Cyber Crime. EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS

Cyber Crime

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413168” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc380413168 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413169” EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS PAGEREF _Toc380413169 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413170” TYPES OF CYBERCRIME PAGEREF _Toc380413170 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413171” Financial cyber crimes PAGEREF _Toc380413171 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413172” Piracy PAGEREF _Toc380413172 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413173” Child Pornography and Cyber-stalking PAGEREF _Toc380413173 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413174” Hacking PAGEREF _Toc380413174 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413175” Cyber-terrorism PAGEREF _Toc380413175 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413176” RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTING CYBERCRIME PAGEREF _Toc380413176 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413177” Back-up and encrypt crucial information PAGEREF _Toc380413177 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413178” Keeping firewall on PAGEREF _Toc380413178 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413179” Update or install antivirus software PAGEREF _Toc380413179 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413180” Update or install antispyware technology PAGEREF _Toc380413180 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413181” Update the operating system PAGEREF _Toc380413181 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413182” Turn off computer systems PAGEREF _Toc380413182 h 6

Introduction

Technology has been one of the most fundamental pillars of the modern world. It has contributed immensely to the increase of efficiency and effectiveness, as well as quality of service in varied sectors. This should underline the reason as to why governments and other entities have made an enormous or vast amount of investment on technology. Needless to say, the introduction of computers and internet in the world of technology has been one of the most groundbreaking steps in the history of technology. While the upside of computers, internet and technology at large are well recognized, there is no guarantee as to the use of technology for the betterment of the human race. Indeed, there have been concerns as to the use of technology in a manner that endangers the human race. This is especially with regard to cyber crime.

The term cyber crime has been used to underline any criminal act that involves the use of computers and networks including carrying out of traditional crimes such as fraud and gambling through the internet (Brenner, 2010). Cybercrime has been identified as one of the fastest growing facets of crime with an increasing number of criminals exploiting the anonymity, convenience and speed with which modern technologies come in an effort to commit a wide range of criminal activities (Brenner, 2010). Such criminal activities may include but are not limited to attacks against computer systems and date, internet auction fraud, the distribution of images pertaining to child sexual abuse, online financial services penetration, and identity theft, not to mention the employment of spamware, botnets, viruses and email scams such as phishing (Brenner, 2010). Underlining the seriousness of this category of crime is the fact that internet’s global nature has enabled criminals to undertake almost every form of criminal activity at any part of the world. This, in essence, underlines the importance of all countries putting in place domestic offline controls that would eliminate crimes undertaken in cyberspace. On the same note, internet has fallen in the hands of terrorists, who have been using it to recruit and incite radicalization, which poses an incredible risk and threat to international, as well as national security (Brenner, 2010). The threat of terrorism has forced law enforcement authorities to address vulnerabilities pertaining to security, which are associated with information technology infrastructure such as electrical grids, power plants, computer systems and information systems of government and key corporations (Brenner, 2010).

EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS

Looking at the trends pertaining to cybercrime, it is evident that there have been immense changes in the nature and the players or perpetrators of cybercrime. Scholars note that cybercrime, in the past, would be perpetrated by individuals or even small groups of people. This, however, has been changing with a trend emerging where criminally minded technology professionals, as well as traditional organized crime syndicates have started working together and combining their expertise and resources thereby heightening the damage and the cost of cybercrime (Brenner, 2012). Indeed, criminals have found this approach to be extremely effective in perpetrating their criminal activities. Research shows that the cost of cybercrime in the entire world for 2007 and 2008 was more than $8 billion. Even more worrying, especially for corporate entities, is the fact that corporate cyber espionage has allowed cyber criminals to steal intellectual property whose estimated worth is $1 trillion in the entire world (Brenner, 2012).

TYPES OF CYBERCRIMECyber crimes have been categorized in varied groups depending on their nature. Indeed, scholars have used three rationales to categorize cybercrime. The first category involves the use of a computer as a weapon to undertake conventional crime that is seen in the physical world including illegal gambling and fraud (Brenner, 2012). The second category involves the computer of an entity as a target, where computers are attacked through, for example, spreading malware and viruses. The third category involves computers as accessories, where they are used as filing cabinet for the storage of stolen or illegal information.

Financial cyber crimesThese are defined as crimes that disrupt the capacity of a business to carry out e-commerce. Companies have been investing heavily on the enhancement of commercial transactions online. It is worth noting that the development of e-commerce is dependent on public confidence on the security pertaining to information that is stored and processed on computer networks, as well as a predictable environment that acts as a strong deterrent to computer crime (Yar, 2006). The capacity of a business entity to undertake e-commerce is heavily dependent on its capacity to minimize e-risk. Financial cyber crimes include DDOS (distributed denial of service), e-forgery and viruses, e-fraud, e-extortion, as well as stealing of proprietary information.

Piracy

This involves the theft of software and creative works through illegal duplication and faking of genuine works and their distribution while passing them off as genuine. While the software industry has played an immense role in the creation of products that have enhanced the quality of lives in the modern world, piracy or software theft has crippled the global market of software, as well as the capacity to create new products (Yar, 2006). Underlining the seriousness of this crime is the fact that software theft, counterfeiting and illegal distribution resulted in costs of up to US$21 billion for Asia Pacific region in 2011 (Brenner, 2012). This included all packaged software used on computers included system software, business applications, security packages, databases, consumer applications, reference software and PC games. This has crippled creativity and growth in software and creative works development.

Child Pornography and Cyber-stalking

The internet has been used as a powerful tool for exposing children to pornography or even posting naked pictures of underage kids (Brenner, 2010). This has also increased the exposure of children to pedophiles, especially considering the accessibility of porn sites to children from the comfort of their houses.

Cyber-stalking, on the other hand, involves persistent actions of harassment made towards an individual through the use of internet. In some cases, stalking would be followed by violent acts or even verbal attacks on an individual

Hacking

This term underlines the illegal interference, invasion or interruption of a network or computer system done for the thrill of the challenge, to pass a political message, or even out of personal notoriety or for financial reasons (Brenner, 2010). Hackers may siphon money from other accounts through stealing credit card data and transfer the cash to their accounts, or even extort cash from corporations and individuals. The threat from hacking is primarily economic in nature with no real physical danger involved.

Cyber-terrorismThis is defined as the attack meted against a computer network or information that is stored in it thereby leading to violence against property and persons, or at least result in sufficient harm as to generate fear. This does not include attacks that interfere with nonessential services or that are simply a costly nuisance.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTING CYBERCRIMEScholars have identified varied strategies that may be used to lower the possibility of cyber attacks or even the cost of loss of data in case of an attack.

Back-up and encrypt crucial informationIt is imperative that a schedule for undertaking regular system upgrades and critical data backups is established. This would guard against the loss of critical data in case of a cyber-attack. It is imperative that this data is stored in remote locations away from the office (Brenner, 2012). On the same note, this information should have strong password codes or even be encrypted to increase the difficulty of accessing it. Regular modification of passwords would lower their vulnerability to compromise.

Keeping firewall onFirewall comes in handy in protecting computer networks against hackers that may access and steal sensitive information from the system (Brenner, 2012). Firewalls have been widely recommended especially for single computers and may be bought alongside operating systems, hardware routers or even individually.

Update or install antivirus softwareThese are designed to avert malicious software programs from entrenching themselves to the computer systems. Once they detect a virus or malware, they disarm or delete them automatically (Brenner, 2010). It is imperative that antivirus software are updated regularly to ensure that they protect the computer against new malware.

Update or install antispyware technologyThis technology guards against software installed in one’s computer aimed at collecting information about an individual or his activities without his knowledge and consent. While antispyware technology would protect an individual from spyware, it is imperative that one complements the technology by desisting from downloading software from suspicious sites or even emails (Brenner, 2010).

Update the operating systemOperating systems undergo periodic update so as to align them with emerging technology requirements, as well as fix security holes (Yar, 2006). It is imperative that updates are installed so as to ensure that the computer incorporates the latest protection.

Turn off computer systemsWhile keeping computers on would ensure that an individual is always ready for action, it increases the vulnerability of the systems to hackers and other unwanted attacks. Firewall protection should be complemented by turning computers off as this would sever the attackers’ connection (Yar, 2006).

In conclusion, cyber crime has become extremely common in the recent times. This has resulted in immense losses with 2008 data showing that more than $8 billion was lost to cybercrime (Brenner, 2012). This has undoubtedly increased in the recent years. Cyber crimes are criminal activities that are carried out using computers and internet. The varied types of cybercrimes are financial, hacking, child pornography and piracy, cyber-terrorism and cyber-stalking. Indeed, cyber crimes may result in loss of lives (for example in cyber-terrorism and cyber-stalking), or even loss of finances especially in the case of hacking, piracy and financial crimes such as e-fraud. In most cases, they pose a risk to the security of individuals and firms. This underlines the necessity of putting up measures that would prevent cyber crimes. It is recommended that individuals back up critical data regularly and ensure that the data is encrypted so as to increase the difficulty of cyber attacks on the data (Brenner, 2012). In addition, it is imperative that the systems are updated regularly to ensure they have the capacity to fend off attacks. Antispyware, antivirus and firewalls should be installed, turned on and updated regularly so as to fend off attacks. These should be complemented by turning off computers so as to cut off any connections that may have been established with the attackers.

References

Yar, M. (2006). Cybercrime and society. London: SAGE Publ.

Brenner, S. W. (2010). Cybercrime: Criminal threats from cyberspace. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

Brenner, S. W. (2012). Cybercrime: Criminal threats from cyberspace. New Delhi: Pentagon Press.