In Week 1 we explain the concept of cybercrime and provide the various definitions of it. Some important cybercrime reports, surveys and guides (e.g. from Europol) are introduced. You will learn about cyber vs traditional crime and the threats that we face.

In this week we identify the approaches for classifying related crimes and threat actors and we discuss various reports and surveys on the manifestation, frequency and impact of cybercrime. We elaborate on the accuracy and the statistics of such reports and we compare and contrast traditional and cyber or online crime.

This week we explain the importance of human aspects in cybercrime. We look primarily at introducing the breadth of the offensive and criminal activity, the types of threats, and the crimes which are observed. We also discuss the various types of offenders, criminals and hackers, that is, the threat actors. We also discuss some of the big issues relating to cyber threats, at individual, organisational and national level.

In this week you will be introduced to social engineering in cybercrime that is as a manipulation technique where cyber criminals exploit human trust to obtain confidential information, enabling further cyber crimes. Using disguised communication such as emails or calls, they trick individuals into revealing passwords or personal details.