The connected world offers many benefits but also exposes us to potential victimisation sitting in our own homes and offices at a level never previously experienced, Dr David Cliff explores.
Behind the scenes there is a crime wave going on. As the internet has penetrated our homes and our lives it has created an interface with the world that can enable and connect but equally can leave one open to exploitation and vulnerability.
Businesses these days spend significant amounts of their IT budgets on security. This is for obvious reasons as this business cost is the inevitable by-product of systems that are vulnerable to sloppy security and the insidious and everincreasing sophistication of hackers who can manipulate identities, find back doors and deliver everything from bogus invoices to ransom ware. It is no accident that the average cyber-crime incursion in a large company cost’s on average around four million pounds to counter, making good cyber security highly prudent and cost effective despite adding costs to organisations never experienced hitherto.
Cybercrime is far from a victimless crime wherein in addition to remedial costs, organisational growth can be compromised, production and delivery lost, jobs placed in jeopardy, the list goes on.
For the individual too, this “hiding in plain sight” crime wave is now endemic. Our older citizens are for more likely to get a scam email interspersed with telephone calls and other subterfuge to gain access and exploit. Whilst it is true that everyone is a potential target, our elder citizens are targeted particularly so. There are false beliefs that the technological insecurities of our elder citizens leave them vulnerable, this however is only a small part of why older people are preyed upon. For one thing, they are natural targets as collectively they have, in common with those over 50’s anyway, around 80% of the available wealth within the economy from the accumulated assets of lifetimes. Many may have sensory or other impairments that create both a need and a tactical advantage for the sharp-witted. Most importantly however, our elder generation were brought up in a world of arguably different values to what is held now in terms of trust, openness to people, and respecting expertise and authority. Values that once underpinned the entire interpersonal nature of society at large ultimately creates this vulnerability. The reality is our elders are, for the most part neither doddering, demented, nor naive.
Our elders are also open to the need for new relationships. Loneliness increases , as many relationships that have endured perhaps since youth, undergo what might be tactfully called ‘celestial resettlement’. Life partners can go the same way too leaving people alone, isolated, vulnerable and not to infrequently ‘looking for love’. In this respect, in common with the young the internet is often used as a convenient way of reconnecting. As with younger people, this environment is not always appreciated as being the wild west of false identity, charlatans, dubious get rich quick schemes and hard luck stories requiring bank transfers by bogus suitors.
Recent fears voiced by Elon Musk and others about the societal changes that may derive from Artificial Intelligence (AI) focus upon the redundancy of humanity. There are however also sinister implications for AI in the wrong hands, outwitting even the most astute in nanoseconds. Add this to the advent of quantum computing speeds eclipsing the performance of many current super computers and we face ever increasingly uncertain times that could make victims of many more than is the case currently.
In a world where police resources are so reduced that less then 9% of physical burglaries receive adequate outcomes, the task of tracking international criminals with indistinct locations is an enormous undertaking for law enforcement organisations. It involves a level of victimisation that would take most of the police off the streets anyway and require them to retrain in order to operate in the online environment. The resources are just not there. It is therefore important that members of the community, activists, crime prevention strategies give this some priority as online scamming renders almost everyone far more vulnerable to being a victim, often for greater sums of money than ever would be the case where one’s pocket was picked. The emotional cost of betrayal and deception often by faceless perpetrators one might have in good faith unwittingly assisted often leaves victims enraged, ashamed and powerless after the event can have long term mental health consequences. Prevention, information and education are paramount for law enforcement and regulatory agencies and still stand as the most utilitarian strategies available against a limited resource backdrop.
For companies also, IT departments could have a significant corporate and social responsibility role in offering support and information to their staff and the communities in which they are based.
Ultimately, it is for governments to speed up their appreciation of the social criminogenic and cultural impacts of us living online. Something we have yet to see addressed with alacrity by any administration. The internet may remain like the old wild west but we sure as hell need a few more sheriffs!