A Research Proposal to Investigate the Contributions of Social Media Networks to Cyber Crime

Chapter One: Introduction

Background
The social networking platform has undergone various changes since the introduction of Facebook on the
internet. It offered a platform for all people across the world to interact freely and make new friends.
Different organizations as well got an opportunity to sell their services and products to a wide number of
customers on the platform. Due to the excitement of the public, they people began to post information
carelessly without paying attention to the audience that is capable of reading it. As a result, cybercrime
thrived slowly through manipulation of technology. Therefore, the cybercriminals have over time been
innovating new ways, to ruin people through hacking their accounts, spreading pornography and other
internet vices. Although Facebook intended to improve global relationship and interactions, cybercrime has
posed major threats to its objective.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 ( Hempel & Kowitt, 2009) . He studied at Harvard
University and had the intention to bring people together across the world to share their different experiences.
He also intended Facebook to make the world a global village at no cost. Today, Facebook is the leading
social network platform on the internet, having the highest number of followers as compared to Twitter,
Instagram, telegram, and WhatsApp among others. As a result, it has made it prone to phishers and
scammers. Thus, the Facebook users are likely to fall into the hands of these scammers now and then. It has
commanded a high membership population with its technological advantages as people can chat, write on
each other’s virtual wall, send an email and join various social groups on Facebook. It has therefore
strengthened communication by offering its affiliates with a centralized social hub on the internet. It has also
allowed individuals and companies to market their skills and their products. With all these advantages, it has
attracted malicious people, who conduct evil activities on the unsuspecting innocent Facebook users.
Cybercrime is a type of criminal activity that is conducted on the internet through computer network system
(Wright, 2017) . Although cybercrime is popular on the computer devices, there are cases of cybercrime
reported over the mobile devices. Therefore, both computer and mobile phone owners are all at the risk of
falling victim of cybercrime. The cybercriminals have taken advantage of the anonymity of the internet. As
well, they work to understand the details of the modern technology to enable them to conduct their malicious
activities. Therefore, it has become difficult to track them down despite the existence of technology
intelligence organizations. The cybercriminals can hack even bank accounts and get away with the money
from customers of different banks. Also, it has become difficult to post some form of information on the
internet, due to the fear of being misused.
The U.N had characterized cybercrime into the following categories:
Computer espionage
Unauthorized access
Interference of computer data and programs
Disruption of the functioning system of computer
Unlawful capturing of data from, to and within a network.
 Statement of the Problem
The internet and mass media reveal that social media networks are growing speedily, while the dangers
related to these sites are equally increasing. The problem might continue to worsen if the platform is not
solved. Cybercriminals target Facebook, in particular, to manage to capture vast information as exposed by
individuals and organizations. Therefore, the Facebook administrators are familiar with the vice; hence they
try to inform their users of such malicious activities.

Objective of the Study

The research study will be directed by three goals, which are discussed below:
To educate people on the possible risks, they may encounter on the social media while carelessly posting
sensitive information
To offer an understanding of how cybercrime can be regulated on the cyberspace
To educate people on the crimes that take place on the cyberspace
Hypothesis
The research study aims to determine whether:
The growth and development of social media networks has led to advent of cybercrime
Criminals have moved to social networks since they attract attention of many people
The anonymity of internet has led to the increase of cybercriminals
Many social media users have become victims of cybercrime

Significance of the Study

The research study is intended to determine the extent that social media platforms primarily Facebook have
contributed to the spread of cybercrime. Furthermore, the study is designed to give findings that will help
people to become careful while posting their personal information on social platforms.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

Many platforms have proven to encourage the spread of cybercrime. However, this study will focus on the
social media networks, which has become the primary focus of criminals across the globe. The criminals
work effortlessly to maneuver through the social media sites with the help of modern technology. Facebook
has registered the highest number of users, thus becoming the main target of cyber criminals (Morales,
2018) . Facebook has millions of users across the globe, but this research study will be limited to Chicago,
U.S. The study assumes that the experiences that the Facebook users have in Chicago are the same as other
users across the globe. Through the finding of the study, it is expected that the collected data will reflect the
experiences (including cybercrime) of Facebook users not only in the U.S but also in the other parts of the
world.

Definition of terms
Coding : a systematic method of condensing sets of data into smaller units that can be easily analyzed
through the creation of concepts and categories drawn from the data.
Cybercrime: It is a type of crime committed using computer and internet networks to disrupt the systems
through the use of malicious programs to hack information on the cyberspace.
Cyber criminal : a person who performs malicious activities on the internet by interfering with computer
systems to acquire unauthorized data and misusing it for his/her benefit.
Cyberspace: It is an electronic platform of computer and internet networks where online communication
usually takes place.
Facebook: It is a social media website that was launched in 2004, and it is operated by Facebook, Inc.
Sophos: a company that is owned privately that develops security hardware and software such as anti-virus,
anti-spam, anti-spyware and encryption software among other gateways of networks.
Twitter : A social media website that is run by a Twitter Inc.
UNLV : University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study

The research study will be handicapped by a vast scope of the problem, a limited budget and the widespread
of Facebook, which will be addressed in the following techniques:
The limited budget will not result in the partial study since funding will be sought from businesses and
academic institutions to meet the required budget.
The research study will focus on experiences by victims of cybercrime, despite the widespread of
experiences faced by Facebook users.
The study is intended to draw some general conclusions on the area of study.
Chapter Two: Literature Review
The social network websites have become the target of spam, phishing, and malware, as reported in a
security threat report in 2011 by Sophos. The report revealed that scammers and cybercriminals were trained
in conducting criminal activities on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. According to Sophos,
two-thirds of social media users complained about cybercrime in the year 2009 ( Kritzinger & von Solms,
2010) . The number of complaints had doubled compared to the number of criminal activities on the
cyberspace that had been reported in the previous two years. Richard Wang, the Sophos manager, Labs U.S
observed that there were increased malicious activities on the social networking sites. As a result, Facebook
is struggling to keep up with the threats posed by spammers and cybercriminals.
According to research, most of the social networking activities take place in the working areas. Thus, 59% of
the participants of the survey believe that the employees can risk the corporate security through these social
networking activities. As well, 57% participants of the survey agree that most people are sharing much
information on their social platforms concerning the organizations where they work. Additionally, 82% of
them feel that Facebook is a significant threat to the security of institutions. In total, the number of threats
realized in 2009 and 2010 was at the same level, despite the increase in social networking activities.
The research study will seek to identify the contributions of Facebook to the alarming rate of cyberspace
crime, which has been the second threat after viruses ( Vincent, 2017) . Apart from bringing up the
contributions of the social network, the study will show how users have contributed indirectly to criminal
activities in the social media by exposing their information carelessly. It is evident that Facebook and other
social networking sites have made significant contributions to the increase of cybercrime. However, there is
no information given anywhere to prove that they are the source of these malicious activities. Therefore, this
study will establish the correct report, based on relevant sources.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
Research Design
The research study will be done through a questionnaire survey executed by the group members of the study
team. Pertinent issues that may arise during the survey will be addressed through exploratory questions to the
interviewees by the group members.
Target Population
The intended population will be Facebook users in Chicago, which is one of the popular states in the United
States. The target population age is between 17 years to 35 years.
Sampling Procedures
Simple random sampling will be used in the drawing of the sample of the study
Data Collection
The data will be collected using questionnaires directly from the respondents

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The group members win the study team will edit the results to ensure that all data is accurate. All
questionnaires with at least 25% blanks will be nullified. Data will then be typed to enable computer analysis.
The data will be categorized into classes that are mutually exclusive, which include religion, age, and gender.
Data analysis will be done through regression analysis, descriptive statistics, chi-square, and t-test. The major
measures of tendencies will as well be used which as mean, mode, and medium.
The data categories will be explored and described by use of charts, graphs, cross tabulation, calculating
mean and using standard deviations. An advanced technique of modeling will be used to develop complex
explanations on the relationship between questions and the results generated.
Furthermore, qualitative analysis will be used in the description and summarizing the reports received from
respondents. Also, the findings will be recorded in documentation to either prove or disapprove the
hypothesis. The results also will help in drawing up the conclusions and recommendations.
Chapter Four: Work Plan

Work Plan and Budget

The study will be conducted in five months’ time starting from June 2018, as illustrated in table 4.1. The
budget of the study is shown in table 4.2.
Table 4.1 Work Plan

Period Activity
Preparing, presenting and defending the
February-May, 2018
proposal
 June 2018 Collecting data
August-September,
Analyzing the data
2018
October 2018 Compiling the report
November 2018 Typing and printing the report
January 2019 Presenting the report
February 2019 Defending the report
March 2019 Publishing the report
Table 4.2 Budget

Unit Cost Total

Item
($) ( $)
1, 000
Hire a car for one month 1000
4000 4, 000
Fuel
Accommodation for two people one 500 500
month
100 100
Typing and printing
200 200
Stationery
1000 1, 000
Upkeep and allowance
6, 800
Total
References
Abraham, S., & Chengalur-Smith, I. (2010). An overview of social engineering malware: Trends, tactics, and
implications. Technology in Society , 32 (3), 183-196.
Hempel, J., & Kowitt, B. (2009). How Facebook is taking over our lives. Fortune International , 159 (4),
34-41.
Kritzinger, E., & von Solms, S. H. (2010). Cybersecurity for home users: A new way of protection through
awareness enforcement. Computers & Security , 29 (8), 840-847.
Morales, K. E. (2018). Cybercrime and Facebook: An Examination of Lifestyle Routine Activity Theory
(Doctoral dissertation).
Vincent, N. A. (2017). 1 Victims of cybercrime. Cybercrime and Its Victims , 27.
Wright, S. (2017). The mythology of Cyber-Crime—Insecurity & Governance in Cyberspace: Some Critical
Perspectives. In Cyberspace (pp. 211-227). Springer International Publishing.