Summary: Law enforcement agencies around the world are using online ad campaigns to cut off the pathways into cybercrime of aspiring criminals. These campaigns are a novel and cost-efficient prevention strategy, as they have the potential to reach thousands of potential cybercriminals for a relatively low cost. However, there is still little research on how they work and how useful they are. What is the best way to set up a campaign? What is the cost involved? Do campaigns really work to reduce crime? What other advantages do they have?
In this seminar, a series of studies conducted since 2020 in collaboration with the Netherlands Police's Cyber Offender Prevention Squad (COPS) will be showcased. This collaboration exemplifies a successful partnership between academia and law enforcement. The joint effort led to the development and implementation of online ad campaigns to reduce cybercrime, such as DDoS attacks and hacking, and diverted potential cybercriminals towards prosocial alternatives in cybersecurity. The session will delve into the implications of the findings, both from a scientific and practical standpoint. This session illustrates the process of developing an evidence-based cybercrime prevention strategy at the national (and international) level.
Bio: Dr Asier Moneva is a postdoc at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) and also at the Center of Expertise Cyber Security at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
His background is in Criminology. In particular, he researches how, when, and where cybercrime occur, focusing on the human factors involved. He relies mainly on quantitative methods and data science, and enjoys collaborating with researchers from other disciplines as well as with practitioners and professionals. The purpose of his research is twofold: to generate knowledge to better understand cybercrime, and to find solutions to reduce it or mitigate its impact.
This is a joint event brought to you from the Centre for Digital Trust and Society (part of Digital Futures) and the Department of Criminology at The University of Manchester.
Connect with the Centre for Digital Trust and Society
The Centre for Digital Trust and Society organises the DTS Guest Seminar Series and is a focal point for research across the University of Manchester that explores aspects of trust and security in our digital world. The Centre is part of Digital Futures, a highly interdisciplinary network which operates across the whole range of the University of Manchester's digital research.
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