Cyber Place Management and Crime Prevention: The Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Awareness Training Against Phishing Attacks

• Published date: 01 August 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862211001628
• Date: 01 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211001628

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2021, Vol. 37(3) 427 –451

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862211001628

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Article

Cyber Place Management

and Crime Prevention: The

Effectiveness of Cybersecurity

Awareness Training Against

Phishing Attacks

Sinchul Back1 and Rob T. Guerette2

Abstract

Criminologists and crime prevention practitioners recognize the importance of

geographical places to crime activities and the role that place managers might play in

effectively preventing crime. Indeed, over the past several decades, a large body of

work has highlighted the tendency for crime to concentrate across an assortment of

geographic areas, where place management tends to be absent or weak. Nevertheless,

there has been a paucity of research evaluating place management strategies and

cybercrime within the virtual domain. The purpose of this study was to investigate

the effectiveness of place management techniques on reducing cybercrime incidents

in an online setting. Using data derived from the information technology division of a

large urban research university in the United States, this study evaluated the impact

of an anti-phishing training program delivered to employees that sought to increase

awareness and understanding of methods to better protect their “virtual places”

from cybercrimes. Findings are discussed within the context of the broader crime

and place literature.

Keywords

cybersecurity awareness, cyber place management, information security officials,

online training, phishing attacks

1The University of Scranton, PA, USA

2Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Sinchul Back, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA.

Email: sinchul.back@scranton.edu

1001628CCJXXX10.1177/10439862211001628Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeBack and Guerette

research-article2021

428 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 37(3)

Introduction

Criminologists and crime prevention practitioners have recognized the importance of

place to criminal activities and found that place management can effectively prevent

potential crime events. For example, several studies demonstrate that increasing place

manager awareness and involvement in or near bars can play a critical role in prevent-

ing drug and violent crimes (Madensen, 2007). In a systematic review of place-focused

interventions, Eck (2002) concluded that interventions by owners of apartment build-

ings to deal with drug selling on their properties had positive results. In a broad sense,

researchers (e.g., Block & Block, 1995; Clarke, 1997; Danner, 2003; Douglas &

Welsh, 2020; Eck & Weisburd, 2015; Felson, 1995; Mazerolle et al., 1998; Mazerolle

& Roehl, 1998; Roberts, 2007; Sherman, 1995; Swartz et al., 2016) suggest that a lack

of active place management can facilitate crime (Madensen, 2007).

Likewise, in the cyber world, place managers (e.g., information security officials)

are key personnel in the implementation of cybercrime control strategies. In particu-

lar, through the management of accurate cybersecurity settings, the guiding of online

users’ behavior, or enforcing cybersecurity regulations, they can create a cyber-

crime-free environment for their institutions (Cavusoglu et al., 2009). Place manag-

ers (e.g., information security officials) can also implement security awareness

programs in their institutions, which can enhance online users’ protection. In addi-

tion, cybersecurity managers can minimize losses in these organizations and miti-

gate vulnerabilities, which can help entities increase the resilience of the organization

to future cyber threats.

To that end, a large body of work (e.g., Block & Block, 1995; Clarke, 1997;

Danner, 2003; Douglas & Welsh, 2020; Eck, 2002; Eck & Weisburd, 2015; Felson,

1995; Madensen, 2007; Mazerolle et al., 1998; Roberts, 2007; Sherman, 1995; Swartz

et al., 2016) has highlighted the significance of physical place and neighborhood,

which has influenced criminal activities over the past several decades. Nevertheless,

there has yet to be any research evaluating the role of virtual place management strat-

egies as a method for countering cybercrime incidents. Thus, this study sought to

investigate the effectiveness of place management techniques on crime prevention in

an online setting.

Literature Review

Research on Cybersecurity Awareness Programs and Phishing Campaign

Tests

Importantly, to date, few studies (Caputo et al., 2013; Kumaraguru & associates,

2009; Nyeste & Mayhorn, 2010; Sheng et al., 2007) have examined phishing cam-

paigns to test online users’ vulnerability against cybercrime. Phishing is defined as an

act in which fraudulent email or websites or links make targeted online users suc-

cumb to a data breach or reveal their personal information, similar to identity theft

(Kumaraguru et al., 2009). The body of research examining the effectiveness of