Cybercriminology Lab

Dearden, T.E., & Bergeron, A (2026). International differences in Windows Remote Desktop hacking: An analysis of honeypot data. Social Science Computer Review. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/08944393261416786

Hawdon, James, Matthew Costello, and Ashley Reichelmann. Forthcoming. Cheating with ChatGPT and Techniques of Neutralization. Deviant Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2025.2456067.

Dearden, T. E., Jasperson, J. O., & Miller, R. M. (2025). Mechanisms of affinity fraud victimization. Journal of financial crime, 32(1), 64-76.  https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-01-2024-0017

Bergeron, A. & Dearden, T. E. (2024). Secret sharing in online communities: A comparative analysis of offender and non-offender password creation strategies. Journal of Economic Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconc.2024.100110

Parti, K., & Dearden, T. (2024). Cybercrime and strain theory: An examination of online crime and gender. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 13, 211–226. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2024.13.19

Parti, K., Dearden, T., Foriest, W., Hawdon, J., Räsänen, P., Szigeti, A., & Kiss, T. (Forthcoming). Cross-country comparison analysis of individual and institutional factors of anomie and online offending. European Journal of Criminology.

Dearden, T. E., & Gottschalk, P. (2024) Convenience theory and cybercrime: An analysis of online cyberoffending. Deviant Behavior, 45(3), 348-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2023.2246626

Parti, K., Dearden, T., Hawdon, J. (2024). Perspectives of Paid Panel Survey Research in Cybercrime Victimization and Offending Validity of global online market research sampling and data collection. In Graham, R.S., Humer, S.G., Lee, C.S., & Nagy, V. (Eds.). The Routledge International Handbook of Online Deviance (1st ed.). pp. 114-131. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003277675

Parti, K., Dearden, T., & Hawdon, J. (2023). Understanding the Overlap of Online Offending and Victimization: Using Cluster Analysis to Examine Group Differences. In C. Marcum & S. Clevenger (eds.) The Link between Specific Forms of Online and Offline Victimization: A Collaboration Between the ASC Division of Victimology and Division of Cybercrime, London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003429678-7

Dearden, T., Parti, K., Hawdon, J., Gainey, R., Vandecar-Burdin, T., & Albanese, J. (2023). Differentiating insider and outsider cyberattacks on businesses. American Journal of Criminal Justice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09727-7

Hawdon, J., Parti, K., & Dearden, T. (2022). Changes in Online Illegal Drug Buying during COVID-19: Assessing Effects due to a Changing Market or Changes in Strain using a Longitudinal Sample Design. American Journal of Criminal Justice. doi:10.1007/s12103-022-09698-1

Parti, K., Dearden, T., & Hawdon, J. (2022). Understanding the overlap of online offending and victimization: Using cluster analysis to examine group differences. Victims & Offenders, 17(5), 712-734, https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2036655

Parti, K., Dearden, T., & Hawdon, J. (2022). Az amerikai lakosság cyberviktimizációja, különös tekintettel a COVID-19 hatására [Cyber victimization of the American population with special regard to COVID-19 induced lockdowns]. Kriminológiai Közlemények [Reviews in Criminology], 2022(82), 129-140.

Dearden, T. & Parti, K. (2021). Cybercrime, differential association and self-control: Knowledge transmission through online social learning. American Journal of Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09655-4

Perdue, Robert Todd. 2021. “Who Needs the Dark Web?: Exploring the Trade in Critically Endangered Plants on eBay.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 46(6), 1006-1017.

Perdue, Robert Todd and James Hawdon. 2021. “Predicting the Emergence of Novel Psychoactive Substances with Big Data.” In, Big Data in Psychiatry and Neurology. Edited by Ahmed Moustafa. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Hawdon, James. 2021. “Cybercrime: Victimization, Perpetration, and Techniques.” American Journal of Criminal Justice, 46 (6): 837- 842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09652-7

Dearden, T., Parti, K., & Hawdon, J. (2020). Institutional anomie theory and cybercrime – Crime and the American dream, now available online, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211001590

Hawdon, J., Parti, K., Dearden, T. (2020). Cybercrime in America amid COVID-19. The initial results from a natural experiment. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45, 546–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09534-4

Perdue, Robert Todd and James Hawdon. 2019. “Gateway or Cul de Sac? Using Big Data to Assess Legal Recreational Marijuana and Changes in the Use of ‘Hard’ Drugs.” Sociation18(2), 20-28.

Perdue, Robert Todd, James Hawdon and Kelly M. Thames. 2018. “Can Big Data Predict the Rise of Novel Drug Abuse?” Journal of Drug Issues 48(4): 508-518.

• The yearly Cybercriminology Survey at Virginia Tech: A systematic, cross-sectional database for collecting cybercrime offending and victimization data.
• The Cybercriminology Student Lab: A graduate and undergraduate student-facing research experience preparing the next generation to tackle tomorrow’s problems using systematic and scientific methods.
•  International Initiatives: Cybercrime permeates geographic boundaries yet is influenced by regional differences. Our international collaborations with faculty worldwide address issues of online hate, hacking, scamming, and other financial crimes.  
• Online Hate in a Cross-national Setting. Ongoing study of online hate and extremism in Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, The United Kingdom, and The United States.  Data has been collected annually in the U.S. since 2013, multiple times in Finland and the United Kingdom, and at least once in France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain.

• Cybercrime in America. Data on cybercrime perpetration and victimization collected at multiple timepoints. Datasets include once collected pre-COVID-19 pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and post-pandemic.
• Cybercrime from a Cross-National Perspective. Data on cybercrime perpetration and victimization from Finland, Hungary, and the U.S.
• Cybercrime in Virginia.  Data collected from a sample of Virginia residents and businesses investigating the extent to which they have experienced cybercrime victimization, the harms associated with any victimization, if they reported any victimization, and the actions they take to protect from being victimized.
• Scam Against Older Adults. Apart from a survey, observations, and focus groups, we conduct interviews in which victims can tell their experiences about how the victimization occurred, characterize the manipulation schemes used, and understand what happened after the victim realized imposture, including where they reported (if anywhere) and sought help (e.g., relatives, caregivers, IT professionals, federal agencies, etc.). Check out the project’s website:   https://liberalarts.vt.edu/research-centers/center-for-gerontology/pros--performances-to-reduce-online-scams.html#:~:text=About%20PROS,order%20to%20prevent%20online%20scams. 
• Scams Against International and First Generation Immigrant Communities. The project utilizes a community-focused, participatory action research methodology to build a support system for international and first-generation immigrant students and employees at Virginia Tech. The research team aims to investigate typical scam scenarios targeting the large international student body, their specific vulnerabilities, and current and desired support systems.   
• Hacker Survey. A comparison of verified hackers against a representative U.S. sample on behavioral characteristics such as self-control, anxiety, and inequality perception. 
• Cryptocurrency Scams. Data on scams and fraud in cryptocurrency, including the perceptions and impacts of cryptocurrency crimes and adoption.
• Cyber-Enabled Environmental Crimes. Ongoing examination of the extent to which e-commerce sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace are used to trade critically endangered plants.
• Green Cybercriminology. Manuscript in development which explores the nexus of the cyber and environmental realms. Specifically: (1) How technology can enable environmental crimes, (2) How the production of technology can lead to environmental crimes, and (3) How technologies can be used to stifle environmental crimes.
• Presentation. At the 2025 SCJA’s  (Southern Criminal Justice Association) annual conference in Charleston, SC, PhD student Amelia Simmons presented findings from an evaluation of a local gun violence prevention initiative (GAP). 

• National University of Public Service, Hungary: https://en.uni-nke.hu/
• The Center for Social Research, University of Arkansas (https://socialresearch.uark.edu/) 
• The Center for Criminal Justice and Social Research, Clemson University https://www.clemson.edu/cbshs/departments/sacj/research/justice.html
• Center for Combating Elder Financial Abuse
• Royal Robotics & AI Security (Royal-RAIS)
• Scamcops: https://www.scamcops.org/

• Yubin Kim, Virginia Tech
• Amelia Simmons, Virginia Tech
• Daryl Reed, Virginia Tech
• Justice Greene
• Danni Knott
• Ethan O'Connor

• Parti, K, Dearden, T E., Hawdon, J., & Hasler, C. (2025). Cross-Sectional Survey of Cybercriminology – April 2022 International Sample. University Libraries, Virginia Tech. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7294/28303751
• Dearden,T., Parti, K., Hawdon, J.: Cross-Sectional Survey of Cybercriminology – November 2019. https://data.lib.vt.edu/articles/dataset/Longitudinal_Survey_of_Cybercriminology_November_2019/17092283  

• Parti, K., Hawdon, J., Dearden, T.: Cross-Sectional Survey of Cybercriminology – April 2020. https://data.lib.vt.edu/articles/dataset/Longitudinal_Survey_of_Cybercriminology_April_2020/24043131  

• Hawdon, J., Parti, K., Dearden, T.: Cross-Sectional Survey of Cybercriminology - October 2020. https://data.lib.vt.edu/articles/dataset/Cross-Sectional_Survey_of_Cybercriminology_-_October_2020/24808140  

• Dearden, T., Hawdon, J., Parti, K.: Cross-Sectional Survey of Cybercriminology - September 2021. https://data.lib.vt.edu/articles/dataset/_b_Cross-Sectional_Survey_of_Cybercriminology_-_September_2021_b_/24808245