Introduction
Cybercrime refers to anything done in the cyber space with a criminal
intent. Cybercrime includes acts such as hacking, uploading obscene
content on the Internet, sending obscene e-mails and hacking into a
person’s e-banking account to withdraw money. Computer crime, or
cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a
network, where the computers played an instrumental part in the
commission of a crime.
Cyber crime can be categorized mainly in two ways:
Using the Computer as a Target:-using a computer to at-
task other computers. e.g. Hacking, Virus/Worm attacks,
DOS attack etc.
Using the computer as a weapon:-using a computer to
commit real world crimes. e.g. Cyber Terrorism, IPR viola-
tions, Credit card frauds, EFT frauds, Pornography etc.
Reasons for Cyber Crime
a) Capacity to store data in comparatively small space-
The computer has unique characteristic of storing data in a very small
space. This affords to remove or derive information either through
physical or virtual medium makes it much more easier.
b) Easy to access- The problem encountered in guarding a computer
system from unauthorised access is that, there is every possibility of
breach not due to human error but due to the complex technology. (By
secretly implanted logic bomb, key logger, advanced voice recorders,
retina imagers etc.)
c) Complex- The computers work on operating systems and these
operating systems in turn are composed of millions of codes. For
Human mind it is not possible that there might not be a lapse at any
stage. The cyber criminals take advantage and penetrate into the
computer system.
d) Negligence-Negligence is very closely connected with human
conduct. It is therefore very probable that while protecting the
computer system there might be any negligence, which in turn
provides a cybercriminal to gain access and control over the computer
system.
e) Loss of evidence-Loss of evidence is a very common & obvious
problem as all the data are routinely destroyed. Further collection of
data outside the territorial extent also paralyses this system of crime
investigation.
Mode and Manner of Committing Cybercrime:
a)Unauthorized access to computer systems or networks /
Hacking-This kind of offence is normally referred as hacking in the
generic sense. However the framers of the information technology act
2000 have no where used this term so to avoid any confusion we
would not interchangeably use the word hacking for ‘unauthorized
access’ as the latter has wide connotation.
b)Theft of information contained in electronic form-This includes
information stored in computer hard disks, removable storage media
etc. Theft may be either by appropriating the data physically or by
tampering them through the virtual medium.
c)Email bombing-This kind of activity refers to sending large
numbers of mail to the victim, which may be an individual or a
company or even mail servers there by ultimately resulting into
crashing.
d)Data diddling-This kind of an attack involves altering raw data just
before a computer processes it and then changing it back after the
processing is completed. The electricity board faced similar problem
of data diddling while the department was being computerised.
e)Salami attacks-This kind of crime is normally prevalent in the
financial institutions or for the purpose of committing financial
crimes. An important feature of this type of offence is that the
alteration is so small that it would normally go unnoticed.
f)Denial of Service attack-The computer of the victim is flooded
with more requests than it can handle which cause it to crash.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is also a type of denial of
service attack, in which the offenders are wide in number and
widespread. E.g. Amazon, Yahoo.
g)Virus / worm attacks-Viruses are programs that attach themselves
to a computer or a file and then circulate themselves to other files and
to other computers on a network. They usually affect the data on a
computer, either by altering or deleting it. Worms, unlike viruses do
not need the host to attach themselves to. They merely make
functional copies of themselves and do this repeatedly till they eat up
all the available space on a computer’s memory.
h)Logic bombs-These are event dependent programs. This implies
that these programs are created to do something only when a certain
event (known as a trigger event) occurs. E.g. even some viruses may
be termed logic bombs because they lie dormant all through the year
and become active only on a particular
i)Trojan attacks-This term has its origin in the word ‘Trojan horse’.
In software field this means an unauthorized programme, which
passively gains control over another’s system by representing itself as
an authorised programme. The most common form of installing a
Trojan is through e-mail.
j)Internet time thefts-Normally in these kinds of thefts the Internet
surfing hours of the victim are used up by another person. This is
done by gaining access to the login ID and the password.
k)Web jacking-This term is derived from the term hi jacking. In
these kinds of offences the hacker gains access and control over the
web site of another. He may even mutilate or change the information
on the site. This may be done for fulfilling political objectives or for
money. E.g. recently the site of MIT (Ministry of Information
Technology) was hacked by the Pakistani hackers and some obscene
matter was placed therein. Further the site of Bombay crime branch
was also web jacked.
CYBER CRIMINALS
The cyber criminals constitute of various groups/ category. This
division may be justified on the basis of the object that they have in
their mind. The following are the category of cyber criminals-
1. Children and adolescents between the age group of 6 – 18 years
–The simple reason for this type of delinquent behaviour pattern in
children is seen mostly to explore the things. Other cognate reason
may be to prove themselves to be outstanding amongst other children
in their group. Further the reasons may be psychological even. E.g.
the Bal Bharati (Delhi) case was the outcome of harassment of the
delinquent by his friends.
2. Organised hackers-These kinds of hackers are mostly organised
together to fulfill certain objective. The reason may be to fulfill their
political bias, fundamentalism, etc. The Pakistanis are said to be one
of the best quality hackers in the world. They mainly target the Indian
government sites with the purpose to fulfill their political objectives.
3. Professional hackers / crackers –Their work is motivated by the
colour of money. These kinds of hackers are mostly employed to hack
the site of the rivals and get credible, reliable and valuable
information. Further they are even employed to crack the system of
the employer basically as a measure to make it safer by detecting the
loopholes.
4. Discontented employees-This group includes those people who
have been either sacked by their employer or are dissatisfied with
their employer. To avenge they normally hack the system of their
employee.
Categorization:
The topic of cyber offense may be loosely classified under the undermentioned
three groups. They are-
A. Against Persons
a) Harassment via electronic mails.
b)Cyber-stalking.
c)Dissemination of obscene stuff.
d)Defamation.
e)Unauthorized control/access over computing machine system.
f)Indecent exposure
g)Cheating & Fraud
B ) Against property of an person and society
a)Computer hooliganism.
b)Conveying virus.
c) Netrespass
d) Unauthorized control/access over computing machine system.
e)Intellectual Property offenses
C.Against Organization: –
a) Unauthorized control/access over computing machine system
b)Possession of unauthorised information.
c) Cyber terrorist act against the authorities organisation.
d)Distribution of pirated package etc.
D.Against Society at large: –
a) Pornography
b) Polluting the young person through indecorous exposure.
c) Tarifficing
d) Fiscal offenses
e)Sale of illegal articles
f)Online gaming
g)Counterfeit
The above mentioned offenses may discussed in brief as
follows:
1. Harassment via e-mails-Harassment through electronic mails is
not a new construct. It is really similar to hassling through letters.
Recently I had received a mail from a lady wherein she complained
about the same. Her former fellow was directing her mails invariably
sometimes emotionally blackjacking her and besides endangering her.
This is a really common type of harassment via electronic mails.
2. Cyber-stalking-The Cyber stalking involves following a individual
‘s motions across the Internet by posting messages ( sometimes
endangering ) on the bulletin boards frequented by the victim, come
ining the chat-rooms frequented by the victim, etc.
3.Dissemination of obscene material/ Indecent exposure/
Pornography / Polluting through indecorous exposure-
Pornography on the net may take assorted signifiers. It may include
the hosting of web site incorporating these prohibited stuffs. Use of
computing machines for bring forthing these obscene stuffs.
Downloading through the Internet, obscene stuffs. These obscene
affairs may do injury to the head of the stripling and tend to corrupt or
pervert their head. Two known instances of erotica are the Delhi Bal
Bharati instance and the Bombay instance wherein two Swiss
twosome used to coerce the slum kids for obscene exposure. The
Mumbai constabularies subsequently arrested them.
4. Defamation: It is an act of ascribing any individual with purpose to
take down the individual in the appraisal of the right-thinking
members of society by and large or to do him to be shunned or
avoided or to expose him to hatred, disdain or ridicule. Cyber
calumny is not different from conventional calumny except the
engagement of a practical medium. E.g. the mail history of Rohit was
hacked and some mails were sent from his history to some of his
batch mates sing his matter with a miss with purpose to slander him.
4. Unauthorized control/access over computing machine system-
This activity is normally referred to as hacking. The Indian
jurisprudence has nevertheless given a different intension to the term
hacking, so we will not utilize the term “ unauthorised entree ”
interchangeably with the term “ hacking ” to forestall confusion as the
term used in the Act of 2000 is much wider than hacking.
5. E mail spoofing-
A spoofed electronic mail may be said to be one, which misrepresents
its beginning. It shows it‘s beginning to be different from which really
it originates. Rajesh Manyar, a alumnus pupil at Purdue University in
Indiana, was arrested for endangering to explode a atomic device in
the college campus. The alleged e- mail was sent from the history of
another pupil to the frailty president for pupil services. However the
mail was traced to be sent from the history of Rajesh Manyar.
6. Computer vandalism-Vandalism means intentionally destructing or
damaging belongings of another. Therefore computing machine
hooliganism may include within its horizon any sort of physical injury
done to the computing machine of any individual.
7. Conveying virus/worms-
8. Intellectual Property offenses / Distribution of pirated
software-
Intellectual belongings consists of a package of rights. Any improper
act by which the proprietor is deprived wholly or partly of his rights
is an offense. The Hyderabad Court has in a land grade opinion has
convicted three people and sentenced them to six months
imprisonment and all right of 50,000 each for unauthorised copying
and sell of pirated package.
9. Cyber terrorist act against the authorities organisation:
Cyberterrorism is the use of the Internet to conduct violent acts that
result in, or threaten, loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to
achieve political or ideological gains through threat. A cyber offense
is by and large a domestic issue, which may hold international effects,
nevertheless cyber terrorist act is a planetary concern, which has
domestic every bit good as international effects..
Cyber terrorist act may be defined to be “the premeditated usage of
riotous activities, or the menace thereof, in cyber infinite, with the
purpose to further societal, ideological, spiritual, political or similar
aims, or to intimidate any individual in promotion of such aims ”
10.Trafficking:Trafficking may presume different signifiers. It may
be trafficking in drugs, human existences, weaponries arms etc. These
signifiers of trafficking are traveling unbridled because they are
carried on under anonym. A racket was busted in Chennai where
drugs were being sold under the anonym of honey.
11.Fraud & Cheating
Online fraud and cheating is one of the most moneymaking concerns
that are turning today in the cyber infinite. It may presume different
signifiers. Some of the instances of online fraud and cheating that
have come to visible radiation are those referring to recognition card
offenses, contractual offenses, offering occupations, etc.
12:Cyber-Theft:Cyber-Theft is the use of computers and
communication systems to steal information in electronic format.
Hackers crack into the systems of banks and transfer money into their
own bank accounts. This is a major concern, as larger amounts of
money can be stolen and illegally transferred.
13:Hacking:Hacking or Cracking is a major cyber crime committed
today. Hacker makes use of the weaknesses and loop holes in
operating systems to destroy data and steal important information
from victim’s computer. Cracking is normally done through the use of
a backdoor program installed on your machine. A lot of crackers also
try to gain access to resources through the use of password cracking
soft wares. Hackers can also monitor what u do on your computer and
can also import files on your computer. A hacker could install several
programs on to your system without your knowledge. Such programs
could also be used to steal personal information such as passwords
and credit card information.
Effects of Cyber Crime
1. Compromised assets impact your bottom line :If you are faced
with a cyber attack, you’ll normally need to suspend electronic
transactions until the culprit is identified and has been stopped, which
could take days or even longer. During your temporary shutdown,
you’ll likely lose business, since you’re unable to process orders and
accept payments through your electronic methods. For some
businesses, this can mean thousands of dollars a day lost—not to
mention the reputation cost that comes on the heels of a breach.
2. Loss of private data offers cyber criminals accessibility: If a
cybercriminal gains access to customer account numbers or personal
information, they may be able to access funds directly from those
accounts. In some cases, financial institutions do not cover losses, so
you may lose the capital already invested within your company. This
may mean an expensive recovery that could place a burden on your
company for any future plans or growth.
3. Diminished brand reputation poses obstacle for recovery: Your
company’s reputation is a big selling point to customers when they
choose where they want to buy. It can take years to build this rapport
with clientele, and for it to be taken away with one cyber breach can
be devastating. If your company information is compromised,
customers may choose to no longer trust your business and begin to
take their business elsewhere. Regaining trust is an uphill battle, and
one that you may never win
4)The increased -Cost-Of-Protection Companies that want to
protect themselves from online thieves have to pull out their wallets to
do it. There are costs in identifying risks, building new and safer
operating procedures, and buying protective software and hardware.
For businesses with complex or sensitive operations, this often
involves hiring a cyber-security consultant to develop a customized
solution. These costs are often passed on to the customer through
higher prices of goods and services
.5)Lost-Sales :-Crime isn't just for thieves anymore. A new subculture
has emerged in the past few years: the cyber-activist. These are the
online equivalents of protesters who chain themselves to buildings or
trees. Their purpose is to shut down a company's online operations to
send a message about the company's business practices. In the past
two years, major corporations, such as PayPal and MasterCard, have
been attacked in this way.
An important question arises that how can these crimes be
prevented. A number of techniques and solutions have been
presented but the problems still exists and are increasing day by
day.
1)Antivirus And Anti spy ware Software:
Antivirus software consists of computer programs that attempt to
identify, thwart and eliminate computer viruses and other malicious
software. Anti spy wares are used to restrict backdoor program,
Trojans and other spy wares to be installed on the computer.
2)Firewalls:A firewall protects a computer network from
unauthorized access. Network firewalls may be hardware devices,
software programs, or a combination of the two. A network firewall
typically guards an internal computer network against malicious
access from outside the network.
3)Cryptography: Cryptography is the science of encrypting and
decrypting information. Encryption is like sending a postal mail to
another party with a lock code on the envelope which is known only
to the sender and the recipient. A number of cryptographic methods
have been developed and some of them are still not cracked.
4)Cyber Ethics and Laws: Cyber ethics and cyber laws are also
being formulated to stop cybercrimes. It is a responsibility of every
individual to follow cyber ethics and cyber laws so that the increasing
cybercrimes shall reduce. Security soft wares like anti viruses and anti
spy wares should be installed on all computers, in order to remain
secure from cybercrimes. Internet Service Providers should also
provide high level of security at their servers in order to keep their
clients secure from all types of viruses and malicious program.
