Leveraging The Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Countering Organised Crime

Abstract

This paper provides a high-level evaluation of organised crime and the threats arising from online organised crime, within a multi-disciplinary perspective. It draws on a range of academic, industry and other materials to distinguish the key characteristics of online organised crime and to identify some of the multi-disciplinary resources which are available to counter it. Real-life case studies and other examples, together with the Tables in the Appendices, are used to demonstrate how contemporary online organised crime is profit-driven and has a strong commercial focus. The paper is accompanied by a series of Appendices and Glossaries and a comprehensive Reference list (provided within a separate document to facilitate crossreferencing with this paper) that includes suggestions for further reading and research. Section Three begins by demonstrating how there are many possible approaches which can be taken towards organised crime, which may at first appear confusing, contradictory or overwhelming. It mentions that law enforcement is adopting a multidisciplinary approach and working in partnership with other sectors, including the business sector, to counter the problem. Next, the paper attempts to separate the ‘fact from the fiction’ of organised crime, highlighting the pitfalls of relying on any single source (for instance, media reports or statistics) when analysing the subject. It identifies reliable sources for information about organised crime (for instance, the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and several established, academic sources) and aggregates some of the key organised crime characteristics from the sources within Tables 1 to 6 in Appendix A. Having established that, despite initial impressions, it is possible to obtain a consensus view about theoretical organised crime characteristics within carefully-defined parameters, the project aligns the theoretical criteria against real-life online organised crime case studies. This establishes that, although there are many similarities between terrestrial and online organised crime groups (OOCGs), the online groups also display characteristics which are unique to them, for instance a high dependence on the use of the Internet and transnational strategies. With regard to online involvement by ‘traditional’ organised crime groups such as the Mafia, the paper highlights that, although there is some indication in both the theoretical literature and the case studies that traditional organised crime groups are targeting the Internet, the evidence in the case studies suggests that involvement of traditional organised crime groups is not a dominant feature at the moment. In Section Four, the paper assumes a non-technical IS perspective and describes some of the vulnerable elements within information technology, especially within the structures of the Internet and the Web, which all offenders, including OOCGs, are exploiting. It explains some of the reasons why these vulnerabilities exist and why they are attractive to offenders. In particular, it highlights the serious threat which crimeware, which is often sold and distributed by OOCGs, poses to the Web environment. In Section Five, the paper shifts to a business perspective, emphasising the importance of understanding online organised crime business models and mentioning the work of particular authors whose work in this field adopts a multi-disciplinary approach. The paper then uses Morphological Analysis (MA) to demonstrate how a multidisciplinary approach to strategic analysis can utilise the skills and experience of IS/business professionals, as well as assisting them to manage the threat which OOCGs may pose to their business. The paper concludes with the observation from academic and industry sources that directly targeting the profit-making aspects of an online organised crime business may be one of the most effective responses to the problem.