SOC 3001 - Cybercrime: Human Perspectives

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits

Course Description
The course reintroduces students to cybercrimes that they may be familiar with (ransomware, spam, online harassment) as well as incorporating cybercrimes that are less familiar (cyberterrorism). The course will focus on the social science perspective: both the social problems that ensue from cybercrime as well as the social psychology techniques that we can use to avoid cybersecurity incidents and hacking. We’ll be looking both forward at current events, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning as well as backwards at the introduction of cybercrime and the shift of some crimes from real life to online. This course will be focused on reading, writing, and discussion but is recommended for students interested in cybersecurity, cybercrime, psychology, or user experience. (Note: this course will touch on subjects such as intimate partner violence, swatting, and death. Content or trigger warnings will be listed, but students are expected to engage with the majority of the material.)
Prereq: COM 2001, junior standing (quarter system prereq: GS 1002 or GS 1020H or GS 1002E)
Note: None
This course meets the following Raider Core CLO Requirement: Embrace Diversity

Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Identify own attitudes and beliefs around cybercrime and hacking and how they shift over the course of the term
Demonstrate a holistic understanding of the community and culture around cybercrime and hacking
Demonstrate the threat of various cybercrime attacks
Identify and implement potential protective measures against cybercrime attacks including modifying existing interfaces to prevent misuse or abuse
Investigate ways in which a device or site could potentially be abused or targeted
Discuss current events in cybercrime and the implications of those events
Moderate civil discussion around cybercrime topics
Evaluate the threat posed by various types of cybercrime
Articulate the role that different identities play in both perpetration of cybercrime and protection of cybercrime victims

Prerequisites by Topic

Adapt message(s) to different audiences and purposes
Conduct secondary research
Understand ethical responsibilities in communication
Understand the logical relationships between data, results, and conclusions

Course Topics

Introduction to cybercrime
Online ethics
Cyberstalking
Hacking
Social engineering
Ransomware
Spam
Cyberterrorism
Cyberviolence
Designing to prevent abuse (within the app/site)
Identifying threats
Measures to prevent cybercrime (independent of an app/site)
Current cybercrime events
Underlying criminal motivations

Coordinator
Dr. Katherine Panciera

Announcement

The Raider Return

Milwaukee School of Engineering

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SOC 3001 - Cybercrime: Human Perspectives