Obi Ogbanufe, PhD

Obi Ogbanufe, PhD • Sep 5, 2023 • 1 min read

Cybercrime Research: Towards a Conceptual Typology of Darknet Risks

Cybercriminals seek to avoid risks, including detection, arrests, sanctions, and violence. So, they use several strategies to avoid operational risks when accessing darknet sites, communicating, making payments, shipping and delivery. In this study, we examine these risks, and their avoidance strategies, in an attempt to highlight less resource intensive ways of disrupting these strategies.

Published: JOURNAL OF COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS

https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2023.2234323

Authors: Obi Ogbanufe, PhD,  Jordan Wolfe, and Fallon Baucum

Description

Increased rewards and reduced risks drive illicit networks. Cybercriminals seek to avoid risks, including detection, arrests, sanctions, violence, etc. Hence, they employ several strategies to avoid operational risks ranging from access to the darknet, communications, payment, and delivery, to dispute resolution. Each function involves many transactions that should work together, such that when a transaction is disrupted by law enforcement, it increases the risk and reduces the crime’s benefits. However, law enforcement disruptions (e.g., takedowns and seizures) can be resource intensive, requiring coordinated efforts with intercontinental agencies.2,4. In this study, we examine each operational risk and its avoidance strategies in an attempt to better understand transaction points that could be disrupted, even thwarted, leading to increased risk/cost and reduced reward/benefits, and highlighting the approaches that are potentially less resource-intensive.

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