Policing Cyberspace: A Structural and Cultural Analysis

• NCJ Number: 238343
• Author(s): Johnny Nhan
• Date Published: 2010
• Length: 216 pages
• Sale Source: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Overview Text; Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Drawing on data from front-line high-tech-crimes task forces in California, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and motion picture studios, as well as high-tech companies, this book explores structural, cultural, and various criminal justice issues in policing computer-facilitated crime ("cyberspace").

Abstract

The book notes the far-reaching and constant threat of the open environment of cyberspace in general and the Internet in particular, which make cyberspace vulnerable to an expanding range of accidents and attacks by a spectrum of hackers, criminals, terrorists, and state actors who have unprecedented access to individuals and organizations throughout the world. The research reported in this book applies the nodal governance security theoretical framework using Wood's (2006) empirical mapping guidelines applied to the cyber-security network in California. This mapping method identifies key stakeholders in cyber security and their relationship to each other. Wood's mapping technique, which stresses functional relations over physical geography, is ideal for mapping the "borderless" Internet environment. Assessing relational gaps between nodes or nodal cluster's (sets of institutional actors with parallel functions and cultures that are identified as a single entity) functions can assist in identifying and extracting structural, socio-political, legal, and cultural variables that affect inter-nodal relations. In addition to examining inter-nodal collaboration and friction, this research considers key stakeholders and security assets shared in a network. The nature of the degree to which security capital is shared will be a key factor in the size and strength of the cyber security network in California. Four key nodal clusters have been selected for assessment in this research: law enforcement, State government, private industry, and the general public. The research findings identify weaknesses in a collaborative network and policy approach that is weakened by apathy, insufficient funding, and attitudes toward cybercrime as a legitimate threat to people's and society's security. Approximately 272 references and a subject index