ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 Pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of organisations and services across the United Kingdom (UK) providing numerous opportunities for economic and social development in the UK. However, these opportunities also bring about unprecedented challenges for law enforcement agencies (LEAs), and has led to the progression of serious and advanced cyber threats. This chapter aims to analyse different types of cyber threats, identify the risk they pose to national security, and provide a critical evaluation of cybersecurity policy in the UK. The chapter will examine how current UK Government policies and practices effectively mitigate the cyber threats to national security, and will explore how these responses can be further developed, with reference to the National Cyber Security Centre, the Active Cyber Defence programme, and the National Cyber Security Strategy 2022–2030. The methodological approach for this chapter utilises a literature-based review to further develop research on the criminological issue of cyber threats, cybersecurity and national security in the UK. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The more time we spend online, the more our global connections grow and frighteningly, the more we are susceptible to cyberattacks. In particular, 2020/ 2021 has seen a significant increase in successful phishing attacks mainly due to the rise in human vulnerabilities caused by the global COVID-19 situation. In this paper, we consider the human factors of the phishing attack. We explore the evolution of the phishing attack with particular reference to its many different guises. Following that, the paper discusses the concept of trust and the human trust issues resulting from a phishing attack;it will focus on human vulnerability and the idea of phishing awareness. The findings from the study show that people feel that they can confidently recognize a phishing attack but it also highlights how personal attitudes and situational influences can make certain online users more susceptible than others. The findings also clearly detail how the phishing attack makes them and others feel and they assertively suggest ways to counter the attack. After portraying this picture, the question lies around the degree to which the everyday person is adequately equipped to psychologically deal with the sophisticated and contemporary phishing attack, and whether their thinking and methods of detection/ coping are so outdated that this (in itself) is creating an even greater risk. © 14th International Conference on ICT, Society, and Human Beings, ICT 2021, 18th International Conference on Web Based Communities and Social Media, WBC 2021 and 13th International Conference on e-Health, EH 2021 - Held at the 15th Multi-Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, MCCSIS 2021. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Human trafficking is a crime that has devastating impacts on all societies worldwide. Law enforcement and security organisations often encounter many obstacles in their endeavours to combat this crime. Effective measures to tackle human trafficking necessitate the fusion of a wide range of factors which together could produce the desired impact. One of such measures concerns both international and domestic legislations that are fundamental components of any anti-trafficking strategy. Therefore, considering their importance, this paper aims to examine the most notable international instruments as well as the UK’s domestic legislation, namely the Modern Slavery Act 2015, used to combat human trafficking. Based on the findings of this analysis, the paper also provides a set of actionable recommendations with a view to addressing some of the gaps and shortcomings identified in these legislations. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.