Cybercrime: Security and Surveillance in the Information Age

Cybercrime focuses on the growing concern about the use of electronic communication for criminal activities and the appropriateness of the countermeasures that are being adopted by law enforcement agencies, security services and legislators to address such anxieties. Fuelled by sensational media headlines and news coverage which has done much to encourage the belief that technologies like the Internet are likely to lead to a lawless electronic frontier, Cybercrime provides a more considered and balanced perspective on what is an important and contested arena for debate. It looks at:
*legislation
*electronic criminal behaviour
*privacy and liberty
*the dangers of surveillance.
Cybercrime explains the basic issues surrounding cybercrime and its impact on society.

Cybercrime focuses on the growing concern about the use of electronic communication for criminal activities and the appropriateness of the countermeasures that are being adopted by law enforcement agencies, security services and legislators to address such anxieties. Fuelled by sensational media headlines and news coverage which has done much to encourage the belief that technologies like the Internet are likely to lead to a lawless electronic frontier, Cybercrime provides a more considered and balanced perspective on what is an important and contested arena for debate. It looks at:
*legislation
*electronic criminal behaviour
*privacy and liberty
*the dangers of surveillance.
Cybercrime explains the basic issues surrounding cybercrime and its impact on society.

Douglas Thomas is Lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. Brian D. Loader is Co-Director of CIRA, University of Teesside, and editor of the international journal Information, communication and Society.