Interdisciplinary Conference on Cybercrime
REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Register Here
May 30, 2025
9:00am - 5:00pm
Join us at the Henry Center (3535 Forest Rd, East Lansing, MI 48910-3831) on Friday May 30, 2025 for a conference that highlights the excellent work being conducted by academics, cybersecurity practitioners, and law enforcement to secure cyberspace and protect the public.
The theme for this year is "Thinking Globally to Respond Locally to Cybercrime" and will focus on novel approaches in cybersecurity and cybercrime research that improves our knowledge of how to respond to different threats. Presentations will focus primarily on security and forensic research techniques, ransomware, Darkweb and cryptocurrency threats, building cybersecurity teams, understanding hacker behavior, and the economics of cybercrime and fraud with a mix of technical and non-technical discussions.
This year's event also qualifies for CPE credit toward CISSP, CISA, and CISM certifications, so it is a great way to stay current. Additionally, this event qualifies for MCOLES credit for those from law enforcement agencies.
The cost to attend is only $175 which includes all meals, and will lead to a great day of discussion, research, and networking. Space is limited to the first 100 registrants - reserve your space today!
Please contact Terri Bulock via email (bulock@msu.edu) or phone (517-355-2195) if you have any questions.
Thank you to our 2025 Interdisciplinary Conference on Cybercrime sponsors!
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Speakers
Jayson Cavendish
CSO & IT Deputy Director, State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection DivisionBio: Jayson Cavendish is the Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Information Technology (IT) deputy director for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget’s (DTMB) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection (CIP) division. Jayson is dedicated to serving the State of Michigan and brings an enthusiasm to his role as CSO, as well as a valuable blend of strengths including leadership, vision, and strategic planning. He excels in collaboration at all levels to support critical, high-level statewide projects to successful completion. He has several years of experience in state government and has steadily built his in-depth IT/security architecture knowledge while serving in various leadership positions during his extensive career, which includes roles in information security management, data warehouse management/architecture, and as director of technical services.
Jayson is a graduate of Campbell University and Northwood University and holds an associate degree in accounting and a bachelor's degree in business administration and management. Additionally, he has numerous certifications, including CISSP, CISA, PMP, and is a licensed professional investigator in Michigan.
Cassandra Cross
Professor, Associate Dean, Queensland University of Technology (Australia)Title: Victim experiences of searching for jobs online and recruitment fraud
Abstract: Recruitment fraud sees offenders use the guise of a genuine job opportunity to deceive victims into sending through all of their personal information, or making a required payment (application fee, training fee, or the purchase of upfront materials). Within Australia, this type of fraud increased the fastest in 2023, costing Australians $24.7 million, almost triple the losses reported in 2022. This presentation provides results from an online survey of 1021 Australians who searched for employment online. It documents the application requirements for many, as well as examining the experience of those who suffered a financial loss in response to a job application. Overall, the presentation locates these findings within a broader context of online job recruitment, and demonstrates the ways that offenders are leveraging job seeking for their own criminal purposes.
Biography: Dr Cassandra Cross is currently Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching), Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, QUT, and a Professor in the School of Justice, QUT. In 2021, she completed a Senior Research Fellowship, with the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) on the topic of romance fraud. Dr Cross started her fraud research in the Queensland Police Service in 2008. She was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2011 to explore the prevention and support of online fraud victims. Since taking up her position at QUT in 2012, she has furthered this research focus, publishing extensively on the policing, prevention, disruption and support of fraud victims.
Thomas Dearden
Associate Professor, Virginia TechTitle: Are Hackers Human? Using Honeypot Data to Examine the Person Behind the Hack
Abstract: Cyber threats are ubiquitous. A quick Google search will highlight that cybercrime is escalating, and damages are approaching an incomprehensible dollar figure. Yet, each of these threats is dependent on people. Using a honeypot, I examine what we can learn about the nature of the people who hack. In examining over 3 million attempts against Windows Remote-Desktop Protocol, I show how behavioral patterns emerge. Do they work weekends? How long until they get tired of hacking? How do they decide what passwords to try? What do they do when they breach the system? By descriptively showing how hackers behave in the wild, we can better understand how to protect critical systems.
Bio: Thomas Dearden is an associate professor of sociology at Virginia Tech and an affiliated faculty member and hub coordinator for the Center for Peace and Violence Prevention. In addition to more than 20 peer-reviewed articles, his work has led to international reports, a patent, an invitation to advise bestselling author David Baldacci, and an appearance on NPR.
Cassandra Dodge
Assistant Professor, Indiana State UniversityTitle: Two Birds, One Stone: An Evaluation of a Student-Driven Digital Forensics Investigative Unit
Abstract: As digital devices have increasingly proliferated various aspects of everyday life, many police agencies and prosecuting attorney offices throughout the country are facing increasing demands for digital evidence processing and analysis. However, many of these agencies lack the personnel and resources necessary. Institutions of higher education have been attempting to meet the need by educating the next generation of digital investigators, but there has been a historical lack of real-world experience through digital forensic internships. In an attempt to address this issue, the Indiana State House enacted Enrolled Indiana Code in 2021, allowing the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council to establish ten high-tech crimes units, associated with institutions of higher education, to assist prosecuting attorneys in investigating, collecting evidence, and prosecuting high tech crimes. The Vigo County High Tech Crime Unit was designed not only to increase the efficiency of digital evidence processing and analysis for their jurisdiction, but to also provide real world experience for students at Indiana State University. This presentation will summarize the development of the program, as well as presenting a preliminary evaluation of the program, and suggestions for future development.
Bio: Dr. Cassandra Dodge is an Assistant Professor of Cybercriminology and Security Studies at Indiana State University as well as serving as an investigator and senior leader in the Vigo County High Tech Crime Unit (HTCU). Her research focuses broadly on the human element in cyber deviance perpetration and victimization, including on the role of anonymity in influencing online behaviors, perceptions of digital vigilantism, and online interpersonal violence. Dr. Dodge is also a member of the executive board of the American Society of Criminology's Division of Cybercrime. As a sworn investigator for the Vigo County Prosecutor's Office and Vigo County HTCU, she also supervises and participates in active and cold case investigations through the application of digital forensics and open-source intelligence techniques, serving over 40 agencies. Taylor Fisher
Postdoctoral Researcher, Michigan State UniversityTitle: Old Wine in New Bottles: Assessing the Cross-Contextual Victim Offender Overlap
Abstract: Growth in use and the rapid evolution in technology has moved large portions of our lives online, exposing us to new crime types which engage various components of our online life. This growth (Maimon & Louderback, 2019) has led cybercrime scholars to question whether traditional criminological theory can explain new online crime types. Although some cybercrime scholars have assessed the applicability of traditional criminological theory to online crime types (e.g., Holt et al., 2020; Holt & Bossler, 2013; Ife et al., 2019; Miró Llinares & Johnson, 2018; Nodeland, 2020) with varying success, others argue that cybercrime differs inherently and thus leaves existing theory ill-suited to address online crime (Weulen Kranenbarg et al., 2018, Yar, 2005). The current study suggests we take a step back and establish whether basic patterns in the criminological literature (i.e., the victim/offender overlap) will apply in cross contextual environments, thus establishing support for using established theories of criminal behavior to explain cybercrime. Without establishing the cross-contextual relationship of crime and victimization, applications of traditional theory are built on assumption, lacking theoretical explanations as to why these theories work in both contexts. Thus, we propose a model of cross-contextual victim/offender overlap, where we establish support for the contextual continuity of both victimization and offending. Findings suggest that traditional explanations of crime and victimization would likely be impactful in explaining both offline and online crime scripts and provide theoretical support for the assessments of traditional theory applied to cyber offenses made in previous literature. The versatility suggested by the cross-contextual overlap suggests that both scholars and policymakers remain cognizant of the role of technology in our evolving lifestyles and developing appropriate cybercrime prevention strategies.
Bio: Dr. Taylor Fisher is a Post-Doctoral Researcher with her PhD in Criminology from the University of South Florida. Her research focuses on cybercrime and cybersecurity, with a focus on digital and network forensics and a goal of establishing best practices for cybercrime prevention for both organizations and individuals. Her work has been published in the Journal of Crime and Justice, Crime and Delinquency, and Victims & Offenders. Taylor worked closely with LexisNexis' blue team to develop network forensic strategies for overburdened security systems, like Microsoft Defender and Sentinel. Her work aims to identify common vulnerabilities to both systems and users and provide evidence-based solutions to any online security needs.
Jay Kennedy
Head of Policy and Engagement, Illicit Trade Prevention, PMITitle: The intersection of Cybercrime and Human Trafficking
Abstract: What presentation will address: Discussion of technology-fueled growth in the scale of human trafficking, as well as the ways in which technologies are affecting different types of human trafficking. Attention will be paid to the use of legitimate channels such as social media and dating apps to recruit/lure/entrap victims, as well as other forms of cybercrime such as spam, phishing, and fake job adds that are used to identify potential victims. The types of human trafficking discussed will likely focus on forced labor (e.g., people recruited through fake job adds to take "to good to be true" positions and are ultimately forced into modern day slavery) and sex trafficking (e.g., use of technologies to identify and lure victims into sex trafficking rings, and the use of technologies by criminals operating in the virtual environment to secure sexually explicit materials that exploit victims).
Bio: Dr. Jay Kennedy has spent the last 10+ years in the brand protection / anti-counterfeiting industry as Assistant Director of Research for the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University, Head of Anti-Counterfeiting External Relations at Amazon, and now as Head of Policy and Engagment, Illicit Trade Prevention at Philip Morris International (PMI). He is a regular presenter at global anti-counterfeiting conferences such as IACC, INTERPOL, and A-CAPP Brand Protection Strategy Summit. Dr. Kennedy is a member of the OECD's Anti-Illicit Trade Working Group Industry Experts Advisory Panel, and in his current role he leads the USA-IT coalition, which is dedicated to raising awareness of the many harms associated with illegal trade in America. Dr. Kennedy was a contributor to Forbes writing on counterfeiting issues within retail and has published numerous academic papers on counterfeiting, cybercrime, insider threats, employee theft, and business ethics.
Jin R. Lee
Assistant Professor, George Mason UniversityTitle: Assessing the macro-level correlates of DRDoS cyberattacks from Open Web booter vendors
Abstract: The current study examined the macro-level factors influencing the frequency of Distributed Reflective Denial of Service (DRDoS) attacks across 121 countries, focusing on "booter" services that facilitate these attacks. Utilizing attack log data from an Open Web booter service combined with global datasets (e.g., World Bank, CIA World Factbook), this study assessed the significant country-level predictors of DRDoS victimization. The dependent variable represents the number of DRDoS attacks targeting each country, identified through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. To address the data's distribution, a Cragg Hurdle Model was estimated to distinguish between the processes generating zero and non-zero outcomes. Results indicated that countries with larger populations, greater Internet connectivity, and increased political freedom are more likely to experience frequent DRDoS attacks. These findings underscore the heightened vulnerability of technologically advanced and open societies to cybercrime, offering a nuanced understanding of how country-specific factors shape cybercrime risks and informing international cybersecurity strategies.
Bio: Dr. Jin R. Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. His research examines a broad range of topics within cybercrime and cybersecurity, including law enforcement competencies and perceptions of online crime; computer hacking and the role of the Internet in facilitating criminal and deviant behaviors; online illicit market activities; ideologically motivated cyberattacks; and online interpersonal violence offending and victimization. Dr. Lee is a research partner at several esteemed research organizations, including Michigan State University's International Interdisciplinary Research Consortium on Cybercrime (IIRCC), George Mason University's Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP), Boston University's Center for Cybercrime Investigation and Cybersecurity (CIC), and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology's Digital Life Research Group (DLRG). Additionally, Dr. Lee has delivered invited lectures on cybercrime and cybersecurity at several leading academic institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Temple University, and Old Dominion University.
In 2024, he was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to serve as a consensus committee member on the Committee on Cybercrime Classification and Measurement. Dr. Lee also serves as an Associate Editor on the Cybercrime Editorial Board for the International Journal of Police Science & Management (IJPSM). Dr. Lee's contributions to the field have been recognized with several national awards, including the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Division of Cybercrime Early Career Award in 2022, the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Division of Cybercrime Best Peer-Reviewed Publication Award in 2024, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Academy New Scholar Award in 2025. Dr. Lee's recent scholarship has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Criminology & Public Policy, American Journal of Criminal Justice, Computers in Human Behavior, Crime & Delinquency, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Terrorism and Political Violence, and Victims & Offenders.
Rutger Leukfeldt
Senior Research, NSCR, Professor, The Hague University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands)Title: Examining the pathways into cybercrime and online interventions
Abstract: What are pathways into cybercrime and how does someone become involved in a cybercriminal network? The first part of this presentation will be based on interviews with 25 criminal hackers about their online and offline pathways into cybercrime, co-offending and desistence. Preliminary results show that the first (baby) steps in pathways into cybercrime include gaming, Google and YouTube. In the second part of this presentation, two online interventions will be discussed. The first intervention uses Google to deter persons looking for cybercriminal tools to carry out DDoS-attacks and the second one uses Instagram to inform potential money mules.
Bio: Rutger Leukfeldt holds the special chair of Governing Cybercrime at Leiden University. The chair is established and managed by the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR). At NSCR, Rutger is a senior researcher and he is also director of the Centre of Expertise Cybersecurity at the Hague University of Applied Sciences. Rutger's education and research focuses on the human factor in cybercrime. Who are the perpetrators, what are their crime scripts? What are risk profiles of victims? How can we tackle cybercrime? Rutger has more than 130 cybercrime publications to his name (including more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, 7 books and numerous professional publications and reports). Rutger is chair of the Cybercrime Working Group of the European Society of Criminology (ESC) and one of the founders of the annual Human Factors in Cybercrime Conference.
Cooper A. Maher
Ph.D., School of Criminal Justice, University of CincinnatiTitle: Privacy Please: The Presence of Others and Disclosure of Identity Theft Victimization
Abstract: While the presence of others has been shown to reduce odds of disclosing other forms of victimization, including gender-based violence, it is unclear whether interview effects similarly influence disclosure of other forms of victimization that does not have direct contact, such as identity theft. The study examines whether the presence of others is associated with odds of disclosing identity theft victimization to interviewers. The current study uses data from the 2021 National Crime Victimization Survey’s Identity Theft Supplement to examine whether the presence of others is associated with victimization disclosure. Findings suggest that the presence of one’s spouse or older household members was associated with lower odds of disclosing identity theft. Reduced odds of identity theft disclosure may stem from fears that familial discovery of victimization may lead to reduced financial independence. Findings are discussed in light of implications for practitioners seeking to better serve victims of identity theft.
Bio: Cooper A. Maher (Ph.D., School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. His research interests center upon understanding victimization risk factors, consequences, and victimization decision making within the context of fraud, identity theft, and online victimization more generally. His research has been published in various criminological journals, including the American Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and the Journal of Criminal Justice.
Rachel McNealey
Assistant Professor, Michigan State UniversityBio: Dr. Rachel McNealey is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice with her Ph.D. in criminology from Penn State University. Her research focuses on cybervictimization events and cyberoffending behavior, with the goal of tying new forms of crime to traditional theories of crime. Her work has been published in the Journal of Crime and Justice, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. Her non-academic experience includes working in the digital forensics lab at the Joint Electronic Crimes Task Force in Tuscaloosa, Alabama as well as their Network Intrusion Lab and security group Project Halo. As an early career scholar, her work aims to investigate emerging forms of crime with established methods and theories to produce actionable, practice-oriented findings.
Ryan Weber
Lead Cloud Security Engineer, CiscoTitle: Defending Locally, Thinking Globally - The State of AI in cybersecurity & cybercrime
Abstract: Explore the transformative impact of AI on cybersecurity and cybercrime and we will dive into a simple use case for using AI to help mitigate cybercrime & cybersecurity and how you can protect yourself (and your organization) at a local level and a global level.
Bio: Ryan Weber is an Industry Professional currently working at Cisco as an Lead Cloud Security Engineer with over 17 years of experience spanning power utilities, healthcare, automotive, and technology. Academically, he holds a Master's in Information Assurance from Eastern Michigan University and a Cyber Criminology and Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate from Michigan State University. In higher education, Ryan Weber has been an adjunct professor for six years at Eastern Michigan University and two years at Trine University, teaching Cloud Security, Cybersecurity, and Engineering courses—some of which have received national recognition. Originally from Jackson, Michigan, Ryan Weber is married to his wife Emily of 9 years and 13 years being a couple and Emily, an MSU alumna and Social Worker in Lansing and he would not be the person he is today without her. Together, Ryan has two sons, Elijah (Eli) and Kaiden (Kai). Outside of work, Ryan enjoys running, working out, and driving Dodge vehicles or going to car shows.
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Schedule
2025 MSU Interdisciplinary Conference on Cybercrime
Friday May 30, 2025Henry Center
8:00AM - 9:00AM: Registration and Networking9:00AM - 9:10AM: Welcome and Introductory Remarks
9:10AM - 10:00AM: Hour One Presentations
Speakers: Thomas Dearden, Ryan Weber
10:00AM - 10:50AM: Hour Two Presentations
Speakers: Cassandra Cross, Cooper Maher
11:00AM - 11:50AM: Hour Three Presentations
Speakers: Rutger Leukfeldt, Jim Beachey
12:00PM - 1:30PM: Lunch Buffett, Networking Break
1:30PM - 2:20PM: Hour Four Presentations
Speakers: Chad Whelan, Taylor Fisher
2:30PM - 3:20PM: Hour Five Presentations
Speakers: Jay Kennedy, Jin Lee
3:30PM - 4:20PM: Hour Six Presentations
Speakers: Cassandra Dodge, Tom Holt
4:20PM - 4:30PM: Concluding Remarks
Lunch, beverages, and snacks provided throughout the conference in the atrium area -
Register
Registration Cost: $175
Deadline: May 30, 2025 - Archive