RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic was a remarkable, unprecedented event which altered the lives of billions of citizens globally resulting in what became commonly referred to as the new-normal in terms of societal norms and the way we live and work. Aside from the extraordinary impact on society and business as a whole, the pandemic generated a set of unique cyber-crime related circumstances which also affected society and business. The increased anxiety caused by the pandemic heightened the likelihood of cyber-attacks succeeding corresponding with an increase in the number and range of cyber-attacks. This paper analyses the COVID-19 pandemic from a cyber-crime perspective and highlights the range of cyber-attacks experienced globally during the pandemic. Cyber-attacks are analysed and considered within the context of key global events to reveal the modus-operandi of cyber-attack campaigns. The analysis shows how following what appeared to be large gaps between the initial outbreak of the pandemic in China and the first COVID-19 related cyber-attack, attacks steadily became much more prevalent to the point that on some days, three or four unique cyber-attacks were being reported. The analysis proceeds to utilise the UK as a case study to demonstrate how cyber-criminals leveraged salient events and governmental announcements to carefully craft and execute cyber-crime campaigns.
RESUMO
The Internet of Things (IoT) triggers new types of cyber risks. Therefore, the integration of new IoT devices and services requires a self-assessment of IoT cyber security posture. By security posture this article refers to the cybersecurity strength of an organisation to predict, prevent and respond to cyberthreats. At present, there is a gap in the state of the art, because there are no self-assessment methods for quantifying IoT cyber risk posture. To address this gap, an empirical analysis is performed of 12 cyber risk assessment approaches. The results and the main findings from the analysis is presented as the current and a target risk state for IoT systems, followed by conclusions and recommendations on a transformation roadmap, describing how IoT systems can achieve the target state with a new goal-oriented dependency model. By target state, we refer to the cyber security target that matches the generic security requirements of an organisation. The research paper studies and adapts four alternatives for IoT risk assessment and identifies the goal-oriented dependency modelling as a dominant approach among the risk assessment models studied. The new goal-oriented dependency model in this article enables the assessment of uncontrollable risk states in complex IoT systems and can be used for a quantitative self-assessment of IoT cyber risk posture.
RESUMO
As Internet use increases, there is a growing risk of online harms, including cyber stalking and cyber harassment. However, there has been limited research investigating the impact of such online harms upon adults' well-being. This article engages in a systematic literature review concerning the mental health impact of online stalking and harassment for adult victims to further understand their experiences and the effects these have on their lives. Our research utilized the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis technique to review articles published in eight online databases. A total of 1,204 articles were extracted and, ultimately, 43 articles analyzed. Forty-two of the reviewed articles reported that victims of cyber stalking and/or harassment experienced a multitude of harmful and detrimental consequences for their mental health, including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and panic attacks. Victims recounted the lack of support they received from the criminal justice system and their subsequent distrust of technology postabuse. Only one study found no relationship between cyber abuse victimization and the well-being dimensions they examined. Our research highlights the need to devise practical solutions to tackle and minimize this victimization. Furthermore, it underlines the necessity for adult education concerning safer technology use, as well as for researchers to be transparent regarding the platforms that victims have been abused on, so we can better infer where and how exactly individuals need support to interact safely online.
