Written by Phong Goh, University of South Florida
In the United States, the Internet Crime Complaint Center plays a key role in the FBI's cybercrime efforts. The center's website offers educational resources to help individuals and businesses protect themselves from cyber threats, as well as the ability to file complaints and report incidents related to internet crimes. The Internet Crime Complaint Center also publishes an annual report summarizing the current state of Internet crime, trends, and notable incidents.
However, the information and resources on the Center's website, including reporting forms, are only available in English. This excludes a significant number of Internet users and victims of cybercrime, namely those with limited English proficiency. In addition to leaving behind many people who are more vulnerable to cyber threats, one of the consequences is that the Internet Crime Complaint Center's annual Internet Crime Report is incomplete and inaccurate.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center website lacks information and resources about cybersecurity and internet safety in languages other than English, making it difficult to identify who is able to manage and mitigate potential cybersecurity threats and who is not. The “security gap'' that has arisen between people is widening further. . Due to the lack of appropriate reporting mechanisms and structures for people with limited English proficiency to report victimization, data and statistics regarding cyber victimization within this population are severely limited.
Cybercrime and prevention
I'm a criminologist. My colleagues and I conducted focus groups with a sample of adult Internet users with limited English proficiency to explore their experiences with nine forms of cybercrime and survey their knowledge of cybersecurity. The study will be published in the next issue of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime.
Based on evidence that people with limited English proficiency in the United States tend to be Latino or Asian, and that Vietnamese Americans have the lowest English proficiency among Asian ethnic groups, we 18 Vietnamese-speaking Internet users and 6 Vietnamese-speaking Internet users were recruited for the study.
Participants were asked whether they had encountered any of the following in the past 12 months.
- They received phishing emails, which are fraudulent messages aimed at tricking them into divulging sensitive information such as login credentials, personal information, financial information, etc.
- Their computer was infected with a computer virus.
- They were harassed online. For example, a message from someone that threatens, insults, or harasses you.
- They were victims of online fraud. For example, if you send money to a person or organization you met online, but it later turns out that you made a false statement.
- They were notified that their financial accounts had been hacked.
- They received notifications that their email, social media, shopping, and other accounts were hacked.
Study participants encountered all nine types of cybercrime. The most common type of cyber-victimization they experienced was computer viruses, reported by seven participants. Phishing email, reported by 6 participants. Six participants reported notifications that their financial accounts had been hacked and their personal data was at risk. And notifications that another type of account had been hacked were reported by six of his participants.
Participants were asked whether they had undertaken the following cybersecurity measures in the past 12 months:
- Have antivirus, antispyware, or firewall software installed on your computer and laptop.
- Create strong passwords for your online accounts.
- Employ two-factor authentication procedures.
- Avoid unsecure wireless networks, such as free Wi-Fi at airports.
- Avoid websites that are not protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. In other words, look for URLs that start with https instead of http.
- Secure your home wireless network with strong passwords or encryption.
- Use email filters to block suspicious senders and attachments.
- Check the sender and attachments of your emails to avoid phishing and online scams.
- Please be careful when providing personal information to third parties.
- Take special measures to prevent data theft, such as shredding documents containing personal information.
The answer options were “yes,” “no,” and “I don't know.” In all cases except for creating a strong password, more participants reported “no” than “yes,” and in all cases, participants reported “no” and “I don't know.” This significantly exceeded the number of participants who reported “. yes. “
Close the security gap
Executive Order 13166, signed in 2000, requires federal agencies to improve access to services for people with limited English proficiency. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum on November 21, 2022, directing the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to share best practices and exchange information regarding language access with other federal agencies.
I believe in closing the security gap and having accurate data and statistics on cyber-victims.Internet and computer-based crime is one of the fastest growing security threats in the United States
To get an accurate picture of the problem, data and statistics on cybercrime and cybervictimization need to include not only victims who are fluent in English, but also victims with limited English proficiency.
And just as public health and safety campaigns tend to be conducted in multiple languages to reach diverse audiences, all users, regardless of their language skills, are equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves from cybercrime. I think you should have the skills.
Phong Ngo, Associate Professor of Criminology; University of South Florida
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
