Reference no: EM132580784 , Length: word count:2400

CO4515 Trends in Cybercrime - University of Central Lancashire

Assignment - Research Paper

Learning Outcome 1: Critically evaluate methods and techniques used for cybercrime

Learning Outcome 2: Critically analyse the extent to which methods and solutions to cybercrime, proposed in research papers, apply in practice and what are their limitations

Assignment Description

Write a research paper on one of the following topics:

1. Crypto-currencies and Cybercrime.
2. Spams and Cybercrime.

You must write a research paper on the chosen topic.

Stage 1 - Identify the Research Question

After choosing the topic above, your research paper should address one of the following
perspectives:

• Security
• Forensics and law
• Black market

You can choose the topic and the perspective that interests you most. For example, if you are interested in the encryption algorithms used by crypto-currencies then your topic and perspective would be "Crypto-currencies and Cybercrime" and "Security", respectively; however, if you are interested in the tracing and prosecution of those who steal crypto-currencies then you would adopt the "forensics and law" viewpoint.

Once you have identified the perspective that interests you most, identify an appropriate research question. Section 3 contains some suggested research questions, although you can formulate your own research question based upon your own interests. The research question must be agreed with the module tutor before you begin.

Stage 2 - Write a Research Paper

The research paper should contain a maximum of 2400 words (excluding references) and should demonstrate your understanding of the issues relevant to the research question. The paper should clearly answer the research question, and all the content should be relevant to the research question.

The paper is supposed to be a critical evaluation of the literature, rather than a simple repetition of several sources using your own words. This means that you have to summarise, interpret, reflect and be critical about what you have read and about the sources, you actually use.

It is up to you to structure the paper logically and to ensure coherence among sections and paragraphs. The language used should be specific, precise, objective, direct and simple. Do not use colloquial language. Apart from short quotes, use your own words and use short sentences, appropriate for technical writing.

Section 3 - Example Research Questions

This section contains some examples of research questions. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. You may choose a research question not contained in the list but which best suits your background, experience and interest, as long as you agree it with the module tutor.

Topic: Crypto-currencies and Cybercrime

Security
• How do bitcoin botnet-miners, like Miner Botnet [13], operate and what measures can be taken against them?
• What malware, e.g., Cryptolocker [6], have been used by cybercriminals to obtain cryptocurrencies, which vulnerabilities did they exploit and what mitigation can be adopted against them?
• What attack vectors have been used to exploit cryptocurrencies (e.g. Skype [11] and Yahoo [5]), and how to counter them?
• What attacks on cryptocurrencies have been theoretically identified (e.g., Double Spending Attack [9] and Block Discarding Attack [1]) and how could they be avoided/mitigated?
• What has evolved, and what are the differences and similarities between existing (and/or extinct) cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple and Peercoin [15]?
• What incidents affecting cryptocurrencies (e.g. security breaches on Mt. Gox [12] - the largest Bitcoin exchange, and on Bitcoinica [8] online trading site for Bitcoins) show us about risks and possible mitigations?

Forensic & law enforcement
• What methods and techniques are potentially valuable to de-anonymise cryptocurrencies' users (e.g.
Reid and Harrigan [14] proposed one method)?
• What tools, methods and public information can be used to gather intelligence about criminals' use of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, for law enforcement? (e.g. Bitcoin Block Explorer tool.
• What are the challenges that cryptocurrencies pose for digital forensics investigators and law enforcement [7], and which potential directions are most promising to address these challenges?

Black market
• How does anonymity in cryptocurrencies work and how it has been exploited by cybercriminals [2]?
• How do marketplaces, like Silk Road [4], operate and what measures can be adopted against them?
• What are the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, for policymakers and regulators [3], and what advances have been made to address these?
• What do we know about the economics of bitcoins and e-Wallets as used by cybercriminals? (e.g., the economics of bitcoin mining [10])

Topic: Spams and Cybercrime

Security
• Combating web spam (e.g., based on trust rank [16])
• How to detect spam web pages? (e.g., based on content analysis [17])

• How to effectively mitigate email spam? (e.g., based on proactive methods [18, 20])
• Spam detection in social networks (e.g., Twitter [21], MailRank [23])

Forensics and Law enforcement
• Study spam emails with the focus on law enforcement forensic analysis. (e.g., based on data mining techniques approach [22])
• Anti-spam forensics methodologies (e.g., how data mining can help to detect spam domains and their hosts for anti-spam forensic purposes [24])
• Forensic investigation of spam campaign (e.g., [25])

Black market
• Investigate the incentives and economics behind spamming activities (e.g., [26])
• Investigate the entire spam value chain, and the full set of resources employed to monetize spam email (e.g., [27] )

Attachment:- Research Paper.rar