Before the advent of the widespread use of the internet, bullying was confined to school grounds, classrooms, and backyards. Now, the virulence of bullying has taken on new meaning, as bullies take to the web to intimidate, harrass, embarrass, and offend others. Through email, cell phones, text messaging, and social networking sites, bullies can carry out their bullying in many cases without ever having to confront their victims, and often without consequence. Whereas the audiences for humiliation in the past was often limited to those who witnessed the bullying and perhaps talked to others about it, now, bullying takes place in cyberspace, where images and audio can be posted online for whole school communities to witness, discuss, and comment on. The social, psychological, and sometimes economic trauma experienced by victims can be devastating, and in some cases, cyber bullying has crossed the line and became a criminal act.

Because just about anyone can be the victim of cyber bullying, and because it often goes unreported, there are precious few resources available to victims, parents, teachers, and others interested in combatting this new form of bullying. This book provides, however, a thoroughly developed, well-researched analysis of cyber bullying - what it is, how it is carried out, who is affected, and what can and should be done to prevent and control its occurrence in society. The book captures the sensational, technological, and horrific aspects of cyber bullying while balancing these with discussion from perspectives about social computing, various academic disciplines, possibilities for public policy and legislation formulation, education, and crime prevention strategies. Using case examples throughout, readers will come away with a new sense of indignation for the victims and a better understanding of the growing problem and how to combat it.

There are today no more compelling sets of crime and security threats facing nations, communities, organizations, groups, families and individuals than those encompassed by cybercrime. For over fifty years crime enabled by computing and telecommunications technologies have increasingly threatened societies as they have become reliant on information systems for sustaining modernized living. Cybercrime is not a new phenomenon, rather an evolving one with respect to adoption of information technology (IT) for abusive and criminal purposes. Further, by virtue of the myriad ways in which IT is abused, it represents a technological shift in the nature of crime rather than a new form of criminal behavior. In other words, the nature of crime and its impacts on society are changing to the extent computers and other forms of IT are used for illicit purposes. Understanding the subject, then, is imperative to combatting it and to addressing it at various levels.

This work is the first comprehensive encyclopedia to address cybercrime. Topical articles address all key areas of concern and specifically those having to with: terminology, definitions and social constructs of crime; national infrastructure security vulnerabilities and capabilities; types of attacks to computers and information systems; computer abusers and cybercriminals; criminological, sociological, psychological and technological theoretical underpinnings of cybercrime; social and economic impacts of crime enabled with information technology (IT) inclusive of harms experienced by victims of cybercrimes and computer abuse; emerging and controversial issues such as online pornography, the computer hacking subculture and potential negative effects of electronic gaming and so-called computer addiction; bodies and specific examples of U.S. federal laws and regulations that help to prevent cybercrimes; examples and perspectives of law enforcement, regulatory and professional member associations concerned about cybercrime and its impacts; and computer forensics as well as general investigation/prosecution of high tech crimes and attendant challenges within the United States and internationally.