking is a skill or ability, does it share any similarities to other real-world activities that can be applied in malicious or ethical ways?
- Compare the ideas expressed in the hacker ethic against the comments made by the Mentor in the Hacker Manifesto. Do they make similar points, or are they very different documents? If there are common themes, what do they suggest about hacking and the complexities of the hacker subculture?
- Given the range of actors evident in the hacker subculture, is it possible that ethical and unethical hackers may share similar motives? If so, what might those motives be, and is it possible to identify an individual’s ethical stance based solely on their motives?
- What were the weaknesses of using “traditional” legislation to prosecute hackers? How did newer legislation address those problems?
Chapter 4
- Since malware writers tend to target popular software and resources, what do you think will be the likely targets for infection over the next five years? Please explain why you think a certain target may be selected over another.
- Why do you think nations have not criminalized the creation of malicious software generally? Should the legal code be amended to reflect this activity? Why?
- If the antivirus software industry has grown since the 1990s, but malware continues to evolve and expand, is it reasonable to say that they are effective in reducing infections? If vendors are not technically stopping infections, then how can we assess their real value?
Chapter 5
- What are your thoughts on digital piracy? Do you think there is a victim involved in intellectual property theft?
- Consider how the evolution in technology has influenced how you watch movies and listen to music. Think about how it must have been to listen to music on vinyl records or watch movies on tapes. Would holding a physical object, such as a record or cassette tape, affect your views on digital piracy?
- How different is digital piracy from traditional theft?
- Have you considered digital piracy as being intellectual property theft before reading this chapter?
- Considering that hackers are always one step ahead of the cybersecurity industry, how should private companies effectively protect their intellectual property?
Chapter 6
- As we continue to adopt new technologies to communicate, how will scammers utilize these spaces? For instance, how might a scammer use FaceTime or TikTok to lure in prospective victims?
- What demographic groups seem most susceptible to fraud schemes, like romance scams? Why do you think this might be the case?
- What steps and techniques can individuals use to reduce their risk of victimization via a data breach or other non-interactive forms of fraud?
- How can nations work together better to address fraud? What is a nation supposed to do if its citizens are routinely victimized online by citizens of another nation which refuses to do anything about it?
Chapter 7
- How do you use your computer, tablet, and/or smart phone for dating and romantic assistance? Do you think that the use of technology makes it easier for people to meet others, or harder?
- How could the development of the Internet and CMCs help reduce the risk of harm for individuals interested in the sex trade? In what ways does the ability to communicate about sex workers and review their services make it a less dangerous activity?
- Do you think it is appropriate to punish individuals who engage in sexting? What about individuals who post sexual images which they receive from romantic partners online without the permission of the creator? Why or why not?
Chapter 8
- Since technology constantly evolves, what applications or devices do you think may be misused in the future as platforms for individuals to engage in the production or distribution of child pornography?
- In what ways does the ability to communicate about sexual interests with children help make it possible for individuals to justify their actions and offend over time?
- Why do you think we sanction individuals who possess or access child porn with more severity than we do hackers or data thieves? Why would there be such differential sanction use?
Chapter 9
- Should we define youth who make harassing or disparaging comments about their teachers in online spaces as engaging in cyberbullying, or is it harassment? Simply put, why should we define an act differently on the basis of the ages of the victim and offender?
- How do we communicate what is acceptable online behavior to youth in a way that is accepted and clear? Furthermore, how do we limit the effects of “peer pressure” on technology use and acceptance, where friends post sensitive information about themselves or personal pictures that could be abused by others?
- How easy is it to find the reporting tools and links for harassing language on the social networking sites you use most often? Look on the sites and see how long it takes you to find them on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Are they easy to find? Are they in obvious places?
- Should schools be able to punish students for online activities that take place outside of the campus and after or before school hours if it directly affects the behavior of other students? Why?
Chapter 10
- How should we define or view the activities of Anonymous? They hack government targets, civilians, and industry. As such, should their actions be viewed as cybercrime, hacktivism, or cyberterror? Why?
- What real-world events, whether political, military, or social, could trigger a cyber-attack?
- Why is it necessary to have a combined and coordinated set of agencies linking local to national/federal responses to terrorism and extremists?
- Are free speech concerns in the US enough to justify not managing or legislating against hate speech online?
Chapter 11
- Do you think it is acceptable for nations to reserve the right to report critical vulnerabilities to the public? How do you weigh the risks of harm relative to the benefits of using them in a potential attack scenario?
- What real-world events, whether political, military, or social, could trigger a cyberattack?
- Why do you think incidents like the Sony Pictures Hack or the Russian trolling operations do not lead to more substantial policy responses from the United States? Is it too difficult to find an appropriate response? What do you think would be acceptable?
- The threat of nuclear war and the proliferation of WMD is deterred in part by the idea of mutually assured destruction, not only for the two nations but for the larger world. Given that nearly every nation has economic and critical infrastructure dependent on technology, if a nation-state were to engage in cyberwar against a rival, it would demand a physical or cyber response. With that in mind, how can nation-states deter the use of cyberattacks against one another? How do we respond to attacks committed by hackers or nation-states who are not influenced by traditional deterrence methods?
Chapter 12
- Who do you think faces the greatest risk for engaging in an illicit market online, such as for narcotics or stolen data? Is it the customer or the vendor? Why?
- In a post-COVID19 world, how do you think illicit markets will change? Do you think more people will move to online spaces for buying and selling anything illegal?
- What myths or ideas have you heard about what can be purchased on the Dark Web? What is the most outrageous thing, and why do you think that myth persists?
Chapter 13
- Do you agree that cybercrime is “old wine in a new bottle?”
- Which theory made the most sense to you in explaining crimes in a virtual world? Why?
- Think of a recent news event involving cybercrime. Which theory helps you understand better why that individual committed that crime?
- Does the idea of a low self-control hacker make sense to you? Why or why not?
- What risky activities do you partake in when you are online? How do those actions relate to routine activity theory?
- Do we need cybercrime specific theories or are traditional criminological theories adequate?
Chapter 14
- If technology is constantly evolving, will law enforcement and judicial legislation always be “one step behind” the criminal? Are there any crimes that do not leave behind digital evidence?
- What are some of the problems law enforcement investigators face when collecting digital evidence from a crime scene?
- Garfinkel (2010) argues that the Golden Age of digital forensics is nearing its end – what do you think is the next stage or era of digital forensics?
- Maintaining evidence integrity is one of the most important steps in the digital forensic investigation. Provide some examples of how the integrity of evidence can be discredited during a digital forensic investigation. What are some ways that law enforcement can ensure that evidence integrity is maintained during a digital forensic investigation?
Chapter 15
- The data preservation stage of the collection/acquisition phase of the digital forensic process involves careful planning on the part of the examiner. Identify five ways in which the digital evidence can be tainted during the data preservation process.
- A fellow classmate is confused about the following terms: slack space, clusters, and sectors. The book provided the analogy of a two-car garage to assist readers with these different terms. Create a different analogy to explain these different terms to your fellow classmate.
- It is extremely important that digital forensic examiners are able to verify the authenticity of the digital evidence. Explain whether the courts should be concerned with the use of hash algorithms for verifying the authenticity of digital evidence.
- Provide two examples of how confirmation bias could influence the integrity of a case. What are some ways we can limit the influence of forensic confirmation bias?
Chapter 16
- There are a number of exceptions to the warrant requirement for a search and seizure. Identify five different expectations to this rule and create a different scenario for each that would involve the search and seizure of electronic evidence.
- Identify the four criteria for determining whether digital forensic expert testimony is admissible in court according to the Daubert standard. Assess each of these criteria and explain whether or not digital forensic evidence should be admissible in court.
- There are inconsistencies between national and international laws on a variety of legal issues associated with digital forensic investigations. Describe two of these inconsistencies and discuss whether or not a universal, international law or policy is possible regarding the treatment of digital forensic evidence in court.
- Create two different scenarios involving third-party consent to conduct a search and seizure. In the first scenario, the third-party member is not legally able to provide consent to law enforcement. In the second scenario, the third-party member is able to provide consent to law enforcement to conduct a search and seizure. Finally, do you agree with the current interpretation of the apparent authority principle? Explain.
Chapter 17
- Can you think of any distinct technology that you use that could be exploited by hackers? In what way could it be harmed? What information could be gathered from its compromise?
- How could innovations, like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, be used by cybercriminals to effectively collect information or offend? How could law enforcement agencies around the world use these devices to disrupt cybercriminals generally?
- Based on everything you read throughout this book, what do you think the future of cybercrime offending and offenders will look like?
- What other solutions can you think of to better prepare law enforcement to investigate cybercrimes? How can we improve the overall response?