Network analysis of a darknet marketplace: Identifying themes and key users of illicit networks

The global cost of cybercrime is estimated to reach $10 trillion by 2025. To perpetuate cybercrime, cybercriminals often use darknet markets, which are online platforms where cybercriminals sell, purchase, and trade stolen products and hacking tools. This study is a research in progress that focuses on analyzing darknet markets to identify key actors and understand their networks, interactions, and emergent themes. The study hopes to increase our understanding of the nature of criminal activities, add to the literature, and provide insights that may help stakeholders build tools for disrupting or preventing activities on the darknet

Self-sovereign identity: a primer and call for research in information systems

In this research-in-progress paper, we encourage information systems (IS) researchers to consider the self-sovereign identity (SSI) approach to identity management. We highlight several issues with current data practices, then provide an overview of SSI by discussing the technology and actors involved. Finally, we call for more IS research on SSI to ultimately increase its adoption

An investigation on the generative mechanisms of Dark Net markets

In this paper we investigate the Dark Net which is the part of Internet accessible only via special browsers such as Tor. The Dark Net is the home of black-markets for illegal goods and services such as drugs, weapons and fake identities. In this study we investigate the Dark Net as a digital infrastructure over time to address the following research question: what are the forces underlying Dark Net markets? Our empirical approach is based on a set of techniques for accessing Dark Net marketplaces (DNM) and collecting various types of information on sites, transactions and users. We draw also on secondary sources such as reports of police interventions and interviews. Our analysis follows the tradition of critical realism to shed light on the generative mechanisms enabling Dark Net markets to operate and survive

Actionable Intelligence-Oriented Cyber Threat Modeling Framework

Amid the growing challenges of cybersecurity, the new paradigm of cyber threat intelligence (or CTI) has gained momentum to better deal with cyber threats. There, however, has been one fundamental and very practical problem of information overload organizations face in constructing an effective CTI program. We developed a cyber threat intelligence prototype that automatically and dynamically performs the correlation of business assets, vulnerabilities, and cyber threat information in a scoped setting to remediate the challenge of information overload. Conveniently called TIME (for Threat Intelligence Modeling Environment), it repeats the cycle of: (1) collect internal asset data; (2) gather vulnerability and threat data; (3) correlate vulnerabilities with assets; and (4) derive CTI and alerts significant internal asset-related vulnerabilities in a timely manner. For this, it takes advantage of CTI reports produced by online sites and several NIST standards intended to formalize vulnerability and threat management

A Review of The Challenges of Paperless Concept In The Society 5.0

The world will start a new era of society where technology and humans can collaborate to solve social problems. Many countries have ridden into the 4.0 era in the industrial revolution. In reality, Japan began to introduce Society 5.0, where the concept was the answer to the industrial revolution 4.0. Society 5.0 applies the human-centered concept based on information technology. In fact, there has been no in-depth study of the advantages and challenges of implementing paperless in various fields. The purpose of this paper is to review the challenges and the advantages of the paperless concept using Narrative Literature Review to provide an objective analysis of the paperless concept. The objects research discussed including industry/manufacturing, education, medical, and government. This paper provides an in-depth study and analysis of the paperless concept's advantages and challenges related to hardware and software maintenance, data security and reliability, human resources technical skills, social interaction, and disaster recovery strategy

A Review of The Challenges of Paperless Concept In The Society 5.0

The world will start a new era of society where technology and humans can collaborate to solve social problems. Many countries have ridden into the 4.0 era in the industrial revolution. In reality, Japan began to introduce Society 5.0, where the concept was the answer to the industrial revolution 4.0. Society 5.0 applies the human-centered concept based on information technology. In fact, there has been no in-depth study of the advantages and challenges of implementing paperless in various fields. The purpose of this paper is to review the challenges and the advantages of the paperless concept using Narrative Literature Review to provide an objective analysis of the paperless concept. The objects research discussed including industry/manufacturing, education, medical, and government. This paper provides an in-depth study and analysis of the paperless concept's advantages and challenges related to hardware and software maintenance, data security and reliability, human resources technical skills, social interaction, and disaster recovery strategy

Exploring the value of a cyber threat intelligence function in an organization

Organizations can struggle to cope with the rapidly advancing threat landscape. A cyber threat intelligence (CTI) function broadly aims to understand how threats operate to better protect the organization from future attacks. This seems like a natural step to take in hardening security. However, CTI is understood and experienced differently across organizations. To explore the value of this function this study used a qualitative method, guided by the Socio-Technical Framework, to understand how the CTI function is interpreted by organizations in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to provide an in-depth view of how each organization implemented its CTI function and what benefits and challenges they’ve experienced. Findings show that CTI tasks tend to be more manual and resource-intensive, but these challenges can be resolved through automation. It was noted that only larger organizations seem to have the budget and resources available to implement the CTI function, whereas smaller organizations put more reliance on tools. It was observed that skills for the CTI function can be learned on the job, but that formal education provides a good foundation. The findings illustrate the value the CTI function can provide an organization but also the challenges, thereby enabling other organizations to improve preparation before such a function is adopted

The Dark Web Phenomenon: A Review and Research Agenda

The internet can be broadly divided into three parts: surface, deep and dark. The dark web has become notorious in the media for being a hidden part of the web where all manner of illegal activities take place. This review investigates how the dark web is being utilised with an emphasis on cybercrime, and how law enforcement plays the role of its adversary. The review describes these hidden spaces, sheds light on their history, the activities that they harbour – including cybercrime, the nature of attention they receive, and methodologies employed by law enforcement in an attempt to defeat their purpose. More importantly, it is argued that these spaces should be considered a phenomenon and not an isolated occurrence to be taken as merely a natural consequence of technology. This paper contributes to the area of dark web research by serving as a reference document and by proposing a research agenda

Combating Loneliness with Artificial Intelligence: An AI-Based Emotional Support Model

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems, such as AI companions, have been increasingly used to meet the needs of individuals who experience loneliness. In this current study, we sought to identify the mechanism underlying human-AI interactions in the mental health context. We use a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) approach to analyze a sample of user-generated content consisting of rich data on AI companion app’s reviews over a two-year period. We extracted five positive topics (i.e., perceived humanness, perceived emotional support, perceived AI’s friendship, perceived (less) loneliness, and mental health benefits) and four negative topics (i.e., perceived lack of conscientiousness, perceived incredibility, perceived violation of privacy, and perceived creepiness of AI) from our analysis. Our AI-based emotional support model suggests that these positive and negative characteristics are interrelated. Our study provides an understanding of the relationship between AI companions and human users in light of research showing the effectiveness of an AI-based intervention for mental health care