Playing Games with Cybercriminals

Ground Truth, 17:00 Wednesday Up to this point in time, the primary law enforcement strategy used to fight cybercrime has been the “hammer”. Given a core function of policing has been to arrest criminals, it is no surprise that offenders involved in...

Ground Truth, 17:00 Wednesday

Up to this point in time, the primary law enforcement strategy used to fight cybercrime has been the “hammer”. Given a core function of policing has been to arrest criminals, it is no surprise that offenders involved in digital crimes like hacking, online fraud and malware have also faced prosecution. Alongside arrests, has been the takedown of cybercriminal infrastructure, such as marketplaces or botnets. This has been carried out by law enforcement, with industry also playing a role. But questions have been raised about the long-term impact of such operations, and whether new players or infrastructure simply emerge with the cybercrime threat continuing unabated, or even growing.

This talk moves beyond the law enforcement hammer, and examines whether there are softer approaches which might also be used to reduce the threat of cybercrime. In particular, it focusses on the underlying economics of cybercrime and the levers which could be pulled to damage the efficiency of cybercriminal markets and disrupt illegal operations. In short, can law enforcement, and their partners in industry, play games with cybercriminals?

Jonathan Lusthaus