82 research outputs found
Investigating Cybercrimes that Occur on Documented P2P Networks
The popularity of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Internet communication technologies being exploited to aid cybercrime is ever increasing. P2P systems can be used or exploited to aid in the execution of a large number of online criminal activities, e.g., copyright infringement, fraud, malware and virus distribution, botnet creation, and control. P2P technology is perhaps most famous for the unauthorised distribution of copyrighted materials since the late 1990âs, with the popularity of file-sharing programs such as Napster. In 2004, P2P traffic accounted for 80% of all Internet traffic and in 2005, specifically BitTorrent traffic accounted for over 60% of the worldâs P2P bandwidth usage. This paper outlines a methodology for investigating a documented P2P network, BitTorrent, using a sample investigation for reference throughout. The sample investigation outlined was conducted on the top 100 most popular BitTorrent swarms over the course of a one week period.Irish Research CouncilAmazon.co
Study of Peer-to-Peer Network Based Cybercrime Investigation: Application on Botnet Technologies
The scalable, low overhead attributes of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Internet
protocols and networks lend themselves well to being exploited by criminals to
execute a large range of cybercrimes. The types of crimes aided by P2P
technology include copyright infringement, sharing of illicit images of
children, fraud, hacking/cracking, denial of service attacks and virus/malware
propagation through the use of a variety of worms, botnets, malware, viruses
and P2P file sharing. This project is focused on study of active P2P nodes
along with the analysis of the undocumented communication methods employed in
many of these large unstructured networks. This is achieved through the design
and implementation of an efficient P2P monitoring and crawling toolset. The
requirement for investigating P2P based systems is not limited to the more
obvious cybercrimes listed above, as many legitimate P2P based applications may
also be pertinent to a digital forensic investigation, e.g, voice over IP,
instant messaging, etc. Investigating these networks has become increasingly
difficult due to the broad range of network topologies and the ever increasing
and evolving range of P2P based applications. In this work we introduce the
Universal P2P Network Investigation Framework (UP2PNIF), a framework which
enables significantly faster and less labour intensive investigation of newly
discovered P2P networks through the exploitation of the commonalities in P2P
network functionality. In combination with a reference database of known
network characteristics, it is envisioned that any known P2P network can be
instantly investigated using the framework, which can intelligently determine
the best investigation methodology and greatly expedite the evidence gathering
process. A proof of concept tool was developed for conducting investigations on
the BitTorrent network.Comment: This is a thesis submitted in fulfilment of a PhD in Digital
Forensics and Cybercrime Investigation in the School of Computer Science,
University College Dublin in October 201
Maintaining a bitcoin address repository through focused web crawling
Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems Security (MSc.ISS) at Strathmore UniversityThere has been an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). Bitcoin allow for cross-border payments, for large and small items at little or no transaction fee. It is a groundbreaking technology that is not restricted by the current Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The decentralised nature of Bitcoin provides for anonymity through possible use of multiple identities that are not linked to personally identifiable information. Bitcoin offers a convenient solution for criminals who are restricted by the conventional money transfer systems. Bitcoin has been linked to drug dealers, gold bugs, fraudsters, terrorists, whistleblowers, pornographers, Internet freedom activists and unregulated gaming enterprises (Simser, 2015). Other cybercrimes that are facilitated by Bitcoin include ransomware. This research identified a gap in acquiring digital evidence related to Bitcoin transactions. The data was obtained from case laws and secondary materials relating to Bitcoin forensics. We suggest a solution of maintaining a Bitcoin address repository through regular crawling of cryptocurrency sites. A web crawler that visits a list of user defined cryptocurrency sites was developed to solve the identified problem. The crawled sites include websites of interest to investigators. Results are stored in an XML file which can be exported to any database. The addresses and metadata collected from webpages can be used by investigators when building a case for Bitcoin related crimes. Transaction data about the collected addresses is available on the Bitcoin blockchain
Perspectives on the capacity of the Canadian police system to respond to "child pornography" on the internet
The Internet, its affordability, accessibility, and anonymity provide new venues where
child exploitation crimes have increased. An exponential rise in the exchange of images of
sexual abuse, commonly referred to as âchild pornographyâ, has occurred. The purpose of
this major paper was to explore this phenomenon within an international context, and
assess the capacity of Canadian law enforcement (national and municipal) to respond. In
order to do so a survey was sent to police departments across Canada, to have officers
identify the challenges they faced in responding to images of child abuse on the Internet,
and to solicit officersâ general opinions on this issue. The research resulted in five key
findings that implied that existing capacity gaps were rooted in a lack of applied or
ratified international agreements and commitments, a failure of system interoperability,
a lack of effective private-public partnerships, and the weaknesses in current Canadian
legislation, particular to mandated reporting of suspicious content (which is now under
review). Finally, a lack of appropriate, accessible support and training for police was
identified. Informed by the research, the author makes several recommendations
A critical assessment on the efficacy of Kenyan legislation in addressing of internet child pornography
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of LawsThe development on the internet has brought about entirely impenetrable conduits for
distribution of illegal pornography. Individuals are collecting and sharing Child Pornography
images through virtually every type of Internet technology. The internet provides a uniquely
safe, easily accessible, and supportive context for posting, trading and collecting Child
Pornography.
This paper seeks to determine how effectively the Sexual Offences Act and Children's Act
can regulate Child Pornography in the environment of the Internet. The research done on this
paper is from online content as little to no information on this subject has been documented in
books. The content is also largely foreign as there is very little information on the subject in
Kenya as it is still a developing area of law.
This research makes a comparative analysis between the United Kingdom and the United
States and seeks to make recommendations for Kenya based on the best practices of these
Nations
Bridging Information Security and Environmental Criminology Research to Better Mitigate Cybercrime
Cybercrime is a complex phenomenon that spans both technical and human
aspects. As such, two disjoint areas have been studying the problem from
separate angles: the information security community and the environmental
criminology one. Despite the large body of work produced by these communities
in the past years, the two research efforts have largely remained disjoint,
with researchers on one side not benefitting from the advancements proposed by
the other. In this paper, we argue that it would be beneficial for the
information security community to look at the theories and systematic
frameworks developed in environmental criminology to develop better mitigations
against cybercrime. To this end, we provide an overview of the research from
environmental criminology and how it has been applied to cybercrime. We then
survey some of the research proposed in the information security domain,
drawing explicit parallels between the proposed mitigations and environmental
criminology theories, and presenting some examples of new mitigations against
cybercrime. Finally, we discuss the concept of cyberplaces and propose a
framework in order to define them. We discuss this as a potential research
direction, taking into account both fields of research, in the hope of
broadening interdisciplinary efforts in cybercrime researc
La collaboration internationale dans les enquĂȘtes sur le darkweb : exploration des types et des motivations selon lâexpĂ©rience des policiers
Mondialement, les organisations policiĂšres sont responsables de rĂ©soudre les crimes qui sont commis physiquement dans les juridictions qui leur sont attribuĂ©es. Cependant, ce fonctionnement nâest pas adaptĂ© aux cybercrimes, considĂ©rant quâils sont commis virtuellement et non physiquement dans lâespace. Depuis les derniĂšres annĂ©es, des milliers de criminels utilisent le darkweb, la portion cachĂ©e de lâInternet, afin de commettre des crimes Ă lâinsu de toutes dĂ©tections policiĂšres. En effet, les forces de lâordre se retrouvent bien souvent dans lâincapacitĂ© dâintervenir face aux cybercrimes Ă cause du manque de ressources financiĂšres et humaines ainsi que du manque de formations adĂ©quates. Une solution proposĂ©e face Ă ce problĂšme est de favoriser les collaborations internationales qui transcendent les juridictions. Cependant, la littĂ©rature sur le sujet de la collaboration internationale nâest plus dâactualitĂ© et ne prend pas en considĂ©ration les dĂ©fis causĂ©s par les technologies. Ătant la premiĂšre Ă©tude Ă se pencher sur cette problĂ©matique, ce mĂ©moire a pour objectif gĂ©nĂ©ral de comprendre les collaborations internationales dans les enquĂȘtes policiĂšres sur les crimes commis Ă lâaide du darkweb. PrĂ©cisĂ©ment, cette Ă©tude exploratoire dĂ©sire (1) dĂ©crire et comprendre les motivations qui poussent les enquĂȘteurs Ă collaborer Ă lâextĂ©rieur de leur agence policiĂšre et (2) dĂ©crire et comprendre les types de collaboration nĂ©cessaire Ă la rĂ©alisation dâune enquĂȘte policiĂšre sur le darkweb. Pour ce faire, nous utilisons une approche internationale et centrĂ©e sur les policiers grĂące Ă un corpus de 20 entretiens avec des enquĂȘteurs de cinq pays (Canada, Ătats-Unis, Royaume-Uni, Australie et SuĂšde). Cette recherche s'appuie sur le point de vue des participants afin d'apprĂ©cier leurs rĂ©alitĂ©s et leurs expĂ©riences. Ă lâaide dâune analyse thĂ©matique classique, nous avons dĂ©crit cinq principales motivations et trois types de collaboration expĂ©rimentĂ©s par les sujets. Ce mĂ©moire permet de mettre en lien des thĂ©matiques distinctes dans la littĂ©rature, de gĂ©nĂ©rer de nouvelles connaissances et dâĂ©tablir les bases conceptuelles pour de futures recherches. Les rĂ©sultats illustrent la pertinence et la nĂ©cessitĂ© de mettre de lâavant les collaborations internationales afin dâaccroĂźtre le succĂšs des enquĂȘtes policiĂšres sur les crimes commis Ă lâaide du darkweb.Globally, police organizations are responsible for solving crimes committed physically in their assigned jurisdictions. Considering that they are committed virtually and not physically in space, this system is not adequate for tackling cybercrimes. In the last decades, thousands of criminals have been using the darkweb, the hidden part of the Internet, to commit crimes without police detection. Indeed, law enforcement agencies are often unable to intervene in cybercrimes due to a lack of financial, human resources and adequate training. One proposed solution to this problem is to foster international collaborations that transcend jurisdictions. However, the literature about international collaboration is outdated and does not consider the challenges caused by technology. As the first study to address this issue, the overall goal of this masterâs thesis is to understand international collaborations in police investigations of darkweb crimes. Specifically, this exploratory study seeks to (1) describe and understand the motivations that drive investigators to collaborate outside of their police agency and (2) describe and understand the types of collaboration required to conduct a police investigation on the darkweb. We used an international and police-centric approach through a corpus of 20 interviews with investigators from five countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden). This research draws on the participants' perspectives to appreciate their realities and experiences. Using the traditional thematic analysis, we described five main motivations and three types of collaboration experienced by the subjects. This dissertation connects distinct themes in the literature, generates new knowledge, and establishes the conceptual basis for future research. The results illustrate the relevance and necessity of improving international collaborations to increase the success of police investigations of darkweb-related crimes
An antiwindup approach to power controller switching in an ambient healthcare network
This paper proposes a methodology for improved power controller switching in mobile Body Area Networks operating within the ambient healthcare environment. The work extends Anti-windup and Bumpless transfer results to provide a solution to the ambulatory networking problem that ensures sufficient biometric data can always be regenerated at the base station. The solution thereby guarantees satisfactory quality of service for healthcare providers. Compensation is provided for the nonlinear hardware constraints that are a typical feature of the type of network under consideration and graceful performance degradation in the face of hardware output power saturation is demonstrated, thus conserving network energy in an optimal fashion
The Cyber Crime and Internet and Internet Sexual Exploitation of Children
The availability of the Internet has become increasingly easier to children due to technological advancements. An increasing number of children have access to smart phones and tablets, hence, allowing their susceptibility to become a cyber victim, as parental control is lacking. Concerns about the role of technological change in relation to sexual crimes against children, sexual exploitation and potential harm have been expressed in the USA for some considerable time. These have been reflected in a change in legislation with respect to abusive images of children (child pornography) and its attendant violent content. This study examined the impact of child cyber sexual exploitation. The study also explored the methods predators used to prey on children, the role childâs behavior played in their susceptibility to being seduced, and the role education system play to protect children. It was important to conduct this study as previous studies did not really address the fact that security measures are lacking as well as knowledge on the potential dangers of the Internet. The researcher used interview questions to carry out this study by getting the opinions of the Police Officers at the Bradley Police Department, Bradley, Illinois since these are the officers who work on the Cyber Crime against the children. The study identified the security measures that are lacking as well as knowledge of the potential dangers of the Internet. Also the education systems are not mandated to incorporate Internet safety courses into the curriculum as many educators themselves lack the necessary knowledge on the subject. The study also revealed that many parents lack knowledge on Internet safety and feel their children may be more tech-savvy, making Internet safety conversations more difficult. This allows a child the opportunity to utilize the Internet unsupervised, as many parental controls can be bypassed
Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda
Purpose: This paper investigates the way in which blockchain technology is likely to influence future supply chain practices and policies. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of both academic and practitioner literature was conducted. Multiple accounts of blockchain adoption within industry were also consulted to gain further insight. Findings: While blockchain technologies remain in their infancy, they are gaining momentum within supply chains, trust being the predominant factor driving their adoption. The value of such technologies for supply chain management lies in four areas: extended visibility and traceability, supply chain digitalisation and disintermediation, improved data security and smart contracts. Several challenges and gaps in understanding and opportunities for further research are identified by our research. How a blockchain enabled supply chain should be configured has also been explored from a design perspective. Research limitations/implications: Our systematic review focuses on the diffusion of blockchain technology within supply chains and great care was taken in selecting search terms. However, we acknowledge that our choice of terms may have excluded certain blockchain articles from this review. Practical implications: This paper offers valuable insight for supply-chain practitioners into how blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt existing supply chain provisions as well as a number of challenges to its successful diffusion. Originality/value: Ours is one of the first studies to examine the current state of blockchain diffusion within supply chains. It lays a firm foundation for future research. Keywords: blockchain, distributed ledger technology, supply chain management, peer-to-peer communication, systematic literature revie
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