Concept of Cybercrime
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 many 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 behavior
using the Internet along with some novel illegal activities. Most of the
cybercrimes are found carried out for financial benefit. However, some cybercrimes
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 cybercrimes 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 cybercrime 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 signatory, 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.
- 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.
- 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 cybercrime is called a grey hat
hacker.
- 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,
cyber stalkers use social media, websites and search engines to intimidate
a user and instill fear. Usually, the cyber stalkers 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.
- Crypto jacking: Crypto jacking 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 crypto mining 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
- Define cybercrime. List out
different types of cybercrime.
- What is hacking? What are
different types of hackers?
