Forensic cyber psychology is a relatively recent, but rapidly growing field that focuses on the overlap between psychology and technology. It is primarily concerned with investigating, analyzing, and preventing cybercrime, as well as with understanding the psychological factors that motivate cybercriminals. The roots of the field can be traced back to the 1990s as the Internet and digital technologies were beginning to gain prominence in society and researchers began to explore the psychological aspects of cybercrime and cybercriminal behavior.
One of the earliest works in the field is the book “Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace” by Richard Power, was published in 1999, and was exploring the psychology of hackers and cybercriminals and provides insights into their motivations and behaviors. But the actual term “forensic cyber psychology” term would only be used in 2016 by Dr. Mary Aiken, in her book “The Cyber Effect”. Another key figure to be mentioned in the context of development of forensic cyber psychology is Dr. Marc Rogers, who conducted extensive research on the psychology of cybercriminals and how their behavior can be predicted and prevented.
Among other works and research to refer to for self-study of the field, it is worth mentioning:
Gráinne Kirwan and Andrew Power’s “The Psychology of Cyber Crime: Concepts and Principles”, which provides an overview of the psychology of cybercrime, including the motivations of cybercriminals, the impact of cybercrime on victims, and strategies for preventing and detecting cybercrime.
Dr. Kimberly Young and her Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, developed based on the study of internet addiction, a widely used tool for assessing problematic internet use( can be viewed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/internet-addiction ). Dr. Young has also conducted research on the psychological factors that contribute to cyberbullying and online victimization.
Dr. David Finkelhor, being one of the leading researchers on child sexual abuse, has conducted extensive research on the online victimization of children and published numerous studies on the prevalence and impact of online victimization, as well as strategies for prevention
