An Introduction to Cybercrime
A computer can be used to commit a crime or it can be the target. Cybercrime refers to criminals using the Internet. Cybercrime is essentially a combination of these two elements and can be defined as "a crime committed against an individual or group of individuals with the criminal intent to deliberately harm the victim's reputation or to cause direct physical harm to the victim." or cause emotional harm. or using modern communication networks such as the Internet (chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, and groups) and mobile phones (SMS/MMS). [1]
In its simplest form, cybercrime can be defined as any illegal activity that uses computers as its primary means of operation. The US Department of Justice broadens this definition to include any illegal activity that uses computers to preserve evidence. The term 'cyber-crime' can refer to crimes including criminal activity against data, content and copyright infringement, fraud, unauthorized access, child pornography and cyber-stalking.
The United Nations Guidelines for Preventing and Combating Computer Crime include fraud, vandalism and unauthorized access in its definition of cybercrime. Cyber-crime actually covers a wide range of attacks on individuals and organizations alike. These crimes can involve anything from a person's mental or financial condition to the security of a nation.
There are two main categories that define cybercrime. First are those that target computer networks or devices such as viruses, malware or denial of service attacks The second category deals with crimes that are facilitated by computer networks or devices such as cyberstalking, fraud, identity theft, extortion, phishing (spam) and information theft.
To highlight the scale of cyber-crime worldwide, the Norton Cyber-crime Report 2011 revealed that 431 million adults in 24 countries were victims of cyber-crime that year. Computer based crime is increasing at an alarming rate. In the report, Norton estimated the financial cost of global cybercrime at $388 billion. That's more than the international price for marijuana, heroin and cocaine, which is estimated at $288 billion. Assuming it continues at its current growth rate, cyber-crime will soon surpass the entire global drug trafficking market, which is estimated at $411 billion annually.
Cybercrime has expanded to include activities that cross international borders and can now be considered a global epidemic. International law requires cyber criminals to be held accountable before the International Criminal Court. Law enforcement agencies face unique challenges, and the anonymity of the Internet only compounds the issues There are miscommunication issues related to evidence collection, cross-jurisdictional issues and reporting.
It is widely known that victims of Internet crimes are often reluctant to report the crime to the authorities. In some cases the individual or organization may not be aware that a crime has been committed. Although facilities for reporting incidents of cyber-crime have improved in recent years, many victims remain reluctant due to the inevitable embarrassment.
International cooperation is essential for an effective response to global cybercrime. No country can hope to tackle this problem effectively alone. Many computer-based crimes are committed 'off-shore' and present a huge challenge to law enforcement agencies in any country. It is important that organizations around the world develop effective plans to identify, track, arrest and prosecute cybercriminals
For example, over the past two years, Australia has adopted a national Intelligence Fusion capability, a key component of the Commonwealth Organized Crime Strategic Framework (COCSF). This organization brings together expertise, data and technology between different government and law enforcement agencies and enables international cooperation.
The scale of the cyber-crime problem seems almost unimaginable. Given the recent trends and advancements in mobile technology and cloud computing, we understand that this is an ever-evolving and rapidly changing dynamic. There is growing evidence worldwide of newly formed partnerships between government and industry aimed at prevention. This partnership creates opportunities for information sharing and strengthens law enforcement responses to organized Internet-based crime.
This sharing of information creates anxiety in itself. A balance must be found between maximizing the efficient delivery of information and protecting against organized cyber-criminal elements.
Cyber-crime covers such a broad spectrum of criminal enterprise. The examples mentioned above are just a few of the thousands of types of illegal activities.
A computer can be used to commit a crime or it can be the target. Cyber-crime is essentially a combination of these two elements and can be defined as "a crime committed against an individual or group of individuals with the criminal intent to deliberately harm the victim's reputation or to cause direct physical harm to the victim".or cause emotional harm.or using modern communication networks such as the Internet (chat rooms, e-mail, message boards and groups) and mobile phones.[1] In its simplest form, cyber-crime can be defined as any illegal activity that uses computers as its primary means of operation. The term 'cyber-crime' can refer to crimes including criminal activity against data, content and copyright infringement, fraud, unauthorized access, child pornography and cyber-stalking. The United Nations Guidelines for Preventing and Combating Computer Crime include fraud, vandalism and unauthorized access in its definition of cybercrime. To highlight the scale of cyber-crime worldwide, the Norton Cyber-crime Report 2011 revealed that 431 million adults in 24 countries were victims of cybercrime that year. It is widely known that victims of Internet crimes are often reluctant to report the crime to the authorities. Although facilities for reporting incidents of cybercrime have improved in recent years, many victims remain reluctant due to the inevitable embarrassment. It is important that organizations around the world develop effective plans to identify, track, arrest, and prosecute cybercriminals For example, over the past two years, Australia has adopted a national Intelligence Fusion capability, a key component of the Commonwealth Organized Crime Strategic Framework. The scale of the cybercrime problem seems almost unimaginable. A balance must be found between maximizing the efficient delivery of information and protecting against organized cyber-criminal elements.
A balance must be found between maximizing the efficient delivery of information and protecting against organized cyber-criminal elements. The scale of the cyber-crime problem seems almost unimaginable. Although facilities for reporting incidents of cyber-crime have improved in recent years, many victims remain reluctant due to the inevitable embarrassment. It is important that organizations around the world develop effective plans to identify, track, arrest and prosecute cybercriminals For example, over the past two years, Australia has adopted a national Intelligence Fusion capability, a key component of the Commonwealth Organized Crime Strategic Framework. The United Nations Guidelines for Preventing and Combating Computer Crime include fraud, vandalism and unauthorized access in its definition of cybercrime. The term 'cyber-crime' can refer to crimes including criminal activity against data, content and copyright infringement, fraud, unauthorized access, child pornography and cyber-stalking.
