Securing IS assets through hacker deterrence: A case study

Computer crime is a topic prevalent in both the research literature and in industry, due to a number of recent high-profile cyber attacks on e-commerce organizations. While technical means for defending against internal and external hackers have been discussed at great length, researchers have shown a distinct preference towards understanding deterrence of the internal threat and have paid little attention to external deterrence. This paper uses the criminological thesis known as Broken Windows Theory to understand how external computer criminals might be deterred from attacking a particular organization. The theory's focus upon disorder as a precursor to crime is discussed, and the notion of decreasing public IS disorder to create the illusion of strong information systems security is examined. A case study of a victim e-commerce organization is reviewed in light of the theory and implications for research and practice are discussed.