About
ARCH is a research project focused on cybercrime, online harm and the digital environments in which technology-enabled threats emerge. Launched in 2026, it is a three and a half year project that brings together an international team with interdisciplinary expertise to support a deeper understanding of contemporary cybercrime and its prevention.
Mission
To build the first comprehensive and validated framework that identifies, measures and communicates the full spectrum of cybercrime harms across individual, organizational and societal domains, using rigorous multi-source data collection, innovative analytic methods and open knowledge tools that support effective prevention, response and resilience measures.
Aims
Deliver a multidimensional costs-of-harms model that captures the direct, indirect and cascading impacts of cybercrime.
Strengthen public policy, institutional readiness and societal trust through credible, tested and accessible harm assessment tools.
Build lasting research capacity among emerging cybersecurity scholars and practitioners, bridging academic, governmental, industry and civil society partners.
Research
ARCH brings together an interdisciplinary and international team of researchers and practitioners to advance the understanding and measurement of cybercrime harms. Drawing on expertise from criminology, economics, and psychology, the project combines complementary perspectives to examine how cybercrime affects individuals, organizations, and society. This interdisciplinary foundation enables the project to move beyond narrow technical or financial assessments and develop a more comprehensive understanding of both the material and intangible consequences of cybercrime.
The consortium unites leading academic institutions with private-sector partners, creating a collaborative environment where theoretical innovation is informed by practical experience, real-world data, and diverse methodological traditions. By integrating multiple forms of evidence and analysis, ARCH seeks to develop robust, transparent, and scientifically grounded methods for assessing cybercrime harms across different contexts and sectors. This approach allows the project to capture the complex and interconnected impacts of cybercrime on individuals, organizations, economies, and communities.
Hosted at the Université de Montréal, ARCH leverages an international network of collaborators spanning academia and industry. This unique combination of disciplinary expertise, international cooperation, and practical engagement positions the project at the forefront of cybercrime research, enabling the development of innovative approaches capable of addressing emerging challenges in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
Contact
For more information please contact us at: info@project-arch.org
THE ARCH TEAM
Dr. David Décary-Hétu
Scientific Director
View profileDr. David Décary-HétuUniversité de Montréal
https://ddhetu.pubpub.org
Prof. David Décary-Hétu first started as a Senior Scientist at the School of Criminal Sciences of the Université de Lausanne. The main research interests of Prof. Décary-Hétu focus on the impacts of technology on crime. Through his innovative approach based on big and small data, as well as social network analysis, Prof. Décary-Hétu studies how offenders adopt and use technologies, and how that shapes the regulation of offenses, as well as how researchers can study offenders and offenses.
Dr. William Arbour
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileDr. William ArbourUniversité de Montréal
https://www.williamarbour.com
Prof. William Arbour is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the Université de Montréal, and a researcher affiliated with CIREQ, CIRANO, and the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (CICC). His research focuses on applied microeconomics and public policy evaluation, with particular emphasis on the economics of crime, education, and labor. He combines econometric techniques with AI-based methods to study topics including prison rehabilitation programs, recidivism, and the causal effects of public interventions. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Andréanne Bergeron
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileDr. Andréanne BergeronUniversité de Montréal & Flare
https://crim.umontreal.ca
Dr. Andréanne Bergeron is a Cybersecurity Researcher at Flare and specializes in the behavior of online attackers. Her expertise lies at the intersection of criminology and cybersecurity. Andréanne is also an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Criminology at the Université de Montréal, bridging the gap between academia and industry. Involved in the community, she serves as a Vice President on the NorthSec organizing committee. Andréanne has presented her research at prestigious conferences such as BlackHat USA, Defcon, and RSA.
Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileProf. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipkercyberintelligence.institute
https://cyberintelligence.institute
Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker studied law and computer science and, as scientific director and founder of the cyberintelligence.institute, conducts research at the interface of law and technology in cybersecurity, corporate strategy, and digital resilience in the context of global crises, with a particular focus on Chinese and US IT law. In this role, he advises the German federal government, the European Commission, and companies worldwide, where he holds various positions, including on supervisory boards. Dennis Kipker volunteers with the World Justice Project in the US and serves on the advisory board of the African Center for Cyberlaw & Cybercrime Prevention (ACCP) at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. In 2025, Professor Kipker was included in Capital magazine’s “Top 40 under 40” list, which honors individuals whose professional work is considered particularly influential and forward-looking
Dr. Michael Littger
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileDr. Michael Littger, LL.M.oec.Cyberintelligence Institute
https://www.cii.institute
Dr. Michael Littger, Strategy Director at cyberintelligence.institute in Berlin and Frankfurt, conducts research at the interface of regulation, technology and innovation and works in national and international consortia for cybersecurity and digital trust. Littger regularly speaks on current topics of cybersecurity, digital resilience and sovereignty. In 2025, he was appointed to the “IT Security in the Economy Steering Committee” of the Federal Ministry of Economics and oversees the work of various committees, e.g. the Federal Cybersecurity Commission of the Economic Council.
Silvia Reischer
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileSilvia ReischerCyberintelligence Institute
https://www.cii.institute
Silvia Reischer, Senior Advisor at the cyberintelligence.institute, is an expert in geo- and security policy as well as innovative technologies. Central topics concern the promotion and protection of innovative dynamics in the context of geopolitical upheavals and bloc formations. As a fully qualified lawyer, she worked for many years for the Federal Intelligence Service in various positions of responsibility in Germany and abroad. Her field of activity includes the strategic planning, implementation and monitoring of protective measures for the physical, human and digital resources of institutions.
Dr. Hannes Rusch
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileDr. Dr. Hannes RuschMax Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law & Maastricht University
https://csl.mpg.de/becc/
Hannes Rusch is an economist specializing in the dark sides of human behavior and their regulation. His long-term research topics include exploitation, discrimination, and violent intergroup conflict. Additionally, he engages in applied research on cybercrime and improving police work. His research on exploitation is supported by an ERC Starting Grant (‘MANUNKIND’) and he previously held a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship (‘DISGRID’) allowing him to study discrimination. His work is published in outlets like Nature Human Behaviour, PNAS, iScience, and the Annual Review of Criminology, among others.
Prof. Dr. Herbert Scheithauer
Co-Principle Investigator
View profileProf. Dr. Herbert ScheithauerFreie Universität Berlin
Department of Education & Psychology
Prof. Dr. Herbert Scheithauer is a professor of developmental and clinical psychology in the Department of Education and Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin (FUB). He heads the research group “Developmental Science and Applied Developmental Psychology” (www.developmental-science.de) and is a faculty member at the International Max Planck Research School on Learning, Institutions, and Future Evolution (LIFE). He has extensive experience in the development, evaluation, and large-scale implementation of preventive intervention and early intervention programs.
Kristin Göbel
Postdoctoral Researcher
View profileDr. Kristin GöbelFreie Universität Berlin
Department of Education & Psychology
Dr. Kristin Göbel is a postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. Her research focuses on online radicalization, targeted violence, and threat assessment. She specializes in quantitative and mixed-methods research, including longitudinal studies and latent class analyses. Her work aims to advance evidence-based approaches to violence prevention, risk assessment, and digital safety among adolescents and young adults.
Dr. Nicholas Umashev
Postdoctoral Researcher
View profile Dr. Nicholas UmashevMax Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security (MPI-CSL)
https://csl.mpg.de/becc/
Nicholas Umashev is an economist within the Behavioral Economics of Crime and Conflict independent research group at MPI-CSL. His research focuses on behavioural economics and applied microeconomics, with a particular emphasis on the `dark side’ of human behaviour, that is, why do people lie, steal, and harm each other and what can we do about. In addition to holding a PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland, Nicholas has worked with think tanks and consulting firms on topics such as migration trends and education performance.
Lisa Denndörfer
Doctoral Researcher
View profileLisa DenndörferMax Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security (MPI-CSL)
https://csl.mpg.de/becc/
Lisa Denndörfer is a doctoral researcher at the research group “Behavioral Economics of Crime and Conflict” at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law. She holds a master’s degree in Criminology from KU Leuven and has extensive expertise in national and international inter-agency cooperation. Her research focuses on cybercrime victimization, digital harms, and their social implications. By applying criminological perspectives to digital environments, her work seeks to better understand vulnerabilities and outcomes of victimization in cyberspace.
Martha Brinkmann
Research Assistant
View profileMartha BrinkmannMax Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security (MPI-CSL)
https://csl.mpg.de/becc/
Martha Brinkmann is an M.Sc. Economics student at the University of Freiburg and Research Assistant at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law. Her background includes a B.Sc. in Governance, Economics and Development (Leiden University). She currently contributes to research on cybercrime economics. Her prior research includes work on tax-benefit microsimulation systems and contributions to OECD projects on public procurement and AI policy
Olena Trotsenko
Research Assistant
View profileOlena Trotsenkocyberintelligence institute
cyberintelligence institute
Olena Trotsenko is a Senior Legal Researcher at the cyberintelligence.institute. She is fully qualified lawyer specializing in AI, data protection, and IT security law. She gained practical experience in the fields of digital policy, data privacy, technology law, and IT security, and examined the legal and political frameworks governing the digital transformation of the economy and society. Her current work focuses on the areas of IT forensics, critical infrastructure, and the consequences of cybersecurity damage.
Michael Joyce
Project Director
View profileMichael JoyceUniversity of Montreal
umontreal.ca
Michael Joyce has over 15 years of experience working on large-scale, collaborative cybercrime and cybersecurity research projects. He formerly served as the executive director for the Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (HC2P) and Canada’s Smart Cybersecurity Network (SERENE-RISC). He is a doctoral candidate researching the human aspect of cybercrime victimization at the University of Montreal’s cybercrime prevention laboratory. He is also the host of the Cybercrimeology podcast which discusses cybercrime science and research.
