iPredator

iPredators are driven by deviant fantasies, desires for power and control, retribution, religious fanaticism, political reprisal, psychiatric illness, perceptual distortions, peer acceptance or personal and financial gain.

iPredators can be any age or gender and are not bound by economic status, race, religion or national heritage.

iPredator is a global term used to distinguish anyone who engages in criminal, coercive, deviant or abusive behaviors using ICT.

Whether the offender is a cyberstalker, cyber harasser, cybercriminal, online sexual predator, internet troll, cyber terrorist, cyberbully, online child pornography consumer/distributor or engaged in internet defamation or nefarious online deception, they fall within the scope of iPredator.

The three criteria used to define an iPredator include:

A self-awareness of causing harm to others, directly or indirectly, using ICT.

The usage of ICT to obtain, exchange and deliver harmful information.

A general understanding of Cyberstealth used to engage in criminal or deviant activities or to profile, identify, locate, stalk and engage a target.

Cyberstealth

used by iPredators range from negligible to highly complex and multi-faceted. The rationale for using “stealth” in the suffix of this term, serves to remind ICT users the primary intent fueling iPredators. This intent is to hide their identity by designing false online profiles, identities, covert tactics and methods to ensure their identities remain concealed reducing their probability of identification, apprehension and punishment.

Online Psychopathy

is a characterlogical disorder describing anyone who skillfully uses cyberspace to exploit, control, subjugate and manipulate others. Driven by grandiosity or perversion, they experience no remorse or guilt from the devastation they cause others. Many Online Psychopaths do not break the law and live unscathed by law enforcement, fraternal organizations, religious institutions and legal systems. Just as classic psychopaths, Online Psychopaths are remorseless, without conscience, divisive and highly deceptive.

Cyberbullying

is defined as threatening or disparaging information directed at a target child delivered through ICT.
Cyberbullies are usually motivated by a need for peer acceptance and/or power and control. A small percentage of cyberbullies engage in these maladaptive behaviors out of ignorance of the distress they cause a target child. The most malevolent form of cyberbully, feels minimal remorse for the harm they are inflicting upon the target child. It has been speculated that children view the real world and the online or virtual world as part of a seamless continuum. Unable to differentiate reality from virtual reality, victims of online bullying can become psychologically devastated and/or bullies themselves.

Cyber Harassment

is defined as the use of ICT to harass, control, manipulate

Internet Troll

is a colloquial expression describing any person(s) who uses Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to instigate, tease, provoke or incite to anger other online users or groups of online users. Their primary goal is to illicit and instigate a negative response from their provocations. For most Trolls, their modus operandi is a perceptually distorted sense of personal gain rooted in feeling pride, power, control and self-worth by causing others distress and frustration.

Cyberstalking

is the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to stalk, control, manipulate, threaten or make unwanted advances towards a child, adult, business or group. Cyberstalking is both a tactic used by an ICT assailant [aka, iPredator] and typology of psychopathological ICT user. Cyberstalking tactics include false accusations, threats of physical harm, habitual monitoring, surveillance, implied threats, identity theft, damage to property and gathering information to manipulate and control their target. To meet the criteria of cyberstalking, the information and tactics used must involve a direct, indirect or implied physical and psychological threat to the target. An example of physical threat involves bodily harm to the target or their loved ones via ICT.

Online Sexual Predation

is defined as adult online users who seek to exploit vulnerable children or adolescents for sexual and other abusive purposes. Online Predators are sexual predators who use Information and Communications Technology and the Internet to locate, target and victimize minors. Common forums used by Internet Predators to target children include chat rooms, instant messaging or social networking sites for the purpose of flirting with and meeting others for illicit sexual experiences.

Cybercrime

is defined as crimes and criminal activity committed on the Internet using Information and Communications Technology as the tools to target victims. All forms of cybercrime involve both Information and Communications Technology and a targeted victim(s). Cybercrime is segmented into two distinct categories involving the focus of the cyber criminal activities. These activities are focalized on the technology of ICT to achieve the cyber criminal’s aims for personal and financial gain or targeted at the person using the Information and Communications Technology. When the individual is the main target of cybercrime, ICT is the tool rather than the target. These are the crimes, which have existed for centuries in offline societies.

Cyber Terrorism

is defined as the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) by iPredators, organized groups and/or terrorist groups to advance their agenda motivated by religious, political and/or philosophical ideologies. Cyber Terrorism includes 1. The use of ICT to organize and execute attacks against networks, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructures. 2. The exchanging of information or making threats electronically. 3. The act of hacking into computer systems. 4. Introducing viruses and malware to vulnerable networks. 5.Defacement of websites and blogs. 6. Denial-of-service attacks 7. Terrorist threats made via electronic communication.