Electronic commerce, broadly defined as doing business online, has with the advent of the Internet and more importantly of the World Wide Web, developed at an unanticipated speed. Electronic transactions have been said to be very convenient, fast and limitless. This limitless character of electronic commerce does not only have advantages but also a number of disadvantages. E-commerce has opened very wide doors to criminals who take advantage of both the advancement in technology and the cross-border nature of the Internet to deceive other people. Over the years there have been attempts to find solutions to the increasing problem of cybercrime in general, and crime in international electronic commerce (IEC) in particular. To date, even though techniques have been developed, laws have been enacted and some initiatives are still ongoing, there seems to be much more to do in order to achieve a successful fight against online crime. E-commerce has been presented as an aspect of the broad cyber universe and the solutions so far provided are meant for cybercrime in general. Thus, it appears that e-commerce and more precisely crime in IEC is an aspect that should be given consideration to in the sense that specific laws need to be passed on the issue. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Electronic commerce, broadly defined as doing business online, has with the advent of the Internet and more importantly of the World Wide Web, developed at an unanticipated speed. Electronic transactions have been said to be very convenient, fast and limitless. This limitless character of electronic commerce does not only have advantages but also a number of disadvantages. E-commerce has opened very wide doors to criminals who take advantage of both the advancement in technology and the cross-border nature of the Internet to deceive other people. Over the years there have been attempts to find solutions to the increasing problem of cybercrime in general, and crime in international electronic commerce (IEC) in particular. To date, even though techniques have been developed, laws have been enacted and some initiatives are still ongoing, there seems to be much more to do in order to achieve a successful fight against online crime. E-commerce has been presented as an aspect of the broad cyber universe and the solutions so far provided are meant for cybercrime in general. Thus, it appears that e-commerce and more precisely crime in IEC is an aspect that should be given consideration to in the sense that specific laws need to be passed on the issue. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis considers the structural characteristics of online criminal networks from a technical and an economic perspective. Through large-scale measurements, we empirically describe some salient elements of the online criminal infrastructures, and we derive economic models characterizing the associated monetization paths enabling criminal profitability. This analysis reveals the existence of structural choke points: components of online criminal operations being limited in number, and critical for the operations’ profitability. Consequently, interventions targeting such components can reduce the opportunities and incentives to engage in online crime through an increase in criminal operational costs, and in the risk of apprehension. We define a methodology describing the process of distilling the knowledge gained from the empirical measurements on the criminal infrastructures towards identifying and evaluating appropriate countermeasures. We argue that countermeasures, as defined in the context of situational crime prevention, can be effective for a long-term reduction in the occurrence of online crime.

This thesis is an anthropological study of Internet sexual offending, more specifically the viewing of child abuse media. It is based on 17 months of participant-observation in UK group programs for individuals who had downloaded illegal child abuse media, semi-structured interviews with participants, program staff, and police, and staff focus groups. Through engaging directly with offenders and those managing them, it provides an in-depth, qualitative understanding of how Internet use and perceptions of online spaces play a key role in Internet sexual offending, while also asking broader questions about online sociality, morality, and effects on normative behaviour. The central argument posits that in moving beyond commonplace explanations for Internet offending, more attention must be given to Internet use, perceptions and constructions of online spaces, and effects on social norms to explain this phenomenon. It then follows to suggest that for some offenders, these elements can be instrumental in their sexualization of children and choice to view abusive media. The thesis specifically explores why and how some people in the UK engage with illegal child abuse media, with particular attention to notions of risk, childhood, morality, and the Internet. Employing Foucauldian and neo-Foucauldian theory, anthropology of the Internet, and constructionist theories of childhood, focus is placed on multiple areas: the potential social, emotional, sexual, and Internet-specific factors associated with offending; participants' relationships with the Internet and constructions of online spaces; participants' perceptions of childhood and children online and offline; and, societal and institutional efforts to respond to the above, including the larger justice system and fieldwork group program. The general research areas are social science of the Internet, childhood studies, human sexuality, group therapeutic processes, policy and law, and research methodology and ethics.