How Big Data Feeds Big Crime

Big data helps organisations predict social behavior. It brings with it a range of exciting new tools that offer great potential for identifying new truths about social and physical phenomena that were previously impossible to research on such a large scale. But big data is also a very disruptive phenomenon. It not only weaponises DDoS and Ransomware attacks, but also creates illicit and licit markets for big data which encourage data breaches. The subsequent trade in 'stolen' data leads to their criminal use via spamming and phishing to enable large scale 'downstream' cybercrimes to take place, such as deceptions, frauds and extortion. This short article seeks to map out this new cybersecurity landscape by exploring the criminal opportunities of Big Data Crime and argues that if these 'upstream' cybercrimes can be conceptualised and stopped, then the ongoing 'downstream' cybercrimes will be prevented from taking place on such a large scale.