The Role and Place of Covid-19: An Opportunistic Avenue for Exponential World’s Upsurge in Cyber Crime

Authors

  • Sogo Angel Olofinbiyi Department of Criminology & Forensic Studies, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa
  • Shanta Balgobind Singh Department of Criminology & Forensic Studies, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2020.09.20

Keywords:

Bio cybersecurity, Coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19, Cybercrime, Cybercriminals, Cyber insecurity, Cybersecurity awareness, Emergency management, Situational opportunistic crime.

Abstract

An evidence-based analysis of COVID-19 suggests that the ailment is a bio-medically inclined natural mystic blowing through the world. To this end, this study focuses solely on the role the pandemic plays as an outbreak of cybercrime vector. The study presents a number of the world’s most recent cyber insecurity cases that accompanied the onset of the pandemic and findings were discussed within the context of situational opportunity theory of crime. It provides a framework for emergency management approach to protect global citizens and institutions from cyberattacks, as well as, mitigating the outbreak of the crime being propagated by the presence of the novel virus. Global sensitization and awareness programmes across various communities on the potential dangers of cyber insecurity accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic should be helpful. Of most significance, the fight against the invisible warfare should continue with high spirits of relentlessness until absolute peace, relief, resilience and normalcy are able to take root in the global communities.

References

Action Fraud. 6 March 2020. Coronavirus scam costs victims over £800k in one month. Available at: https://www.actionfraud. police.uk/alert/coronavirus-scam-costs-victims-over-800k-in-one-month National Fraud and Cybercrime Reporting Centre. U.K

African Argument. 7 April.2020. Coronavirus in Africa Tracker: How many covid-19 cases & where. Available at: https://africanarguments.org/2020/04/07/coronavirus-in-africa-tracker-how-many-cases-and-where-latest/

Amnesty International. 4 March 2020. Available at https://www. amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2020/03/covid-19/

Amnesty International: Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/ en/latest/news/2020/04/covid19-as-an-emergency-human-rights-issue/

Amy K. Donahue and Philip G. Joyce. 2001. A Framework for Analyzing Emergency Management with an Application to Federal Budgeting. Public Administration Review, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 728-740. https://doi.org/10.1111/0033-3352.00143 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/0033-3352.00143

BBC. 11 March. 2020. Coronavirus: A visual guide to the pandemic. Available at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

BBC.19 March 2020. Coronavirus: Trump puts US on war footing to combat outbreak. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/ world-us-canada-51955450

Boivin, R. and de Melo, S.N., 2019. The concentration of crime at place in Montreal and Toronto. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 61(2), pp.46-65. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2018-0007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2018-0007

Boston University Emergency Management. 31 March. 2020. Available at: https://www.bu.edu/emd/emergency-management/emergency-management-principles/

CDC. 2020. Coronavirus. Available at shttps: //www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Huang.

Conner strong and Buckelew. 2 April 2020. COVID19 presents potential for increased risk of child exploitation .Available at:https://www.connerstrong.com/blog/insights-detail/covid-19-presents-potential-for-increased-risk-of-child-exploitation/

Deprose, M. 28 March 2020: Southern Africa: Covid-19 as an emergency human rights issue. Msn News. Available at: https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/africa/southern-africa-covid-19-as-an-emergency-human-rights-issue/ar-BB11PDiy?li=BBqfWMJ&c=3733108535943697690&mkt=en-us

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 1997. Partnership for a Safer Future Strategic Plan FY1998 through FY2007, with Operational Objectives through FY2003. September 30.

Felson, M., and Clarke, R.V. 1998. Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical theory for crime prevention.

Givetash, L. C., Nancy I., Mulligan, M., and Denne, L. 24 March 2020. Coronavirus: U.S. and Europe tighten lockdowns as restrictions lift in origin of pandemic. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/coronavirus-u-s-europe-tighten-lockdown-restrictions-lift-epicenter-n1167391

Hill, J.B. and Marion, N.E., 2016. Introduction to Cybercrime: Computer Crimes, Laws, and Policing in the 21st Century: Computer Crimes, Laws, and Policing in the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO.

Holt, T.J., 2016. Cybercrime. The Handbook of Measurement Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice, pp.29-48. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118868799.ch2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118868799.ch2

Jung, S.M., Akhmetzhanov, A.R., Hayashi, K., Linton, N.M., Yang, Y., Yuan, B., Kobayashi, T., Kinoshita, R. and Nishiura, H., 2020. Real-time estimation of the risk of death from novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection: Inference using exported cases. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(2), p.523. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020523 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020523

Magubane, K. 17 March 2020. Banking body warns of coronavirus scams targeting panicked public. Fin 24.Avaialble from: https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/banking-body-warns-of-coronavirus-scams-targeting-panicked-public-20200317

Mohammed, A.M., Idris, B., Saridakis, G. and Benson, V., 2020. Information and communication technologies: a curse or blessing for SMEs?. In Emerging Cyber Threats and Cognitive Vulnerabilities (pp. 163-174). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816203-3.00008-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816203-3.00008-3

Recorded Future. 12 March 2020. capitalizing on coronavirus panic, threat actors target victims worldwide. Available at: https://www.recordedfuture.com/coronavirus-panic-exploit/

Rosalind Lake and Priyanka Naidoo. 19 March 2020. Cyber risk during Covid-19 outbreak. Cyber Law News South Africa. Available at: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/639/ 201771.html

Shereen, M.A., Khan, S., Kazmi, A., Bashir, N. and Siddique, R., 2020. COVID-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses. Journal of Advanced Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.005

Ten Boom, A., Pemberton, A. and Groenhuijsen, M.S., 2019. The need for protection and punishment in victims of violent and nonviolent crime in the Netherlands: The effect of relational distance. Victims & Offenders, 14(2), pp.222-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2019.1575300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2019.1575300

The Conversation. 1 April 2020. Coronavirus: If we are in a war against COVID-19, then we need to know where the enemy is. Available at: http://theconversation.com/coronavirus-if-we-are-in-a-war-against-covid-19-then-we-need-to-know-where-the-enemy-is-135274

The Wall Street Journal. 5 April 2020. Hospitals Facing Coronavirus Are Running Out of Masks, Other Key Equipment. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-facing-coronavirus-are-running-out-of-masks-other-key-equipment-11584525604

TRT World News. 17 March 2020. Available at: https://www.trtworld.com/life/the-international-community-fails-to-form-a-joint-front-against-coronavirus-34626

WHO. 2020. Introduction to nCoV. Retrieved 28 March 2020, from https://openwho.org/courses/introductionto-ncov

World Economy Forum. 6 April 2020. COVID-19: What to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 6 April. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-what-to-know-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-on-6-april/

World Health Organization .2020. WHO Statement Regarding Cluster of Pneumonia Cases in Wuhan, China Geneva 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/china/news/detail/09-01-2020-who-statement-regardingcluster-of-pneumoniacases-in-wuhan-china

Yar, M. and Steinmetz, K.F., 2019. Cybercrime and society. SAGE Publications Limited.

Downloads

Published

2022-04-05

How to Cite

Angel Olofinbiyi, S. ., & Balgobind Singh, S. . (2022). The Role and Place of Covid-19: An Opportunistic Avenue for Exponential World’s Upsurge in Cyber Crime. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 9, 221–230. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2020.09.20

Issue

Section

Articles