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Social Learning Theory & Cybercrime
Cybercrime in Canada: Development & Prevention
A Theoretical Perspective
Student Name
Student I.D.
Course
Date
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Social Learning Theory & Cybercrime
The modern world organizations place cybercrime at the top of the list of economic
crimes. Cybercrimes are transgressions committed by using a computer, the networks, or other
forms of ICT for example formation and distribution of viruses/malwares (McGuire & Dowling,
2013). The major trepidation to all the stakeholders is how to make the cyber world safer as
traditional territorial barriers or boundaries are of no significance to Cybercrime threats and
invasions. Consequently; every country now has its own Cyber or Internet law to manage the
cybercrimes in their countries. Less developed countries are a preferred target of the cyber
criminals who are mostly exploited as a result of their weak security controls these exploitations
are in turn used to target more developed countries to get access to big multinational companies.
Since inception and under normal circumstances Canada is always described as a fireproof house owing to its advantageous geographic situation nevertheless; the new boundary-less
cyberspace is negating this conventional thinking. A natural result is an inundation of policies to
tackle the problem (Platt, 2012). Victor Platt believes that Canada must address the importance
of international cooperation in order to deal with globalized threats of cyberspace. This paper is
an attempt to use a theoretical perspective of criminology and how the modern day cybercrime
evolved in Canada and the prevention strategies used on public and private levels.
Sophisticated and technically complex cybercrime is expanding in the Canadian digital
landscape it is not slowing rather becoming difficult to measure. A complex culture of
networking and information governs the present Canadian society and the result of these new
social changes is the birth of new cultural traits into the Canadian society for instance the
reliance on technology for a number of needs. However, risks mar the emergence of virtual
society as the instant communication involves anonymity, deception and disguise.
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Cybercrimes are transgressions committed by using a computer, the networks, or other
forms of ICT for example formation and distribution of viruses/malwares (McGuire & Dowling,
2013). Cyber crime is an umbrella term easily divided into two types: technology-as-target and
technology-as-instrument; whereby the former targets via unauthorized accesses to computers
and the later works in the area where the Internet and information technologies are instrumental
in the commission of a crime, like intellectual property infringements, fraud, identity theft,
money laundering, human trafficking, organized crime activities, drug trafficking, cyber bullying
or child sexual exploitation (Rcmp-grc.gc.ca, 2014) .
(Rcmp-grc.gc.ca, 2014)
Canada's society and economy has reshaped under the influence of the Internet and
related technologies; another thing they have changed is Canada's criminal landscape. The
internet devices offer legitimate businesses abundant opportunities and benefits which somehow
are used equally easily by the criminals expanding their reach, facilitating entirely new crimes,
and creating new ways to redo old crimes. As the mandatory know-how is more accessible and
easy availability of ready-made malware tools offer criminals with simple yet innovative means
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to embezzle personal information resulting in monetary losses to Canadian businesses and
citizens. Today it has gone a step further with the use of cyber technologies for other detrimental
purposes, for instance, cyber bullying and online child sexual exploitation. Police reported
27,829 cybercrime cases in 2017 (Rcmp-grc.gc.ca, 2014) whereas in 2016 practically 24,000
cybercrime-related cases were reported to Canadian police, up 58 % over 2014 (CBC.ca, 2018).
Canada ranked third after the United States and the U.K. for the number of data breaches
reported in 2018 and it is only because Canada is an attractive country for cybercriminals and
cyber threat actors (Cpacanada.ca, 2019). Businesses are not entirely prepared for cyber attacks
which are getting stronger day after day even with spending $14 billion to avert, classify and
recover from cyber security incidents of stolen personal and commercial information via fraud,
and extortion. Out of which $8 billion were given to cyber security consultants and contractors as
salaries, while $4 billion was invested in cyber security software and hardware (statcan.gc.ca,
2019). Vulnerabilities in software, hardware and human behavior online are the main reasons for
cybercrimes and the consequences are in the costly forms of damage and destruction of data,
stolen money, theft of personal and financial data, theft of intellectual property, embezzlement,
lost productivity, fraud, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational
harm.
Sophisticated cybercriminals operating globally use both cyber tools and social
engineering to target Canadians and know it fully well that the Canadian law enforcement
agencies will not be able to reach them. They may pose as legal organizations, for example
service providers, government agencies tempting Canadians to download malware onto their
devices. Prevalence of internet-connected devices, prioritizing ease over security is responsible
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for the augmented exposure to cyber threats as 43.5 hours per month are spent online by each
Canadian (Public Safety Canada, 2018).
Crime is an uneven construction of assorted behaviors that a society finds it fit to
criminalize however; to propose that crime is socially constructed does not necessarily mean that
there is a particular view of the ways in which it takes place because a crime in one society is
easily an act of honor in another society (Lee, 2017). Different theoretical perspectives offer an
answer to the ever increasing rise to cyber crime. Modern science and technology and emergence
of crime correlate by the classical theorists whereas; the modern theorists characterize the
contemporary society as risk society encouraging anomie and dehumanization. As per the post
modern theorists the world is ‘hyper real’ and ‘virtual’, where simulations and technological
intensities facilitate spatial interactions and offer obscurity to cyber crime. Cultural theories of
crime offer distinctive frameworks to value the influence of human agency, social forces, and
peers on behavior (Holt, 2009).
Demeau and Parent studied the effect of more than a few types of facilities, commonly
recognized in the literature as attractors and generators of crime, theft, robbery, on assault, and
motor vehicle theft in Montreal and found that all the facilities assessed had a deep impact on
one or more types of crime (Demeau & Parent, 2018). This cements the notion that socio-cultural
impacts are more than significant in criminology. Though the history of crime is bound to a
series of theoretical and methodological questions (Srebnick & Lévy, 2016) the world is moving
on and one has to understand that cyber space as a sociological realm is entirely different from
face to face environment with transcended geographical boundaries and no privacy creating
network society; one like Canada.
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This paper is using Ronald L. Akers’ Social Learning Theory from “Deviant Behavior: A
Social Learning Approach” published in 1973 (Akers & Sellers, 2012). The theory is arguably
the most tested contemporary theory of crime used to explicate a diverse assortment of criminal
behaviors and its empirical validity has been constantly supported by the existing research
literature (Cochran, Maskaly, Jones & Sellers, 2016). Social learning theory is based on the idea
that “individuals develop motivations and skills to commit crime through the association with or
exposure to others who are involved in crime (i.e., associating with deviant peers)” (Akers &
Sellers, 2012). Akers’s proposed theory works well with cybercrime; the ease and accessibility
of both soft and hardware along with the matured players who find it exhilarating to divulge in
cyberspace criminology, lead to a quick understanding of the relation between peer deviant
behavior and personal motivations. This is easily explained by a study by Burruss, Bossler and
Holt (2013) established that individuals who connect with peers involved in software piracy
learn and later accept the deviant behavior. A particular skill set is needed for Software piracy
and deviant peers; who usually experience positive reinforcement for their participation; to learn
these skills from. Such associations foster a network connecting with and teaching other
individuals (Burruss, Bossler & Holt, 2013). Consequently, the major rationale behind social
learning theory of a person becoming what they are based on their surroundings and associations
can be used to explain cybercrime.
New ways of policing are crucial for tackling Cybercrime in a digital era as criminal
activities are complex and transnational and the potential evidence is ephemeral involving
multiple jurisdictions. Nations today need to address these challenges using collaborated
domestic and international laws, integrating new technical skills and tools with conventional
methods and the cooperation of public and private sector organizations is a must. The internet is
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a key enabler of cyberspace and a useful cyber security strategy is needed to balance customary
norms of a country with the opportunities offered by the internet. This condition may have
significant implications for the country’s future whilst stability is ensured by a strict security
policy the potential benefits of the information age might mitigate (Klaic, 2016).
Many believe that it is the obligation of a state to scrutinize, penalize and extradite
highlighting the “Responsibility to Protect” as it is the primary responsibility of the state to care
for the populations from crimes against humanity (Martins, 2018). Law enforcement agencies’
efforts to tackle cybercrime while protecting privacy in cyberspace are both lauded and
supported by Canadians who are concerned by the mounting threat of cybercrime for individuals,
private and public sector organizations, and governments. In this context both individual and
public efforts are needed. At a personal level every person who goes online must learn to be
responsible with passwords and downloads. On a national level the responsibility lies with the
federal Government of Canada to foster both national and international collaborations and
compel investments while facilitating information sharing and safeguarding rights and freedoms
of the Canadian citizens. The federal government must work with the private sector, provinces,
and territories to help identify prerequisites for protecting the digital infrastructure.
A lot of existing literature points out the fact that technology creates new opportunities
for criminals by offering organized criminal networks the same opportunities and benefits as it
offer legitimate businesses. Secondly, cybercrime is expanding as the needed skills and tools are
more accessible. These facts lead to the conclusion that cybercrime entails new ways of
policing. The criminal utilization of new and emerging technologies like the anonymous online
networks, cloud computing, social media platforms, and virtual currency schemes necessitate
new policing actions to keep pace in a digital era. Canada needs to find ways to collaborate both
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internationally and locally with public and private sectors to fight the organized cybercrime
assaults.
References
Akers, R., & Sellers, C. (2012). Criminological theories (6th ed.). Oxford University
Press;.
Burruss, G., Bossler, A., & Holt, T. (2013). Assessing the Mediation of a Fuller Social
Learning Model on Low Self-Control’s Influence on Software Piracy. Crime &
Delinquency, 59(8), 1157-1184. doi: 10.1177/0011128712437915
CBC.ca. (2018). New RCMP commissioner warned about the RCMP's waning ability
to police digital world | CBC News. Retrieved from
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lucki-briefing-binde-cybercrime-1.4831340
Cochran, J., Maskaly, J., Jones, S., & Sellers, C. (2016). Using Structural Equations to
Model Akers’ Social Learning Theory With Data on Intimate Partner
Violence. Crime & Delinquency, 63(1), 39-60. doi: 10.1177/0011128715597694
Cpacanada.ca. (2019). 66% of global cyber breaches hit business sector in 2018.
Retrieved from https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2019-04-01cybersecurity-canada
Demeau, E., & Parent, G. (2018). Impacts of Crime Attractors and Generators on
Criminality in Montreal. Canadian Journal Of Criminology And Criminal
Justice, 60(3), 387-412. doi: 10.3138/cjccj.2017-0028.r1
Holt, T. (2009). Cultural Theories. Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets. doi:
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Klaic, A. (2016). A Method for the Development of Cyber Security
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Martins, D. (2018). On human rights – particularly crimes against
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McGuire, M., & Dowling, S. (2013). Cyber crime: A review of the evidence Summary
of key findings and implications. UK.
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Public Safety Canada. (2018). National Cyber Security Strategy Canada's Vision for
Security and Prosperity in the Digital Age. Ottawa, Ontario: Government of
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Rcmp-grc.gc.ca. (2014). Cybercrime: an overview of incidents and issues in Canada |
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Retrieved from http://www.rcmpgrc.gc.ca/en/cybercrime-an-overview-incidents-and-issues-canada#sec1
Srebnick, A., & Lévy, R. (2016). Crime and culture. Ashgate.
statcan.gc.ca. (2019). The Daily — Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses,
2017. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/dailyquotidien/181015/dq181015a-eng.htm
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