I. Introduction
Most people are familiar with Cybercrime or Computer Crime being crime carried out by use of computers or the Internet. With the growing use of the Internet it is no surprise to anyone that Cybercrime or Computer Crime has been on the rise and has been since the coming of the Internet and anyone can be a victim of cybercrime. Take for example in 2012, 7% of the U.S. population had their identity stolen from online (Harrell, Lang, 2013, pg. 1). There is no denying that the formation and growth of the Internet has had an impact on crime (Wall, 2011, pg. 8). The purpose of this paper is to explain and give an overview of the types of cybercrime, how law enforcement handle these types of crimes, and how prevent cybercrime.
II. Types
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Computer as a target means just what it sounds like. The computer system is infected or taken over by software that is intended to do harm to the device. These harmful software or malware attacks on computers can involve viruses, worms, Dos attacks, and hacking (Hess, Orthmann, Cho, 2017, pg. 547). Worms can be even more harmful than most of the others. Most people know that to get a virus you need to click some sort of link or take some type of action with the computer to get one. With worms however all they need is an open door, a network connection, and it will be able to infect many machines connected to the network and damage it unlike a virus that harms a targeted computer (Hess, Orthmann, Cho, 2017, pg.547). Many people in today’s society may be familiar with how harmful these malwares can be they may not know why cyber criminals choose to use them. One of the main reasons is extortion of companies. They do this by “threatening to or actually damaging the company’s computers, network, or web presence” (Hess, Orthmann, Cho, 2017, pg.548). By threatening companies to hack or infect their systems this way they are to extort large sums of money out of these …show more content…
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that cybercrime costs the global economy over $400 billion per year, and that in 2013 over 3,000 companies in the United States had their systems fall victim to cybercrime (Cyber Risks, 2015, para. 3). One of the reasons that cybercrime is so prevalent is the lack of education and prevention by businesses and individuals. One of the biggest ways to prevent cybercrime is to keep your computer and other devices current with the latest patches and updates. This keeps attackers from exploiting flaws in software. Firewalls and virus protection software are some of the most common ways people and companies protect their computers and are usually the first line of defense against outside attackers going through the data coming in while accessing the internet (Norton, 2017, para. 5). These firewalls and antivirus software would be what protect businesses and people from computer as a target cybercrimes. Another good thing that can help is to have backups of original files and maintain them usually on removable storage devices that can be secured away. When it comes to protecting from scams, frauds, and other computer as tool offenses it is important for users to be cautious when online as simple as that may seem. A lot of scammers will use pop up warning or ads. A website
Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., Liederbach, J., & Holt, T. J. (2011). Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Technology has opened new encounters and opportunities for the criminal justice system. There are so many new practices of criminal activity, such as computer crimes. There are different types of computer crimes that many people become victims of every day. Computer crime is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target ("Computer Crime: Chapter 2: What Are the Crimes?", n.d.). Crimes such as data diddling, pump and dump, social engineering and spoofing are computer crimes. Even though these crimes are difficult by privacy issues, the new technology has made investigations and prosecutions well organized and effective. Though views are different on the pros and cons of specific technological changes in the criminal justice system, there is an agreement the system has changed affectedly ("Effects of Technology in Criminal Justice | eHow", n.d.).
In today’s world, we are all in some way connected to or involved with the Internet, it is really hard not to be. We all use different services that we feel either augment our daily lives or make them more pleasurable every day. We all take a sort of deceitful comfort in the basic inconspicuousness of the Internet. When we think about it, could it end up being the single biggest risk to our own safety? Most people don’t take the threat of cybercrimes as seriously because unfortunately they don’t realize just how life altering these threats are, until it’s too late. There are many types of cybercrime being committed daily that everybody needs to protect themselves from such as identity theft and fraud.
Executive Summary: The Information Technology Sector in the United States is an extremely complex environment supporting and interdependent between all 16 sectors. According to the department of Homeland Security, “These virtual and distributed functions produce and provide hardware, software, IT systems and services, and in collaboration with the Communications Sector the Internet” (DHS, 2014).
“If you use a computer, you’re vulnerable to malware. And if you’re vulnerable to malware, you’re enabling crime on a mass scale (Pot, 2010).” Malware is usually in the form of viruses, Trojan worms, and other software that can be stored on a computer undetected. Identity theft is another way computing devices are used in crimes today. Identity theft is basically when someone gains access to your personal information and uses it to their benefit. “This could range from a black-hat hacker stealing your online banking account login and password to getting access to your social security number and using it to pretend to be you (Pot, 2010).” “In America alone there are almost 9 million victims of identity theft every year (Pot, 2010).” Malware and identity theft can affect a company's data and information. Hackers can access bank accounts and steal thousands of dollars, get business documents and used them for their own personal gain, or even use the information as
(Consumer Information: Malware, 2016) One of the first and most important steps is installing security software from reliable and reputable companies. Companies such as Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, Bitdefender offer some of the top internet security programs. (Egan, 2016)These companies and many others offer protections at reasonable prices and cater to different areas and levels of computer security needed by the user. There really is no excuse not to have security on your computer or devices because many companies will even offer basic protection for free. It truly is so tempting to click on things, download things for free or simply upload updates or add-ons that you believe are needed to properly run programs that you use and not uncommon for many people to do, even on a daily basis. We get things from people that we know and automatically trust the source, not knowing whether or not their computer has been infected with any of these malware. In many cases, things are spread unknowingly and sometimes innocently. I feel the best way to protect yourself is to be prepared, proactive and smart. Set yourself for
A cyber-crime is an illegal activity that takes place on the computer or internet (Williams). Before the internet was invented criminals were stealing information from the computers committing data theft (VPN). The first major cyber-crime was in the 80s, criminals would send a lot of scams to the inbox of emails (VPN). Most of the scams included a desperate story hoping that someone would feel bad for them and send them money or they asked for bank card numbers in order to send them some money. Shortly after is when Congress passed a bill making it illegal (VPN). In the 90s the major cyber-crime was viruses (VPN). Viruses were sent through various websites and once opened the virus puts copies of itself into the computer without the owner knowing (Williams). Once the virus makes copies it slows the computer down, sends pop-ups to the computer screen, and can even shut the computer down (Williams). When social media became essential in the 2000s identity theft became a problem (VPN). People upload all of their information to their accounts giving all of the criminals’ easy access to all personal information (VPN). Every day someone makes a new Facebook profile of someone to scam them and steal information from their friends. Cybercrimes
In today’s society technology is used for everything. With the invention of computers and the internet this open doors to the cyber world. Today you can do almost anything without having to leave your home. The internet gives us the opportunity of shopping online, ordering food online, working from home and video chatting with friends and family across the world. Everyone has a computer and internet access in their homes. While the internet is really convenient it also opens doors for cybercrimes, loss of privacy and the need for computer security.
Today in present, with the improvements in technology and science new concepts are integrated in our lives. Cyber crime is among those concepts that did not exist 15 to 20 years ago. In the old days only conventional crime was discussed, which refers to those traditional, illegal behaviors that most people think of as crime. In today one has to be careful not only against conventional crime but also cybercrime also known as “faceless crime” it’s the latest and the most complicated problem in the new century. Cybercrime consists of all criminal actions against communication devices in a network such as Internet, telephone lines or mobile network. Cyber crime can be observed among people at various age groups as it is easier to commit compared to other types of crime like murder, kidnapping or human trafficking.
In today's society, many aspects of crime committed on a regular basis. Civilians take advantage of people all the time using online resources such as a fraudulent website requiring credit card information to get a free monthly trial. Other examples of cyber crimes are online chatting website, full of predators or websites needing a downloadable program that contains a hacking virus. Sadly, there are many cases of cyber crime all over the internet. The acts of cyber crimes are considered violent acts like any other. Every day citizens are constantly losing money and being victimized due to these fraudulent activities. Cyber crime, including fraud, identity theft, stalking, and hacking, is a growing problem which can be prevented by taking the proper precautions.
These types of crimes have become a matter of importance for the consumers as well the business firms because it involves large eviction of the amount in terms of money. In these types of crimes, computer and Internet are the primary factor (Spinello, 2000). A high percentage of population is using computers in the Australia, United States as well as other developed nations. These people are much more connected with the world by the use of internet. They are using the computer for fun, business, e-commerce, e-marketing, etc.; thus, it has become an essential part of life and daily routine (Wall, 2008).
...ntial information from a user. Luckily, there are reliable ways of defending against them. The most reliable way is to install strong security software that has the capacity to defend against the multifaceted forms of threats. Avoiding P2P file sharing sites and scanning email attachments before downloading them are also a surefire way of protecting a computer against malware threats. Basic acts like using an updated browser and allowing Windows updates to install and update themselves are also necessary to keep a machine safe. Furthermore, checking validity of individual website addresses and installing authenticated software can also help a computer user remain safe from potential data theft and possible damage of useful programs. It may also pay good dividends to backup files. In case of a lethal malware attack, backed-up files can always be recovered easily.
In the modern world of technology, many of us still consider being hacked a rare issue we will not have to encounter in our lifetime. The unfortunate truth is that everyone who uses a computer or cell phone is at a high risk of being hacked. In a post by Information Security, they reveal, “Three out of four Americans will be a victim of cyber-crime” (Goldberg 1). Cybercrime is defined as a crime conducted via the internet or some other computer network. The frightening high statistics of being a victim of cybercrime makes me ask the question, what can we do to protect ourselves more efficiently against cyber intuitions?
It's hard to imagine that anyone in today's technologically oriented world could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to attack (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Yesterday's bank robbers have become today's computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Home computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and data, which are subject to attack. Even if this information is not confidential, having to reconstruct what has been destroyed by a hacker can take days (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). William Cheswick, a network-security specialist at AT&T Bell Labs, says the home computers that use the Internet are singularly vulnerable to attack. "The Internet is like a vault with a screen door on the back," says Cheswick. "I don't need jackhammers and atom bombs to get in when I can walk in through the door" (Quittner 44). The use of the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to communicate.
Cybercrime is a global issue plaguing the world. The dictionary defines cybercrime as “crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network”(Merriam-Webster). The definition remains very broad because the word “cyber” is defined as “relating to the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality.” Due to the growing number of people gaining access to the internet, rapid development of technology, and the globalization of the world, more of the world population is becoming susceptible to involvement in cybercrime – whether it be as a victim or a criminal. Cybercrime involves different levels of the world on both the victim and criminal side, from an individual citizen, to small groups, businesses, and the government, to the countries of the world.