Contextualising social engineering through criminological theorising

The premise of criminological thought is based upon moral and cultural systems and requires multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary analysis. The study of deviance and crime has transformed in that it is institutionally recognised across the globe as an independent scientific discipline. Subsequent...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rensburg, Shandre Jansen van (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2018
In: Acta criminologica
Year: 2018, Volume: 31, Issue: 3, Pages: 1-19
Online Access: Volltext (Publisher)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Criminological theories
Cyber security
Cybercrime
Information security
Personal information
Phishing
Social engineering
Social networks
Description
Summary:The premise of criminological thought is based upon moral and cultural systems and requires multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary analysis. The study of deviance and crime has transformed in that it is institutionally recognised across the globe as an independent scientific discipline. Subsequently, developing its own theoretical foundation. Theories are designed within a historical and political locale. They react to contemporary events and are adapted accordingly. For this reason, contemporary crimes can be explained by traditional criminological theories when applied appropriately. Criminological theories are constructed in an effort to find conceivable explanations for a particular anomaly. Such theories should be scientifically assessed in order to induce truth and cognisance. Theories rooted in criminology endeavor to, amongst others, provide answers to the following questions: why some people commit crime, why certain people are more prone to victimisation than others and what constitutes certain crime patterns? This paper seeks to answer these questions by applying criminological theories, founded in the classical and positivist schools of thought. Particularly focusing on several theories, namely: lifestyle exposure, routine activities, deterrence and differential association, as applicable to the current nature of social engineering attacks. The relevance and aptness of classical criminological theories are established, discussed and analysed in view of contemporary views on criminology.
ISSN:1012-8093