Book Review: Industry of anonymity: Inside the business of cybercrime

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567720908050
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews
International Criminal Justice Review
2020, Vol. 30(3) 345-356
Book Reviews
ª 2020 Georgia State University
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Lusthaus, J. (2018).
Industry of anonymity: Inside the business of cybercrime. Harvard University Press. 304 pp. $39.95, ISBN 978-0-
6749-7941-3.
Reviewed by: Kiseong Kuen
, George Mason University, University Dr., Fairfax, VA, USA
DOI: 10.1177/1057567720908050
In Industry of Anonymity: Inside the Business of Cybercrime, Jonathan Lusthaus, the director of The
Human Cybercriminal Project at the University of Oxford, provides an extensive account of the
nature and evolution of the industry of cybercrime. This book has a clear territory; it does not focus
on personal or political cybercrime but profit-driven cybercrime. Specifically, based on 7 years of
research in over 20 countries across the globe and 238 interviews with former cybercriminals,
cybercrime gurus, and law enforcements, the author outlines the nature of the industry of cybercrime
and provides insight on how the industry of cybercrime can continuously enlarge their territory
despite the challenges derived from anonymity.
Lusthaus begins his book with the definitions of cybercrime and the characteristics of cyber-
criminals. The author then delimits definitions of cybercrime and characteristics of cybercriminal
for the scope of the book and articulates why he focuses on profit-driven cybercrime and cyber-
criminals in his book. Afterward, he explores how cybercrimes have evolved from a form of
recreational activity to a profit-driven industry. The author argues that contemporary cybercrimes
operate according to the principles of industrial organization; cybercriminal firms have a system of
division of labor and consist of specialized individuals. Furthermore, the author focuses not only on
the online environment but also on the off-line networks to reveal that geography is an essential
factor in the cybercrime...