Postgraduate researcher appeals for lawyers to complete cybercrime survey

A postgraduate research student has invited lawyers, gardaí and IT professionals to take part in a survey on cybercrime legislation in Ireland.

Catherine Friend, a student at Waterford Institute of Technology, is “currently investigating how the Irish legal system is dealing with emerging cybercrime cases”.

Ms Friend told Irish Legal News: “It is still such a new area with very little research on the practical legal issues dealt with and motivations to do so by security practitioners.

“I hope to gain an insight from interviews and responses to my survey to create a rounded or holistic understanding of how legislation is currently used in investigating or prosecuting cybercrime by legal personnel, law enforcement and IT professionals.

“For example, interestingly, the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016 was the first time computer systems had even been specifically mentioned!”

This study is the first phase of a three-part PhD research project, with each phase looking to understand current legal experiences, approaches, perceptions, reactions and psychological motivation to regulation to cybercrime legislation in Ireland.

You can complete the survey here.