Introduction
Cybercrime describe a heinous act that interferes with the functioning of the computer networks by exposing the users of the networks together with the systems to risks. The act is committed intentionally with the objective of creating interruptions that disrupt the normal functioning of the system. Computer users feel the harm directly or through a second party depending on the nature of the tool used in committing the crime (Hull and Sivanesar, 2013, p 98). Computer users across the globe are facing threat, due to the rise in cases of cyber crime, and this is necessitating the intervention of the government through enactment of policies that govern the usage of computer technology. According to Richardson (2008, p 3), cyber crime has grown to catastrophic levels thus posing a challenge to global security. Consequently, besides cyber crime affecting the security of individual users of the system, it has a significant effect on the social, political and economic aspects of people’s live hood. As discussed in the piece, cyber crime is an advanced form of violation of the law that poses challenges that were inexistent to the globe prior to the introduction of computers.
Forms of Cyber Crime
Critics categorize computer crime into two groups namely; offences targeting people using computers, and offenses, which interfere with the functioning of computer networks. The common crimes that affect networks in this case include viruses, restrictive access, and malwares.
Law Enforcement have always been tasked with having to evolve with the trends in crime throughout history. Unfortunately for Law Enforcement, they are always on the back end of that and are often behind for months before being able to counteract. Cyber crimes are no different. Cyber Crimes are a new and always developing form of crime that bases its entire agenda from taking advantage of its victims over the internet. Law Enforcement 's job is to assess and work to stop these crimes but it 's not that easy. These cyber crimes are heavily in the favor of the criminals and the lack of assistance to Law Enforcement makes it harder for them. The scams are always changing and the costs are adding up as Law Enforcement takes on Cyber crimes.
At the beginning of the second millennium, an era of information society, based on the increasing use of computers, computer technology, information technology, making available "everything to everyone, everywhere and always" very urgent problem of improving the legislation in the fight against various kinds of offenses in this area, and first of all crimes. Currently, computer crime, has acquired an international dimension, is already receiving an adequate assessment of the international community, in particular, is reflected in a special Convention on Cybercrime, signed in 2001 in Budapest, representatives of 30 countries, members of the Council of Europe. The scale of a virtual crime using the internet in the US can be seen from the following
When you begin to examine how the internet and crime are related, you must first examine exactly what the internet is and how it works. The internet is a global system of computers and networks that are interconnected and service billions of users at any given time. This could be considered a cybercriminals’ playground. Because billions of computers are connected via a vast array of private and public networks including many government agencies, it is easy to see how a cybercriminal could obtain valuable information or unleash denial of service attacks that could cripple many of these systems.
The subject of cyber crime may be broadly classified firstly as under the following three groups.
Property: These kind of crimes includes unauthorized computer tres passing via cyber space, transmission of harmful programmer or possession of comutersied information.
Computer-crime or commonly referred to as Cyber-Crime or ICT Crime (van der Merwe, 2008, p.61) is a new type of criminal activity which started showing its ugly head in the early 90 's as the internet became a common place for online users worldwide. This is due to the fact that computer criminals now have the opportunity to gain access to sensitive information if they possess the necessary know-how. This generally causes huge problems in the economic sphere and results in companies and individuals having to take costly steps to ensure their safety and reduction in commission of cyber-crime (Gordon, 2000, p.423). Cybercrime or also known as computer crime can be defined as any criminal activity that involves a computer and can be divided into two
To first understand computer crime one must understand first what crime is. According to Diana Kendall, "crime is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail or other sanctions" (Kendall 1999; 161). Yet since computer technology is so new it has really no laws to govern it. A law is formal norms that are
“There are two kinds of people in America today: those who have experienced a foreign cyber attack and know it, and those who have experienced a foreign cyber attack and don 't know it.” (Frank Wolf). The world has become more connected today than ever before. The world’s technology is growing larger and the internet’s traffic is boosting. Major internet-related industries are doubling profits because of the online traffic. With all the wonderful and positive things about the Internet, there is a downside. Anyone using the internet is exposed to the security risks of being part of a large network. The world can now be referred to as the “Cyber Age.” Computer crime, also known as cybercrime is a crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network. The computer can be used to perform the crime directly or indirectly or the computer might be the bull’s eye (the target). A cybercrime is performed for many reasons. This group of hackers are motivated by the huge number of people online at a given time and the hacker might target a single person or a group of individuals or even a whole nation. His motive is to harm the victim’s physical and mental state. Usually when doing a cybercrime, the internet is the sole means through which the hacker connects to the victim. This connection could be through emails, in a chat room, ads, etc.… These crimes could cause severe damage to the victim and even go as far as threatening a nation’s
There are several common types of cyber-attacks. Malware, for example, is a code with malicious intent that includes cyber threats such as Trojan Horses, viruses, spyware, worms, and other malicious programs; it’s commonly used to damage computer systems or data theft. Users can get malware by installing
Cybercrime is moving at the most disturbing trend nowadays. The fear of cyber apocalypse is still abounding, while the potential extent of damage that cause by cybercrime is totally not bounded. Currently, “INTERPOL is uniquely positioned to fight against cybercrime on the global scale through research into emerging crime and they even try to develop innovative new policing tools.” However, the result is still the same. The government does play an important role in stopping this but the most prevention need to be done by the commercial entities that produce software and those with the ability to stop this crime. Cybercrime will leave a huge impact towards the society, name it a company, government or normal people, they will all feel the impact of cybercrime. Whether cybercrime will continue to increase in statistic ten years from now is unknowable in a sense, but if the internet is continue growing, this issue need to be solved so that the realities of cybercrime will be proportional to the real-world crimes, if not it should be
Focus question: In what major ways is crime being committed in the world? How can they be countered?
With the Evolving development in the technology of computers and communications, the world has benefited a lot, but the price might also be very high. Computer crimes are now becoming severe problems that are costing up to billions of dollars. The US, where the computer was invented and where the Internet was developed, it is considered to be the homeland of the worst computer crimes so far. Other countries are also contracting this problem as their governments, businesses and individuals become more dependent on computers and networks. Computer crimes are actively threatening the future of communication, confidentiality and even the integrity of companies and organizations.
Viruses, worms and trojans are also a common internet crime. Computer viruses are programs that can copy themselves in order to infect a computer without the knowledge of the user. These can be spread by e-mail, flash drives, floppy disks, or any other form of portable memory. Worms are similar in that the user is unaware, but the point of these is to send the virus to as many people as possible. Therefore, the worm does not attach itself to the computer, but instead to the e-mail so it can be sent out again and again. Trojans appear to be innocent to the computer user, but in fact is used to open a backdoor to the computer so others can access. They can also be used to transmit viruses or worms. Most people can protect against these by installing anti-virus software that will review information to make sure it is safe before the user can open. There are also numerous firewalls that can be installed on a computer to make sure only authorized material is transmitted.
In a world where information and communications technology (ICT) that provides the mode so people can work with each other electronically in a digital form over large distances, cyber threats and crimes are of great concern. Computerized technologies are implemented to improve and enhance the efficiency of creative and working processes in every facet of life and the world of cybercrime is no exception.
Nevertheless, computer crime is where show with intention and associated with computer through any way and cause victim suffer or can cause suffering, loss and continuous. Computer crime is any illegal activity where knowledge on computer technology serves to realize it.