Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Cyber Crime and How to
Protect Yourself from Them
As Internet usage is growing daily the world
is coming closer. The World Wide Web sounds like a vast phenomenon but
surprisingly one of its qualities is bringing the world closer making it a
smaller place to live in for its users. However, it has also managed to create
another problem for people who spend long hours browsing the Cyber World –
which is cyber crimes.
While law enforcement agencies are trying to tackle this
problem, it is growing steadily and many people have become victims of hacking,
theft, identity theft and malicious software. One of the best ways to avoid
being a victim of cyber crimes and protecting your sensitive information is by
making use of impenetrable security that uses a unified system of software and
hardware to authenticate any information that is sent or accessed over the
Internet. However, before you can understand more about this system, let us
find out more about cyber crimes.
Types of Cyber Crimes
When any crime is committed over the Internet
it is referred to as a cyber crime. There are many types of cyber crimes and
the most common ones are explained below:
Hacking: This is a type of crime wherein a person’s computer is
broken into so that his personal or sensitive information can be accessed. In
the United States, hacking is classified as a felony and punishable as such.
This is different from ethical hacking, which many organizations use to check
their Internet security protection. In hacking, the criminal uses a variety of
software to enter a person’s computer and the person may not be aware that his
computer is being accessed from a remote location.
Theft: This crime occurs when a person violates copyrights and
downloads music, movies, games and software. There are even peer sharing
websites which encourage software piracy and many of these websites are now
being targeted by the FBI. Today, the justice system is addressing this cyber
crime and there are laws that prevent people from illegal downloading.
Cyber Stalking: This is a kind of online harassment
wherein the victim is subjected to a barrage of online messages and emails.
Typically, these stalkers know their victims and instead of resorting to
offline stalking, they use the Internet to stalk. However, if they notice that
cyber stalking is not having the desired effect, they begin offline stalking
along with cyber stalking to make the victims’ lives more miserable.
Identity Theft: This has become a major problem with
people using the Internet for cash transactions and banking services. In this
cyber crime, a criminal accesses data about a person’s bank account, credit
cards, Social Security, debit card and other sensitive information to siphon
money or to buy things online in the victim’s name. It can result in major
financial losses for the victim and even spoil the victim’s credit history.
Malicious Software: These are Internet-based software or
programs that are used to disrupt a network. The software is used to gain
access to a system to steal sensitive information or data or causing damage to
software present in the system.
Child soliciting and Abuse: This is also a type of cyber crime
wherein criminals solicit minors via chat rooms for the purpose of child
pornography. The FBI has been spending a lot of time monitoring chat rooms
frequented by children with the hopes of reducing and preventing child abuse
and soliciting.
Causes of Cyber Crime
Wherever the rate of return on investment is
high and the risk is low, you are bound to find people willing to take
advantage of the situation. This is exactly what happens in cyber crime.
Accessing sensitive information and data and using it means a rich harvest of
returns and catching such criminals is difficult. Hence, this has led to a rise
in cyber crime across the world.
History of Cyber Crime
When computers and networks came into being in
the 1990s, hacking was done basically to get more information about the
systems. Hackers even competed against one another to win the tag of the best
hacker. As a result, many networks were affected; right from the military to
commercial organizations. Initially, these hacking attempts were brushed off as
mere nuisance as they did not pose a long-term threat. However, with malicious
software becoming ubiquitous during the same period, hacking started making
networks and systems slow. As hackers became more skillful, they started using
their knowledge and expertise to gain benefit by exploiting and victimizing
others.
Cyber Crime in Modern Society
Today, criminals that indulge in cyber crimes
are not driven by ego or expertise. Instead, they want to use their knowledge
to gain benefits quickly. They are using their expertise to steal, deceive and
exploit people as they find it easy to earn money without having to do an
honest day’s work.
Cyber crimes have become a real threat today
and are quite different from old-school crimes, such as robbing, mugging or
stealing. Unlike these crimes, cyber crimes can be committed single handedly
and does not require the physical presence of the criminals. The crimes can be
committed from a remote location and the criminals need not worry about the law
enforcement agencies in the country where they are committing crimes. The same
systems that have made it easier for people to conduct e-commerce and online
transactions are now being exploited by cyber criminals.
Categories of Cyber Crime
Cyber crimes are broadly categorized into
three categories, namely crime against
1. Individual
2. Property
3. Government
Each category can use a variety of methods and
the methods used vary from one criminal to another.
Individual: This type of cyber crime can be in the form of cyber
stalking, distributing pornography, trafficking and “grooming”. Today, law
enforcement agencies are taking this category of cyber crime very seriously and
are joining forces internationally to reach and arrest the perpetrators.
Property: Just like in the real world where a criminal can steal and
rob, even in the cyber world criminals resort to stealing and robbing. In this
case, they can steal a person’s bank details and siphon off money; misuse the
credit card to make numerous purchases online; run a scam to get naïve people
to part with their hard earned money; use malicious software to gain access to
an organization’s website or disrupt the systems of the organization. The
malicious software can also damage software and hardware, just like vandals
damage property in the offline world.
Government: Although not as common as the other two categories, crimes
against a government are referred to as cyber terrorism. If successful, this
category can wreak havoc and cause panic amongst the civilian population. In
this category, criminals hack government websites, military websites or
circulate propaganda. The perpetrators can be terrorist outfits or unfriendly
governments of other nations.
How to Tackle Cyber Crime
It has been seen that most cyber criminals
have a loose network wherein they collaborate and cooperate with one another.
Unlike the real world, these criminals do not fight one another for supremacy
or control. Instead they work together to improve their skills and even help
out each other with new opportunities. Hence, the usual methods of fighting
crime cannot be used against cyber criminals. While law enforcement agencies
are trying to keep pace with cyber criminals, it is proving to be a Herculean
task. This is primarily because the methods used by cyber criminals and
technology keeps changing too quickly for law enforcement agencies to be
effective. That is why commercial institutions and government organizations
need to look at other methods of safeguarding themselves.
Redback Cyber Security Council offers a way to
keep all information confidential by using safe and secure domains that cannot
be tracked or accessed. This security solution can be used by commercial and
governmental organization to ensure an impenetrable network while still making
sure that users can get access to the required information easily.
