Need for Debate on the Implications of Honeypot Data for Restrictive Deterrence Policies in Cyberspace

<p> From the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the pursuant release of confidential information during the 2016 U.S. presidential election to megadata breaches of financial, insurance, and communication giants (Anthem, Yahoo, etc.) to thousands of cases of identity theft, the United States has been significantly harmed in both financial and security aspects over the last several years with little&hyphen;to&hyphen;no reason to expect the situation will improve in the short term (Holt, Bossler, and Seigfried&hyphen;Spellar, in press). In an ideal world, criminologists would be the go&hyphen;to source for their expertise and insights on the causes of various types of crimes, including cybercrime, and on the best practices and policies to address them. One could even imagine criminologists as lighthouses that provide light and direction in uncertain, dark, and stormy times when little is known about a phenomenon and how to address it. Unfortunately, we are not succeeding in providing that service in the area of cybercrime policy.</p>