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This exploratory research examined law enforcement officers' attitudes toward the public-private partnerships (PPPs) in policing cyberspace. Particularly, by investigating the predictors of police officers' support for the PPPs, the authors aimed to offer practical implications for maintaining order and responding to illegal activities in the virtual environment.

A convenience sample of South Korean police officers was surveyed using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire.

The findings showed that officer perceptions of the seriousness and the frequency of property cybercrimes, computer proficiency and awareness of a lack of training were positively associated with the support for the PPPs. In addition, years of experience was negatively related to the support for the PPPs.

Law enforcement officers' perceptions toward public-private cooperation in combatting cybercrime have never been examined. This research fills the gap by exploring the predictors of officer support for cross-sectoral partnerships within the framework of nodal governance security in the cultural context of South Korea.

This paper aims to map out multi-agency partnerships in the UK information assurance (UKIA) network in the UK.

The paper surveyed members of the UKIA community and achieved a 52 percent response rate (n=104). The paper used a multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) technique to map the multi-agency cooperation space and factor analysis and ordinary least squares regression to identify predictive factors of cooperation frequency. Qualitative data were also solicited via the survey and interviews with security managers.

Via the quantitative measures, the paper locates gaps in the multi-agency cooperation network and identifies predictors of cooperation. The data indicate an over-crowded cybersecurity space, problems in apprehending perpetrators, and poor business case justifications for SMEs as potential inhibitors to cooperation, while concern over certain cybercrimes and perceptions of organisational effectiveness were identified as motivators.

The data suggest that the neo-liberal rationality that has been evoked in other areas of crime control is also evident in the control of cybercrimes. The paper concludes divisions exist between the High Policing rhetoric of the UK's Cyber Security Strategy and the (relatively) Low Policing cooperation outcomes in “on the ground” cyber-policing. If the cooperation outcomes advocated by the UK Cyber Security Strategy are to be realised, UKIA organisations must begin to acknowledge and remedy gaps and barriers in cooperation.

This paper provides the first mixed-methods evidence on the multi-agency cooperation patterns amongst the UKIA community in the UK and highlights significant gaps in the network.

In the second of two articles, the potential of the internet for child victimisation by paedophiles and the challenges for controls that the technology poses are discussed. The links between the availability of imagery and the actual practice of paedophilia are considered and the problems of legal definition and control policies are outlined. The article concludes by outlining some controls presently available and makes suggestions for improved policing.

Addresses the rapid expansion of computer connectivity and the opportunities provided for criminals to exploit security vulnerabilities in the online environment.

International efforts to combat cyber‐crime are reviewed by evaluating the forms of mutual legal assistance (MLA) now in place.

Cyber‐crime is often traditional crime (e.g. fraud, identify theft, child pornography) albeit executed swiftly and to vast numbers of potential victims, as well as unauthorised access, damage and interference to computer systems. Most detrimental are malicious and exploit codes that interrupt computer operations on a global scale and along with other cyber‐crimes threaten e‐commerce. The cross‐national nature of most computer‐related crimes have rendered many time‐honoured methods of policing both domestically and in cross‐border situations ineffective even in advanced nations, while the “digital divide” provides “safe havens” for cyber‐criminals. In response to the threat of cyber‐crime there is an urgent need to reform methods of MLA and to develop trans‐national policing capability.

The international response is briefly outlined in the context of the United Nations (UN) Transnational Organised Crime Convention (in force from September 2003) and the Council of Europe's innovative Cyber‐crime Convention (in force from July 2004). In addition, the role of the UN, Interpol, other institutions and bi‐lateral, regional and other efforts aimed a creating a seamless web of enforcement against cyber‐criminals are described.

The potential for potent global enforcement mechanisms are discussed.

This paper considers whether copyright has a future in an electronic environment. A number of issues face copyright owners in the networked environment, most of them caused by the ease with which materials can be copied. Some relevant examples of legal cases are considered. Some responses to the stresses, in terms of both attitudes and legislation, such as the EU Database Directive and the EU Draft Directive on Copyright, are considered. It is concluded that copyright is unlikely to survive in its present form, and that attempts to strengthen it by means of increasing owner rights could be counterproductive. Innovative thinking and ideas are necessary, together with increased owner‐user co‐operation, if copyright is to survive.

The development of technologies for the conduct of cyber operations represents an opportunity for states to defend their interests in international relations but also bears risks and challenges. Since the early 2000s, the United Nations “group of governmental experts (GGE) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security” debates on this issue. This paper aims to investigate how states are challenged in the development of international cyber norms and where capacity to act is idle, i.e. to assess how much has been reached in the international community’s debate on cyber threats and malicious behaviors in the international security context and to identify directions to move GGE work further.

The methodology uses an extensive text-based desk research and relies on a thorough collection, analysis and interpretation of the United Nations (UNs) documents. When specific substantial topics are addressed in the GGE, the content of the debate was confronted with issue-specific academic literature on those matters.

The results highlight that the GGE managed to gather consensus on a number of cooperation and normative measures in this politically highly sensitive topic and more deliverables are expected during this and next year. The paper identifies a weakness in terms of operational implementation though. The paper proposes a few examples of concrete headways that could complement existing consensus, especially on the implementation side.

Because of its political sensitivity, the GGE has worked with discretion and has attracted little academic attention. This paper is an original and timely attempt to assess the achievements and possible outlook of this endeavor of the international community, including the incipient work of a recently established open-ended working group. It also attempts to connect the subject matter discussed in the UN with related academic literature, including in respect of definitional and conceptual issues.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the number of cybercrime units that are on the world wide web and the manner in which they represent themselves, and to clarify how they are communicating information to their constituency (i.e. the visitors to their site) through new technology.

There is no sampling frame that serves as an exhaustive list of law enforcement departments with web sites, nor law enforcement departments with computer crime units, nor law enforcement departments with cybercrime unit web sites. As such, the world wide web was combed using popular search engines to find as many US‐based cybercrime unit web sites as possible. The final sample size was 88.

The findings suggest that though cybercrime units across the USA typically have similar missions (e.g. to respond to one or more forms of computer crime), they used their self‐representing web site in different ways. Beyond providing basic contact information and details about the cybercrime unit, web sites varied considerably in the depth and nature of their content. Units largely utilized these sites to simply exist on the world wide web. It was also unclear whether the sites actually fostered two‐way communication between agencies and their constituents. Sites also placed an emphasis on providing information that visitors might use to reduce their vulnerability to victimization through educational efforts.

The sites in the sample all sought to inform their constituencies about the existence of the cybercrime unit they represent and the services they render, and to provide basic contact information. They seemingly differed, though, in the main intent and purpose of their site – which introduced variability in terms of the delivery of their content. Furthermore, disparities in available resources likely dictated the quality and depth of information presented on these sites.

This work assesses the current state of law enforcement information delivery over the world wide web, and also informs best practices in quality, depth, and comprehensiveness of that information delivery. This can then be used by law enforcement departments who have a cybercrime unit web site to improve its current state and fine‐tune communications and information dissemination efforts.

This is the first assessment of the world wide web presences of US law enforcement cybercrime units and contributes to the knowledgebase associated with agency communication with external entities.

The global wave of information and communication technologies (ICT) development has become a strong driving force in almost every aspect of development. This paper aims to explore the impact of internet crime on individuals, organisations, businesses and government agencies in both developed and developing countries with special reference to developing countries.

The analysis in this paper is based on extensive review of published research works, which provide theoretical and empirical evidence on the effects and impact of the internet on development.

The paper generally concludes that the internet is overwhelmingly a powerful tool for development. Paradoxically, the internet is a “double‐edged sword”, providing many opportunities for individuals and organisations to develop but at the same time, has brought with it new opportunities to commit crime. The paper argues that the internet presents new challenges to law enforcement in both developed and developing countries. However, developing countries suffer greatly from the activities of internet crime than their developed counterparts as developing countries have inadequate technology, infrastructure and insufficient law enforcement expertise.

This paper reminds individuals, organisations and policy makers alike that internet crime has become a global issue that requires the full participation and cooperation of both developed and developing countries at the international level, as internet crime investigations often require that evidence be traced and collected in more that one country. ICT industries should focus now in designing products that are resistant to crime and can facilitate detection and investigation of crime.

A major novelty of this paper is that it traces the historical evolution of the internet and then sketches out some of the innovations the internet has brought as well as considering the negative effects associated with this technology and its impact on development.

This paper presents the results of two research projects designed to evaluate the extent and nature of the use of the World Wide Web by criminal justice agencies. Discussion focuses on the extent and nature of Web use by type of agency, who links to whom, and the use of the Web to disseminate information from a news‐making criminology perspective.

The purpose of this paper, which is based on author's PhD study, is to analyze the trends in credit card fraud prevention in the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia, particularly over the period 2003‐2007, with special focus on the fraud prevention practices in the payments systems.

This study uses primary and secondary data particularly from the payments systems of the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia to conduct historical and benchmarking analyses to highlight the trends in credit card fraud prevention in the four countries.

The study establishes that a common approach in preventing credit card fraud is reducing offenders' opportunities to commit their offences, which often require significant amount of resources and thus sound strategy needs to be properly formulated and executed. Referring primarily to the practices in the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia, resources are mainly allocated to six key areas of fraud prevention: understanding of the real problems, fraud prevention policy, fraud awareness, technology‐based protection, identity management and legal deterrence. These are supported in principle by four main groups in a payments system: user, institution, network and government and industry.

The paper provides insights into the nature of credit card fraud, as well as a framework for designing a sound credit card fraud prevention strategy in a country's payments system.