TY - JOUR
T1 - Vigilantism and cooperative criminal justice:
T2 - Is there a place for cybersecurity vigilantes in cybercrime fighting
AU - E Silva, Karine
PY - 2017/12/27
Y1 - 2017/12/27
N2 - Are cybersecurity vigilantes at odds with criminal justice? Perhaps. In general terms, vigilantism could be understood as an act of retaliation launched by private agents in response to a perceived criminal conduct and targeting alleged perpetrators of a crime. This form of unofficial crime control has flourished on the Internet, where non-State actors have enforced informal means of justice to counter criminal behavior. Recently, the actions of cybersecurity vigilantes have become a recurrent (and sometimes disruptive) element in the fight against cybercrime. In this paper, I shall argue that individuals who make use of force in response to criminal activities online could pose a serious threat to cybercrime investigations – but also that by acting upon a presumable moral duty to counter crime, cybersecurity vigilantes are turning the tables on how law enforcement is effectuated online and shaping the future of cooperative criminal justice.
AB - Are cybersecurity vigilantes at odds with criminal justice? Perhaps. In general terms, vigilantism could be understood as an act of retaliation launched by private agents in response to a perceived criminal conduct and targeting alleged perpetrators of a crime. This form of unofficial crime control has flourished on the Internet, where non-State actors have enforced informal means of justice to counter criminal behavior. Recently, the actions of cybersecurity vigilantes have become a recurrent (and sometimes disruptive) element in the fight against cybercrime. In this paper, I shall argue that individuals who make use of force in response to criminal activities online could pose a serious threat to cybercrime investigations – but also that by acting upon a presumable moral duty to counter crime, cybersecurity vigilantes are turning the tables on how law enforcement is effectuated online and shaping the future of cooperative criminal justice.
KW - vigilantism
KW - Cybercrime
KW - Botnets
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2018.1418142
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2018.1418142
M3 - Article
SN - 1360-0869
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - International Review of Law, Computers & Technology
JF - International Review of Law, Computers & Technology
ER -