01325nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001260001500042100001500057700001600072700001500088245011000103856006700213520088500280022001401165       2013                            d  c2012-06-221 aLaura Huey1 aJohnny Nhan1 aRyan Broll00a‘Uppity civilians’ and ‘cyber-vigilantes’: The role of the general public in policing cyber-crime  uhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17488958124480863 aThe distributed nature of the Internet requires that security issues be addressed through collaborative efforts within and across various sets of public and private actors. Drawing on nodal governance theory, this article explores one aspect of the role that the general public can and does play in the field of cyber-security: civilian policing of the Internet. In particular, we examine the motives and actions of regular citizens, who use their computer skills to identify, track and collect information on the activities of suspected criminal offenders. Whereas some groups use such information to engage in vigilante acts, the groups that we study work cooperatively with police, collecting information to pass onto criminal justice agencies. We suggest that these collectives and their members are a potentially useful, if under-valued, component of cyber-security networks.  a1748-8958