“Cutie, click on the link”: A forensic analysis of URLs

Abstract

This article presents an examination of the technological components of the online sexual grooming abuse process. While much of the existing literature on online grooming and child exploitation focuses on the broader behavioral patterns of offenders, our study examines the specific affordances of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that enable and exacerbate these behaviors. Through a multidisciplinary lens, we conducted a digital forensic analysis of 371 URL links obtained from two studies with active online groomers. The analysis reveals that online groomers use URLs to engage in social engineering, distribute malware, solicit Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), and share images. These findings suggests that previous models and stage descriptions of the online grooming process overlook how different ICT tools can be adopted and adapted to facilitate the online grooming and abuse process. We draw on the technology acceptance model to explain that the perceived affordances of a platform, particularly those that facilitate covert or malicious activities, are likely to influence offenders' choices in using these ICTs. The implications of these findings extend to theoretical, methodological, and policy considerations.