Exploring the factors that differentiate individual and group offenders in cyber-dependent crime

Not much is known about the characteristics of solo offenders relative to group offenders engaged in cyber-dependent crime. This cross-sectional survey study utilized a general population sample of 1240 Dutch young people. Respondents completed a battery of validated measurements that measured lifetime offending behaviors and screened for risk factors. Multinominal regression models were estimated to explore the factors that differentiate solo offenders from group offenders engaged in low-tech and high-tech forms of cybercrime. Analyses revealed that solo offenders showed a different profile than those who offend together with others, and that correlates were particularly dependent on the level of technical sophistication of crimes. Low-tech solo offenders seemed to act more opportunistically, whereas high-tech solo offenders had programming skills and higher levels of self-control. Findings imply that co-offending in cyber-dependent crime may be more of an instrumental choice for offenders who have insufficient capabilities to offend alone. • Solo cybercrime offenders differ from group cybercrime offenders in in terms of individual characteristics • Correlates were dependent on the technological maturity of offending • Solo high-tech cybercrime offending was associated with distinct factors that partially oppose traditional views • Cybercrime co-offending may reflect an instrumental choice for offenders with insufficient capabilities to offend alone