Different types of computer crime

The Internet provides a wide variety of opportunities for communication and development but unfortunately it also has it's dark side. The theme of my speaking task is one of the most actual and important problems in the last 25 years. It’s computer crime, or cybercrime.

Computer crimes are criminal activities, which involve the use of information technology to gain an illegal or an unauthorized access to a computer system with intent of damaging, deleting or altering computer data. All in all, computer crime refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may be used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Net crime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.

We can categorize Cyber crimes in different types:

Hacking (or Cracking) is illegal intrusion into a computer system or network. Crackers or black-hat hackers are computer criminals who use technology to perform a variety of crimes: virus propagation, fraud, intellectual property theft, etc. Government websites are the hot targets of the hackers.

Internet-based crimes include scam, email fraud to obtain money or valuables, and phishing, bank fraud, to get banking information such as passwords of Internet bank accounts or credit card details. Both crimes use email or websites that look like those of real organizations. These cybercrimes involve stealing money and obtaining other benefits through the use of a false identity. It is the act of pretending to be someone else by using someone else's identity as one's own. Illegal migration, terrorism and blackmail are often made possible by means of identity theft.
(Phishing is the act of attempting to get private information like usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy source. Phishing is carried out through emails or by the users who enter personal information through fake websites)

Due to its anonymity, the Internet also provides the right environment for cyberstalking, online harassment or abuse, mainly in chat rooms or newsgroups.(Cyberstalkers often target the users by means of chat rooms, online forums and social networking websites to gather user information and harass the users on the basis of the information gathered.)

Piracy, the illegal copyrighting and distribution of copyrighted software, information, music and video files, is widespread.

But the most common type of crime involves malware. Malware or malicious software is software created to damage or alter the computer data or its operations. The main types of malware:

Viruses-programs that spread by attaching themselves to executable files or documents(like well-known Trojan horse, that is disguised as an innocent-looking file or embedded within legitimate software).

Worms-self-coping programs that have the capacity to move from one computer to another without human help,by exploiting security flaws in computer networks.

Spyware,software designed to collect information from computers for commercial or criminal purposes, is another example of malicious software. It usually comes hidden in fake freeware or shareware applications downloadable from the Internet.

Spam, or junk email, is the name given to unwanted messages, mainly commercial advertising. Some companies, spammers, use it extensively because it's cheaper than other types of advertising:you or your Internet Service Provider pay for it.

One more group of Cyber crimes includes crimes when computers are used as a weapon. Here are some: Cyber terrorism in general, can be defined as an act of terrorism committed through the use of cyberspace or computer resources. As such, a simple propaganda in the Internet, that there will be bomb attacks during the holidays can be considered cyber terrorism;

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1058