Dr. Richard Frank

Richard Frank is a Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Canada and Director of the International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC). Richard completed a PhD in Computing Science (2010) and another PhD in Criminology (2013) at SFU. His main research interest is Cybercrime. Specifically, he's interested in researching hackers and security issues, the dark web, online terrorism and warfare, eLaundering and cryptocurrencies, and online child exploitation. He is the creator of The Dark Crawler, a tool for collecting and analyzing data from the open Internet, dark web, and online discussion forums. Through this tool the ICCRC has collected ~150 million posts from various right-wing, left-wing, gender-based and religiously-motivated extremist communities, leading to a number of projects and publications.

Dr. Frank has publications in top-level data mining outlets, such as in Knowledge Discovery in Databases, and security conferences such as Intelligence and Security Informatics (ISI). His research can also be found in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, to name a few.

Contact Information:
Email: rfrank@sfu.ca
Phone: +1 (778) 782-4158

Additional Information:
Google Scholar Citation Page
ResearchGate Page

Relevant Publications:

Davies, G., Scrivens, R., Gaudette, T., & Frank, R. (In Press). A Longitudinal Comparison of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremist Identities Online. In B. Perry, J. Gruenewald, & R. Scrivens (Eds.), Right-Wing Extremism in Canada and the United States. Palgrave.

Gaudette, T., Scrivens, R., Davies, G., & Frank R. (2021). Upvoting Extremism: Collective Identity Formation and the Extreme Right on Reddit. New Media and Society.

Singh, M. M., Frank, R., & Zainon, W. M. N. W. (2021). Cyber-Criminology Defense in Pervasive Environment: A Study of Cybercrimes in Malaysia. Bulletin of Electrical Engineering and Informatics.

McIntyre, D. L., & Frank, R. (2021). No Gambles with Information Security: The Psychology of a Ransomware Attack. In M. Weulen Kranenbarg & R. Leukfeldt (Eds.), Cybercrime in Context: The Human Factor in Victimization, Offending, and Policing. Springer.

Scrivens, R., Chermak, S. M., Freilich, J. D., Wojciechowski, T. W., & Frank, R. (2021). Detecting Extremists Online: Examining Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists. RESOLVE Network Policy Note.

Davies, G., Wu, E., & Frank, R. (2021). A Witch’s Brew of Grievances: The Potential Effects of COVID-19 on Radicalization to Violent Extremism. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.

Scrivens, R., Osuna, A. I., Chermak, S. M., Whitney, M. A., & Frank, R. (2021). Examining Online Indicators of Extremism in Violent Right-Wing Extremist Forums. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.

Scrivens, R., Burruss, G. W., Holt, T. J., Chermak, S. M., Freilich, J. D., & Frank, R. (2021). Triggered by Defeat or Victory? Assessing the Impact of Presidential Election Results on Extreme Right-Wing Mobilization Online. Deviant Behavior.

Champion, A., & Frank, R. (2021). Exploring the “Radicalization Pipeline” on YouTube. In R. Corrado, G. Wössner, & A. Merari (Eds.), Terrorism Risk Assessment Instruments: NATO Science for Peace and Security Series. IOS Press.

Scrivens, R., Wojciechowski, T. W., Freilich, J. D., Chermak, S. M., & Frank, R. (2021). Comparing the Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists. Terrorism and Political Violence.

Leung, C., & Frank, R., (2020). Unity Starts with U: A Case Study of a Counter-Hate Campaign Through the Use of Social Media Platforms. Journal of Hate Studies.

Scrivens, R., Wojciechowski, T. W., & Frank, R. (2020). Examining the Developmental Pathways of Online Posting Behavior in Violent Right-Wing Extremist Forums. Terrorism and Political Violence.

Frank, R., & Mikhaylov, A. (2020). Beyond the ‘Silk Road’: Assessing Illicit Drug Marketplaces on the Public Web. In M. A. Tayebi, U. Glässer, & D. B. Skillicorn (Eds.), Open Source Intelligence and Cyber Crime. Springer.

Scrivens, R., Davies, G., & Frank, R. (2020). Measuring the Evolution of Radical Right-Wing Posting Behaviors Online. Deviant Behavior.

Bouchard, M., Davies, G., Frank, R., Wu, E., & Joffres, K. (2020). The Social Structure of Extremist Websites. In J. Littlewood, L. Dawson, & S. Thompson (Eds.), Canada Among Nations: Terrorism and Counterterrorism. University of Toronto Press.

Smith, R., & Frank, R. (2020). Dishing the Deets: How Dark-Web Users Teach Each Other About International Drug Shipments. In Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
*Won Best Paper at HICSS 2020

Cartwright, B., Weir, G., Nahar, L., Padda, K., & Frank, R. (2019). The Weaponization of Cloud-Based Social Media: Prospects for Legislation and Regulation. In Proceedings of Tenth International Conference on Cloud Computing, GRIDs, and Virtualization.

Scrivens, R., Gaudette, T., Davies, G., & Frank, R. (2019). Searching for Extremist Content Online Using The Dark Crawler and Sentiment Analysis. In M. Deflem & D. Silva (Eds.), Methods of Criminology and Criminal Justice Research. Emerald Publishing.

Cartwright, B., Weir, G., & Frank, R. (2019). Cyberterrorism in the Cloud. In L. Chen, H. Takabi, & N-A. Le-Khac (Eds.), Security, Privacy, and Digital Forensics in the Cloud (pp. 217-236). John Wiley & Sons.

Macnair, L., & Frank, R. (2018). Changes and Stabilities in the Language of Islamic State Magazines: A Sentiment Analysis. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict.

Monk, B., Mitchell, J., Frank, R., & Davies, G. (2018). Uncovering Tor: An Examination of the Network Structure. Security and Communication Networks.

Mikhaylov, A., & Frank, R. (2018). Illicit Payments for Illicit Goods: Noncontact Drug Distribution on Russian Online Drug Marketplaces. Global Crime.

Macnair, L., & Frank, R. (2018). The Mediums and the Messages: Exploring the Language of Islamic State Media through Sentiment Analysis. Critical Studies on Terrorism.

Scrivens, R., Davies, G., & Frank, R. (2018). Searching for Signs of Extremism on the Web: An Introduction to Sentiment-based Identification of Radical Authors. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression.

Macdonald, M., & Frank, R. (2017). Shuffle Up and Deal: Use of a Capture-Recapture Method to Estimate the Size of Stolen Data Markets. American Behavioral Scientist.

Macnair, L., & Frank, R. (2017). Voices Against Extremism: A Case Study of a Community-Based CVE Counter-Narrative Campaign. Journal for Deradicalization, 10, 23-50.

Macnair, L., & Frank, R. (2017). "To My Brothers in the West...": A Thematic Analysis of Videos Produced by the Islamic State’s al-Hayat Media Center. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice.

Zulkarnine, A., Frank, R., Monk, B., Mitchell, J., & Davies, G. (Forthcoming, 2016). Surfacing Collaborated Networks in Dark Web to Find Illicit and Criminal Content. In Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics (ISI).

Mikhaylov, A., & Frank, R. (2016). Cards, Money and Two Hacking Forums: An Analysis of Online Money Laundering Schemes. In Proceedings of the 2016 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC).

Frank, R., Macdonald, M., & Monk, B. (2016). Location, Location, Location: Mapping Potential Canadian Targets in Online Hacker Discussion Forums. In Proceedings of the 2016 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC).

Scrivens, R., & Frank, R. (2016). Sentiment-based Classification of Radical Text on the Web. In Proceedings of the 2016 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC).

Macdonald, M., & Frank, R. (2016). The Network Structure of Malware Development, Deployment and Distribution. Global Crime.

Wong, M., Frank, R., & Allsup, R. (2015). The Supremacy of Online White Supremacists – An Analysis of Online Discussions of White Supremacists. Information & Communications Technology Law, 24(1), 41-73.

Westlake, B., Bouchard, M., & Frank, R. (2015). Assessing the Validity of Automated Webcrawlers as Data Collection Tools to Investigate Online Child Sexual Exploitation. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 1-24.

Scrivens, R., Davies, G., Frank, R., & Mei, J. (2015). Sentiment-based Identification of Radical Authors (SIRA). In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE ICDM Workshop on Intelligence and Security Informatics.

Mei, J., & Frank, R. (2015). Sentiment Crawling: Extremist Content Collection through a Sentiment Analysis Guided Web-Crawler. In Proceedings of the 2015 International Symposium on Foundations of Open Source Intelligence and Security Informatics (FOSINT).

Macdonald, M., Frank, R., Mei, J., & Monk, B. (2015). Identifying Digital Threats in a Hacker Web Forum. In Proceedings of the 2015 International Symposium on Foundations of Open Source Intelligence and Security Informatics (FOSINT).
*Won Best Paper at the 2015 FOSINT conference

Allsup, R., Thomas, E., Monk, B., Frank, R., & Bouchard, M. (2015). Networking in Child Exploitation – Assessing Disruption Strategies Using Registrant Information. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM).

Monk, B., Allsup, R., & Frank, R. (2015). LECENing Places to Hide: Geo-Mapping Child Exploitation Material. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE Intelligence and Security Informatics (ISI).
*Nominated for Best Paper at the 2015 ISI conference

Frank, R., Bouchard, M., Davies, G., & Mei, J. (2015). Spreading the Message Digitally: A Look into Extremist Organizations’ use of the Internet. In R. G. Smith, R.C.-C. Cheung and L.Y.-C. Lau (Eds.) Cybercrime Risks and Responses: Eastern and Western Perspectives. Palgrave.

Davies, G., Bouchard, M., Wu, E., Joffres, K., & Frank, R. (2015). Terrorist and Extremist Organizations’ use of the Internet for Recruitment. In M. Bouchard (Ed.) Social Networks, Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorism: Radical and Connected (pp. 105-127). Routledge.

Davies, G., Bouchard, M., Wu, E., Joffres, K., & Frank, R. (2014). Terrorist and Extremist Organizations’ use of the Internet for Recruitment. Public Safety Canada.

Westlake, B., Bouchard, M., & Frank, R. (2012). Comparing Methods for Detecting Child Exploitation Content Online. In Proceedings of the 2012 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC).

Westlake, B., Bouchard, M., & Frank, R. (2011). Finding the Key Players in Online Child Exploitation Networks. Policy & Internet, 3(2), 1-32.

Frank, R., Cheng, C., & Pun, V. (2011). Social Media Sites: New Fora for Criminal, Communication and Investigation Opportunities. Public Safety Canada, RDIMS 434480.

Joffres, K., Bouchard, M., Frank, R., & Westlake, B. (2011). Strategies to Disrupt Online Child exploitation Networks. In Proceedings of the 2011 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC).
*Won the Honorable Mention Award for Best Paper at the 2011 EISIC conference

Frank, R., Westlake, B., & Bouchard, M. (2010). The Structure and Content of Online Child Exploitation Networks. In Proceedings of the 16th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD).

Relevant Presentations:

Frank, F., & Westlake, B. (2011, May). Determining Key Players in Online Child Exploitation Networks. Presented at SFU Surrey Open House, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Criminology).