THESIS - Cybercrimes: the role of international collaboration on police interventions

Summary : Faced with the growing increase in cybercrime, police agencies often find themselves unable to intervene due to a lack of resources and training. One proposed solution to this problem is to promote international collaborations that transcend jurisdictions. Despite the efforts of some international organizations and the creation of initiatives like the Budapest Convention on Cybercrimes in the early 2000s, the role of international collaborations is still not recognized or measured in the literature. Empirical research would encourage police organizations to seek and benefit from international collaborations if their role were to prove central to the success of police operations on the Internet. This dissertation project aims to understand the role of international collaborations in the success of online police interventions in order to:

1. describe and measure international collaborations in police interventions on the Internet,
2. measure the level of success of police interventions on the Internet, and
3. describe and understand the role of international collaborations in the success of police interventions on the Internet.

Furthermore, this project will analyze police interventions in which international collaboration has been carried out. The information comes from 51 qualitative interviews conducted with police officers, investigators, and technical agents from 8 countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania. These interviews were carried out in 2020 and 2021 for a subsidized project by my research director (David Décary-Hétu) and co-director (Benoit Dupont).

 

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Scientific article

 

 

 

• Bergeron, A., Décary-Hétu, D. and Villeneuve-Dubuc, M.  (2021). L’effet COVID sur les cryptomarchés : L’impact de la pandémie sur le niveau de succès des transactions de drogues, Revue Criminologie.
• Bergeron, A., Décary-Hétu, D., Giommoni, L. and Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. (2021). The success rate of online illicit drug transactions during a global pandemic. International Journal of Drug Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103452
• Décary-Hétu, D., Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. and Gobeil, C. (2021). Online Illicit Trade in Canada: Three Years After The Legalization Of Recreational Herbal Cannabis, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

LIST OF PRESENTATION

Presentations at conferences or scientific events

 

 

 

 

• Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. (November, 2021). Investigating the dark web: What if everyone knew? American Society of Criminology annual meeting, Chicago, United States.
• Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. (May, 2021). Social bots: Political Interference. GARDESO, Virtual.
• Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. (May, 2021). Social bots: Malicious use of Social Media. NorthSec 2021, Virtual.
• Villeneuve-Dubuc, M. (April, 2021). Les social-bots: l’utilisation malveillante des réseaux sociaux for the Commissionnaires du Québec in their cybersecurity department. Colloque de la relève en criminologie Virtual.

 

LIST OF GRANTS RECEIVED

• 2021  Scholarship for Distinguished Students (2 500$) Université de Montréal.
• 2021  Bourse de l'Avenir (1 000$) The Collège Bourget Foundation.
• 2021  Scholarship for the Cyber-Talent in the Academia category (1 500$) École Cyber.
• 2021 - 2022  Graduate scholarship (17 500$) Research Scholarship in Cybercrimes prevention.
• 2021  Scholarship for Distinguished Students (2 500$) Université de Montréal.

IMPLICATIONS

• 2021 Coordinator of the workshop Law Enforcement Operations, their impact, and the Darknet at the American Society of Criminology.
  This workshop brings together law enforcement officials, cybersecurity practitioners and academics in order to discuss the impacts of investigations and operations that target online offenders. Our aim is to facilitate the sharing of experiences and research findings in order to understand the work law enforcement officers do online as well as to assess and explain the impacts of their operations/investigations on cybercrime and Darknet illicit markets.
• 2021  Volunteer member for the Research on Police Investigation Conference. https://www.crep-ul.com/
  The Research on Police Investigation Conference (Congrès sur la Recherche en Enquête Policière) aims to present a specialised workshop for students’ presentations who often misfit in other types of conferences. It aims to gather the practitioners from police forces and scholars which create the opportunity to discuss the practitioners’ needs and keep them posted on the most recent scientific results. It also gives the opportunities for networking, development of partnership and ultimately improvement of police practices and of the quality of applied research in this field.
• 2021 - Ongoing Co-founder and Organizer of Forum étudiant d'échange et d'information en cybercriminologie. https://www.linkedin.com/company/forum-%C3%A9tudiant-d-%C3%A9change-et-d-information-en-cybercriminologie/
  The  forum aims to help students interested in the field of cybercriminology and cybersecurity with a space where they can learn about how to find a job and/or acquiere relevant skills that can help them stand out upon leaving university.
• 2021 - Ongoing Co-founder of the Academic Journal of Criminology. https://www.jucxajc.com/
  The Academic Journal of Criminology (AJC) is a student journal aimed at encouraging the next generation of students in criminology and related fields from across Canada to share their new discoveries, whether through scientific articles, internship reports or session papers.
• 2021 Volunteer member for BSides Montreal. https://bsidesmtl.ca/
  BSides aims to lend the voice of newcomers and veterans in cybersecurity to the collective conversation. All are welcome to come to learn, teach, and share their passions. BSides Montreal is an intimate and safe conference where we can have private conversations and talks that will not be published or made accessible online.