New centre to tackle the global threats and challenges of cyber and economic crime

An international event exploring the global threats and challenges of cybercrime, economic crime and forensic accounting is taking place at the University of Portsmouth next week.

The conference will also see the public launch of the University's Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime (CCEC), which brings together extensive knowledge in these areas to enhance research, teaching and innovation.

The CCEC will officially launch at the 12th annual Counter Fraud, Cybercrime and Forensic Accounting Conference 2023, taking place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 June in the University’s Richmond Building and online.

Globally recognised experts, such as Professor Tom Holt from Michigan State University, and Professor David Wall from the University of Leeds, will be sharing their research and insights into techniques, ideas, or approaches that help to inform fellow scholars and professionals on important debates in the fields of cybercrime, economic crime and forensic accounting. 

The aim of CCEC is to harness, coordinate and develop the cybercrime and economic crime expertise across the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the wider University, including the School of Computing, the Department of Psychology, and the Faculty of Business and Law.

As one the largest groups of active researchers in these areas in the UK, CCEC members are at the forefront of researching and understanding the challenges posed by cybercrime and economic crime. Their work contributes to solutions that address these risks and enhance societal and organisational security and resilience. This includes research for government bodies, law enforcement and other public and private organisations, such as the Home Office, National Fraud Authority, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime and the South Korean Police Agency.

Dr Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, Co-director of CCEC and Reader in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity, said: “The Centre is the fusion of our very successful and award winning work in the fields of cybercrime/cybersecurity and economic crime and brings together colleagues from across the University working in these fields. 

“Our goal is to help understand and tackle the serious and constantly developing challenges our society faces in the areas of cybercrime/cybersecurity and economic crime. 

“This is a very exciting initiative that aims to further establish the University at the vanguard of research, innovation and teaching in these fields globally and also support and expand our already extensive collaborations with other institutions in these areas.” 

CCEC incorporates and builds upon the work of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies, and includes the Cybercrime Awareness Clinic. CCEC is built upon four smaller research groups focusing on specific areas of cybercrime and economic crime:

·      Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Group - researching how crime takes place using technology, and studying the impact such crimes have on society and individuals.

·      Economic Crime Group - researching the growing scale, impact and cost of economic crime, to help improve detection, prevention and prosecution.

·      Victimology and Ecological Justice Group - exploring the role of victims in criminal justice and human-induced forms of environmental harm.

·      Cyber security - brings together computer science with social and behavioural science to address global cyber security challenges.

Professor Mark Button, Co-director of CCEC and Professor of Criminology, said: “Economic crime and cybercrime are the most significant crime threats we face - they are a threat to national security. Over 40 per cent of crime against individuals is now fraud and this crime alone costs the UK almost £200 billion per year. 

“The new centre brings together over 40 academics, the largest grouping in the UK and probably the world, teaching and researching economic crime and cybercrime. We plan for the new Centre to be at the forefront of conducting research and delivering high quality educational courses in this field to contribute to the reduction of this problem.”