INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE DIGITAL AGE: CYBERCRIME AND CRIMINAL PROFILING

<p>The advent of the Internet and social networks has reduced human and empathic relationships, consequently increasing virtual ones. Cyberspace offers the possibility of carrying out illegal acts with the perception of remaining unpunished. In this article we discussed the differences between crime and cybercrime which takes different forms within cyberspace such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying, online sexual offences and property crimes such as white-collar crimes. Furthermore, the evolution of criminal profiling in the digital age has been described and the profile of the cyber-criminal has been defined as outlined by the Italian State Police. The multiplication of criminal activities perpetrated through the web has led the Legislator to wonder about the most effective repressive methods to repress and try to ward off the numerous dangers that are wandering within cyberspace. The Italian legislator, through various legislative interventions, has introduced changes to the Penal Code as in article 612-bis, introducing in paragraph 2 an increase in punishment for the case in which the crime is committed through IT tools such as e-mail, SMS, chat malware and, above all, social networks. Also, the legislator included article 612-ter in the Penal Code to prosecute the illegal dissemination of sexually explicit images and videos. Finally, criminological research must consider that cybercrime has different variables than traditional crime and the evaluation of criminal behaviour should take into account the influence of the virtual dimension on the cognitive processes of the subjects.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0548/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3877668"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.3877668.svg" alt="DOI" /></a>