Technology has become
a powerful, abuse prone tool and platform for criminals to use it for illegal
activities worldwide. Criminals somehow identify a few technical loopholes
offered by cyberspace. They have outpaced expectations, giving rise to a large number
of threats by exploiting the digital technology to serve/fulfil their
objectives.
Cybercrime is any type of criminal activity that takes place primarily on
cyberspace or Internet involving a computer, networked device or a network.
Some examples include spamming, identity theft, hacking, phishing etc.
Cybercrime represents an extension of existing criminal behaviour using the
Internet along with some novel illegal activities. Most of the cybercrimes are
found carried out for financial benefit. However, some cyber crimes are carried
out against computers or devices intending to damage or disable them, while
others use computers or networks to spread malware, illegal information, images
or other materials. Some cyber crimes do both.
Cybercrime can include many types of profit-driven criminal activity, including
ransomware attacks, email and internet fraud, identity fraud as well as
attempts to steal financial account, credit card or other payment card
information. Cybercriminals may also target an individual's private information
as well as corporate data for theft and resale. Rarely, cybercrime aims to
damage computers for reasons other than profit. These could be political or
personal.
The ubiquity of internet connectivity has increased the volume and pace of
cybercrime activities because the criminal no longer needs to be physically
present while committing a crime. The internet's speed, convenience, anonymity
and lack of borders make cyber crime easier to commit.
Cybercriminal activity may be committed by individuals or small groups with
relatively little technical skill or by highly organized global criminal groups
that may include highly skilled developers and others with relevant expertise.
To further reduce the chances of detection and prosecution, cybercriminals
often choose to operate in countries with weak or nonexistent cyber laws.
Cybercriminals include everyone from the lone user engaged in cyberbullying to
state-sponsored actors. Cybercrimes generally do not occur in a vacuum; they
are, in many ways, distributed in nature. That is, cybercriminals typically
rely on other actors to complete the crime. Cybercriminals use various attack
vectors to carry out their cyber attacks and are constantly seeking new methods
and techniques for achieving their goals, while avoiding detection and
arrest.
POINTS TO
REMEMBER
The Council of Europe
Convention on Cybercrime, to which the United States is a signatary, defines
cybercrime as a wide range of malicious activities, including the illegal
interception of data, system interferences that compromise network integrity
and availability, and copyright infringements.
Types
of Cybercrime
·
Hacking: The process of identifying and exploiting the
weaknesses in computer systems and/or computer networks is called hacking. A
hacker is a person with the knowledge of computer programming and computer
security who finds and exploits the weakness in computer systems and/or
networks. Hackers are classified according to the intent of their actions. There
are mainly three types of hackers.
o
Black Hat Hacker: Hackers who use their computer expertise to
break into systems and steal information illegally are called black hat
hackers. Black hat hackers are also known as crackers.
o
Grey Hat Hacker: Gray hat hackers fall between white and black
hats on the moral spectrum. A former black hat hacker who turns away from crime
to a white hat hacker and helps fight cyber crime is called a grey hat
hacker.
o
White Hat Hacker: A hacker who is a cyber defender and specializes
in testing the security of information systems is called white hat hacker. They
will attempt to hack into a company's network and then present the company with
a report detailing the existing security holes and how those holes can be
fixed. White hat hackers are also known as ethical hackers.
·
DDOS
(Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks: These are used to make an online service unavailable and take
the network down by overwhelming the site with traffic from a variety of
sources. Large networks of infected devices known as Botnets are created by
depositing malware on the users' computers. The hacker then hacks into the
system once the network is down.
·
Identity
Theft: This cybercrime
occurs when a criminal gains access to a user's personal information to steal
funds, access confidential information, or participate in tax or health
insurance fraud. They can also open a phone/internet account in your name, use
your name to plan a criminal activity and claim government benefits in your
name. They may do this by finding out the user's passwords through hacking,
retrieving personal information from social media, or sending phishing
emails.
·
Credit
card fraud: An attack that occurs
when hackers infiltrate the retailers' system to get the credit card and/or banking
information of their customers, Stolen payment cards can be bought and sold in
bulk on darknet markets, where hacking groups have stolen mass quantities of
credit cards profit by selling to lower-level cybercriminals who profit through
credit card fraud against individual accounts.
·
Cyberstalking: This kind of cybercrime involves online
harassment where the user is subjected to a plethora of online messages and
emails. Typically cyberstalkers use social media, websites and search engines
to intimidate a user and instil fear. Usually, the cyberstalkers know their
victim and scare the person for their safety.
·
Cyber
Extortion: It concerns a crime
involving an attack or threat of an attack coupled with a demand for money to
stop the attack. One form of cyber extortion is the ransomware attack, in which
the attacker gains access to an organization's systems and encrypts its
documents and files; or anything of potential value, making the data
inaccessible until a ransom is paid, usually in some form of cryptocurrency,
such as bitcoin.
·
Cryptojacking: Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of
someone else's computer to mine cryptocurrency without the victim's knowledge
or consent. Hackers do this by either getting the victim to click on a
malicious link in an email that loads cryptomining code on the computer, or by
infecting a website or online ad with JavaScript code that auto-executes once
loaded in the victim's browser.
·
Cyberbullying: Cyberbullying refers to all kinds of online
harassment, including stalking, sexual harassment, doxing (exposing
someone's personal information, like their physical address, online without
their consent), and fraping (breaking into someone's social media and
making fake posts on their behalf).
·
Cyberespionage: A crime involving a cybercriminal who hacks
into systems or networks to gain access to confidential information held by a
government or other organization. Attacks may be motivated by profit or by
ideology. Cyberespionage activities can include every type of cyberattack to
gather, modify or destroy data, as well as using network-connected devices,
like webcams or closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras, to spy on a targeted
individual or groups and monitoring communications, including emails, text
messages and instant messages.
·
Social
Engineering: Social engineering is
a tactic used by cyber criminals that uses lies and manipulation to trick
people into revealing their personal information. Social engineering attacks
frequently involve very convincing fake stories to lure victims into a trap. It
involves criminals making direct contact with you usually by phone or email.
They want to gain your confidence and usually pose as a customer service agent
so you’ll give the necessary information needed. Cybercriminals will find out
what they can do about you on the internet and then attempt to add you as a
friend on social accounts. Once they gain access to an account, they can sell
your information.
·
Distributing
Prohibited/Illegal Content:
Cybercrime involves criminals sharing and distributing inappropriate content that
can be highly distressing and offensive. Offensive content can include, but is
not limited to, porn videos, videos with intense violent and videos of criminal
activity. Illegal content includes materials advocating terrorism-related acts
and child exploitation material. This type of content exists both on the
everyday internet and on the dark web, an anonymous network.
Assignment
3
1.
Define cybercrime.
List out different types of cybercrime.
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