Cyber crime and computer crime have become a terms that we hear in the news with
some frequency. To protect yourself from cyber crime, you must first understand
what it is and how it can work against you. With the increasing popularity of shopping
websites, online banking and other sites that require sensitive personal and financial
data, cyber crime has become an ever-present threat.
Cyber crime can be hard to detect and even harder to stop once it has happened.
It can possibly have long-term negative impacts on victims.
Cyber crime encompasses any criminal act dealing with
computers and
networks (called
hacking). Additionally, cyber crime also includes
traditional crimes conducted through the
Internet. For example; hate crimes,
telemarketing and Internet fraud, identity theft, and credit card account thefts
are considered to be cyber crimes when the illegal activities are committed through
the use of a computer and the Internet.
Computer crime issues have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding
hacking,
copyright infringement through
warez, child pornography, and
child grooming.
There are also problems of
privacy when
confidential information is
lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.
The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! That is not surprising
considering the fact that the abacus, which is thought to be the earliest form of
a computer, has been around since 3500 B.C. in India, Japan and China. The era of
modern computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles Babbage.
Computer crime encompass a broad range of potentially illegal activities. Generally,
however, it may be divided into one of two types of categories: -
- crimes that target computer networks or devices directly
- crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which
is independent of the computer network or device.
Examples of crimes that primarily target computer networks or devices would include,
- Malware and malicious code
- Denial-of-service attacks
- Computing viruses
Examples of crimes that merely use computer networks or devices would include,
- Cyber stalking
- Fraud and identity theft
- Phishing scams
- Information warfare
A common example is when a person starts to steal information from sites, or cause
damage to, a computer or computer network. This can be entirely virtual in that
the information only exists in digital form, and the damage, while real, has no
physical consequence other than the machine ceases to function. In some legal systems,
intangible property cannot be stolen and the damage must be visible, e.g. as resulting
from a blow from a hammer. Where human-centric terminology is used for crimes relying
on natural language skills and innate gullibility, definitions have to be modified
to ensure that fraudulent behavior remains criminal no matter how it is committed.
A computer can be a source of evidence. Even though the computer is not directly
used for criminal purposes, it is an excellent device for record keeping, particularly
given the power to encrypt the data. If this evidence can be obtained and decrypted,
it can be of great value to criminal investigators.
