FINAL DRAFT CYBERCRIME CJ
Cyberspace and Criminal behavior
Antonella Zavala
Missouri Valley College
Author Note
This paper was prepared and submitted for CJ360 Cybercrime Fall 2014, taught by Professor Alecia Schmidt.
Cyberspace and Criminal Behavior
Cyberspace has been traditionally defined as the exchange of information and communication from one person to another in completely different geographical locations (Britz, 2013, p.3). According to Britz cyberspace was defined as “the place between places” (Britz, 2013, p.3). Therefore, cyberspace represents the cloud where emails, calls, and, text messages must pass through before making it to its final destination. Cyberspace has been used since traditional communication devices were first introduced (Britz, 2013, p.3). Approximately half of the United States have used the Internet as a medium (Britz, 2013, p.3). However, with the wave of the Internet, criminals found new ways to commit crimes with less risk of getting caught. According to Britz computer crime, computer-related crimes, digital crimes, and cybercrime must be studied in order to understand technological and electronic crimes (Britz, 2013, p.3).
Historically, there has not been a communication medium as effective as the Internet. The Internet allowed users to combine mail, telephone, and mass media into one central area (Britz, 2013, p.4). As Britz stated in the book, the Internet was used for different purposes such as a social gathering place, a library, or a place to be alone (Britz, 2013, p.4). The Internet had resulted in a helpful tool for communication. However, internet could be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the Internet was allowed for everyone including pedophiles, sexual predators, and narco-trafficers (Britz, 2013, p.4). Consequently, the Internet had been effective for multiple reasons to different types of users such as individuals, companies and so on. Nevertheless, it implied a risk for individuals and companies to be
Antonella Zavala
Missouri Valley College
Author Note
This paper was prepared and submitted for CJ360 Cybercrime Fall 2014, taught by Professor Alecia Schmidt.
Cyberspace and Criminal Behavior
Cyberspace has been traditionally defined as the exchange of information and communication from one person to another in completely different geographical locations (Britz, 2013, p.3). According to Britz cyberspace was defined as “the place between places” (Britz, 2013, p.3). Therefore, cyberspace represents the cloud where emails, calls, and, text messages must pass through before making it to its final destination. Cyberspace has been used since traditional communication devices were first introduced (Britz, 2013, p.3). Approximately half of the United States have used the Internet as a medium (Britz, 2013, p.3). However, with the wave of the Internet, criminals found new ways to commit crimes with less risk of getting caught. According to Britz computer crime, computer-related crimes, digital crimes, and cybercrime must be studied in order to understand technological and electronic crimes (Britz, 2013, p.3).
Historically, there has not been a communication medium as effective as the Internet. The Internet allowed users to combine mail, telephone, and mass media into one central area (Britz, 2013, p.4). As Britz stated in the book, the Internet was used for different purposes such as a social gathering place, a library, or a place to be alone (Britz, 2013, p.4). The Internet had resulted in a helpful tool for communication. However, internet could be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the Internet was allowed for everyone including pedophiles, sexual predators, and narco-trafficers (Britz, 2013, p.4). Consequently, the Internet had been effective for multiple reasons to different types of users such as individuals, companies and so on. Nevertheless, it implied a risk for individuals and companies to be
References: Britz, M. T. (2013). Computer Forensic and Cyber Crime: An Introduction. Clemson University, SC: Pearson Education