Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Academic Information Security Researchers: Hackers or Specialists?

  • Opinion
  • Published:
Science and Engineering Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this opinion piece, we present a synopsis of our findings from the last 2 years concerning cyber-attacks on web-based academia. We also present some of problems that we have faced and try to resolve any misunderstandings about our work. We are academic information security specialists, not hackers. Finally, we present a brief overview of our methods for detecting cyber fraud in an attempt to present general guidelines for researchers who would like to continue our work. We believe that our work is necessary for protecting the integrity of scholarly publishing against emerging cybercrime.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bartholomew, R. E. (2014). Science for sale: The rise of predatory journals. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 107(10), 384–385. doi:10.1177/0141076814548526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beall, J. (2016). Pharmacy research and predatory journals: Authors beware. American Journal of Health System Pharmacy, 73(19), 1548–1550. doi:10.2146/ajhp160150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beall, J. (2017). Predatory journals threaten the quality of published medical research. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 47(1), 3–5. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. M., & Thompson, D. R. (2016). Five (bad) reasons to publish your research in predatory journals. Journal of Advanced Nursing, n/a-n/a.. doi:10.1111/jan.13090.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., & Bianciardi, G. (2016a). Fake universities as an emerging issue. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT), 11(4), 49–52. doi:10.4018/IJWLTT.2016100104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., & Bianciardi, G. (2016b). Hackers spy scientists. Indian Pediatrics, 53(11), 1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., Elias, N., Jazi, M. D., Christova-Bagdassarian, V., & Abu-Elteen, K. H. (2015a). A new challenge in the academic world: Earning real money and eminence by paper publishing. Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences, 8(2), 73–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., Sutikno, T., Jazi, M. D., & Stiawan, D. (2015b). An introduction to journal phishings and their detection approach. TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control), 13(2), 373–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., Lagzian, M., & Borchardt, G. (2016a). The game of hacking academic websites. World Digital Libraries-An International Journal, 9(2), 131–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., Stefanutti, C., & Bianciardi, G. (2016b). Scientific information security in information science and Academic Publishing. Artificial Organs, 40(5), 425–430. doi:10.1111/aor.12729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, M., Lagzian, M., & Borchardt, G. (2017). Identity theft in the academic world leads to junk science. Science and Engineering Ethics. doi:10.1007/s11948-016-9867-x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Günaydin, G. P., & Dogan, N. Ö. (2015). A growing threat for academicians: Fake and predatory journals. Journal of Academic Emergency Medicine, 14(2), 94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jalalian, M. (2015). Solutions for commandeered journals, debatable journals, and forged journals. Contemporary Clinical Dentistry, 6(3), 283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jalalian, M., & Mahboobi, H. (2013). New corruption detected: Bogus impact factors compiled by fake organizations. Electronic Physician, 5(3), 685–686. doi:10.14661/2013.685-686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitnick, K. D., & Simon, W. L. (2011). The art of deception: Controlling the human element of security. London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moher, D., & Srivastava, A. (2015). You are invited to submit…. BMC Medicine, 13, 180. doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0423-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooloo, D., & Fowdur, T. (2013). An SSL-based client-oriented anti-spoofing email application. Paper presented at the AFRICON, 2013.

  • Nahai, F. (2015). The rise of predatory journals: What difference does it make? Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 35(8), 1042–1043. doi:10.1093/asj/sjv085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Lagzian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dadkhah, M., Lagzian, M. & Borchardt, G. Academic Information Security Researchers: Hackers or Specialists?. Sci Eng Ethics 24, 785–790 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9907-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9907-1

Keywords

Navigation