CYBER CRIME
NOWADAYS CYBER CRIME IS NOT ONLY TO STEAL THE DATA FROM THE SERVERS OF COMPANIES OR INSTITUTES. CYBER CRIME IS KNOWN AS THE USING OF COMPUTER AND INTERNET AS THE INSTRUMENT IS CYBER CRIME
CYBER CRIME CAN BE OF ‘’BULLING SOMEONE ONLINE’’ OR BY HACKING SOMEONEs SERVER AND BLACKMAILING HIM BY HIS DATA OR DEMAND FOR THE MONEY FOR HIS DATA IS A CYBER CRIME. AND THE OTHER TYPES OF CYBER CRIMES ARE PORNOGRAPHY, CYBER FRAUD, CYBER STALKING, HARASSMENT, IPR THEFT, DATA HOSTAGE, MONEY LAUNDERING, CYBER WAR AND E-MAIL BOMBING etc.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTED MODEL LAW ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ADOPTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISION ON TRADE LAW. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF WHICH THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT ,2000 WAS PASSED .THIS ACT WAS A WELCOME STEP AT A TIME WHEN THERE WAS LEGISLATION ON THIS FILED . THE ACT HAS HOWEVER DURING ITS APPLICATION PROVED TO BE INADEQUATE AND THERE ARE CERTAIN LOOPHOLES IN THE ACT.
CYBER CRIME IN THE ACT IS NEITHER COMPREHENSIVE NOR EXHAUSTIVE. THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT HAS NOT DEALT WITH CYBER NUISANCE, CYBER STALKING, AND CYBER DEFAMATION AND SO ON. CASES OF SPAM, HACKING, STALKING AND E-MAIL FRAUD ARE RAMPANT ALTHOUGH CYBER CRIMES CELLS HAVE BEEN SET-UP IN MAJOR CITIES. THE PROBLEM IS THAT MOST CASES REMAIN UNREPORTED DUE TO LACK OF AWARENESS.
USERS MUST TRY AND SAVE ANY ELECTRONIC INFORMATION TRAIL ON THEIR COMPUTERS, USE OF ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE, FIREWALLS, USE OF INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM ETC. AND FURTHER MAKING THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS MORE STRING.
Types of Cyber Crime
SPEAKING IN A BROADWAY WE CAN SAY THAT CYBER CRIME ARE CATEGORIZED INTO
FOUR MAJOR TYPES. THESE ARE FINANCIAL, PRIVACY, HACKING, AND CYBER TERRORISM.
THE FINANCIAL CRIME THEY STEAL THE MONEY OF USER OR ACCOUNT HOLDERS. LIKEWISE, THEY ALSO STOLE DATA OF COMPANIES WHICH CAN LEAD TO FINANCIAL CRIMES. ALSO, TRANSACTIONS ARE HEAVILY RISKED BECAUSE OF THEM. EVERY YEAR HACKERS STOLE LAKHS AND CRORES OF RUPEES OF BUSINESSMEN AND GOVERNMENT.
PRIVACY CRIME INCLUDES STEALING YOUR PRIVATE DATA WHICH
YOU DO NOT WANT TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD. MOREOVER, DUE TO IT, THE PEOPLE SUFFER
A LOT AND SOME EVEN COMMIT SUICIDE BECAUSE OF THEIR DATA’S MISUSE.
IN, HACKING THEY INTENTIONAL DEFACE A WEBSITE TO CAUSE DAMAGE OR LOSS TO THE PUBLIC OR OWNER. APART FROM THAT, THEY DESTROY OR MAKE CHANGES IN THE EXISTING WEBSITES TO DIMINISH ITS VALUE.
MODERN-DAY TERRORISM HAS GROWN WAY BEYOND WHAT IT WAS
10-20 YEARS AGO. BUT CYBER TERRORISM IS NOT JUST RELATED TO TERRORISTS OR
TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS. BUT TO THREAT SOME PERSON OR PROPERTY TO THE LEVEL OF
CREATING FEAR IS ALSO CYBER TERRORISM.
HACKING:
IN THIS CATEGORY, A PERSON'S
COMPUTER IS BROKEN INTO SO THAT HIS PERSONAL OR SENSITIVE INFORMATION CAN BE
ACCESSED. IN THE UNITED STATES, HACKING IS CATEGORIZED AS A WRONGDOING AND
PUNISHABLE AS SUCH. THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM ETHICAL HACKING, WHICH MANY ORGANIZATIONS
USE TO CHECK THEIR INTERNET SECURITY PROTECTION. IN HACKING, THE CRIMINAL USES
A VARIETY OF SOFTWARE TO ENTER A PERSON'S COMPUTER AND THE PERSON MAY NOT BE
AWARE THAT HIS COMPUTER IS BEING ACCESSED FROM A REMOTE LOCATION. MANY CRACKERS
ALSO TRY TO GAIN ACCESS TO RESOURCES THROUGH THE USE OF PASSWORD CRACKING SOFT
WARES. HACKERS CAN ALSO MONITOR WHAT USERS DO ON THEIR COMPUTER AND CAN ALSO
IMPORT FILES ON THEIR COMPUTER. A HACKER COULD INSTALL SEVERAL PROGRAMS ON TO
THEIR SYSTEM WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. SUCH PROGRAMS COULD ALSO BE USED TO STEAL
PERSONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS PASSWORDS AND CREDIT CARD INFORMATION.
THEFT:
THIS TYPE OF CYBERCRIME OCCURS
WHEN A PERSON VIOLATES COPYRIGHTS AND DOWNLOADS MUSIC, MOVIES, GAMES AND
SOFTWARE. THERE ARE EVEN PEER SHARING WEBSITES WHICH ENCOURAGE SOFTWARE PIRACY
AND MANY OF THESE WEBSITES ARE NOW BEING TARGETED BY THE FBI. NOWADAYS, THE
JUSTICE SYSTEM IS ADDRESSING THIS CYBERCRIME AND THERE ARE LAWS THAT AVERT
PEOPLE FROM UNLAWFUL DOWNLOADING.
CYBER STALKING:
THIS IS A TYPE OF ONLINE
HARASSMENT WHEREIN THE VICTIM IS ENDANGERED TO A BARRAGE OF ONLINE MESSAGES AND
EMAILS. NORMALLY, THESE STALKERS KNOW THEIR VICTIMS AND INSTEAD OF RESORTING TO
OFFLINE STALKING, THEY USE THE INTERNET TO STALK. HOWEVER, IF THEY NOTICE THAT
CYBER STALKING IS NOT HAVING THE DESIRED EFFECT, THEY BEGIN OFFLINE STALKING
ALONG WITH CYBER STALKING TO MAKE THE VICTIMS' LIVES MORE DEJECTED.
IDENTITY THEFT:
THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH
PEOPLE USING THE INTERNET FOR CASH TRANSACTIONS AND BANKING SERVICES. IN THIS
CYBERCRIME, A CRIMINAL ACCESSES DATA ABOUT A PERSON'S BANK ACCOUNT, CREDIT
CARDS, SOCIAL SECURITY, DEBIT CARD, FULL NAME AND OTHER SENSITIVE INFORMATION
TO DRAIN OFF MONEY OR TO BUY THINGS ONLINE IN THE VICTIM'S NAME. THE IDENTITY
THIEF CAN USE PERSON'S INFORMATION TO FRAUDULENTLY APPLY FOR CREDIT, FILE
TAXES, OR GET MEDICAL SERVICES. IT CAN RESULT IN MAJOR FINANCIAL LOSSES FOR THE
VICTIM AND EVEN SPOIL THE VICTIM'S CREDIT HISTORY.
MALICIOUS SOFTWARE:
THIS SOFTWARE, ALSO CALLED
COMPUTER VIRUS IS INTERNET-BASED SOFTWARE OR PROGRAMS THAT ARE USED TO DISRUPT
A NETWORK. THE SOFTWARE IS USED TO GAIN ACCESS TO A SYSTEM TO GATHER SENSITIVE
INFORMATION OR DATA OR CAUSING DAMAGE TO SOFTWARE PRESENT IN THE SYSTEM.
CHILD SOLICITING AND ABUSE:
THIS IS ALSO A TYPE OF CYBERCRIME
IN WHICH CRIMINALS SOLICIT MINORS VIA CHAT ROOMS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CHILD
P.GRAPHY. THE FBI HAS BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME MONITORING CHAT ROOMS VISITED
BY CHILDREN IN ORDER TO REDUCE AND PREVENT CHILD ABUSE AND SOLICITING.
VIRUS DISSEMINATION: MALICIOUS
SOFTWARE THAT ATTACHES ITSELF TO OTHER SOFTWARE. (VIRUS, WORMS, TROJAN HORSE,
WEB JACKING, E-MAIL BOMBING ETC.
COMPUTER VANDALISM:
IT IS A TYPE OF CYBERCRIME THAT
DAMAGES OR DESTROYS DATA RATHER THAN STEALING. IT TRANSMITS VIRUS.
CYBER TERRORISM: IT IS A USE OF
INTERNET BASED ATTACKS IN TERRORIST ACTIVITIES. TECHNOLOGY SAVVY TERRORISTS ARE
USING 512-BIT ENCRYPTION, WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DECRYPT.
CYBER CRIME IN INDIA
WEB WORLD OR CYBERSPACE IS A MASSIVE
COMMUNITY OF MILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF USERS AND WEBSITES. ALSO, PEOPLE ACCESS
IT FOR DIFFERENT USES LIKE SHOPPING, MOVIES, MUSIC, VIDEO GAMES, TRANSACTIONS,
AND E-COMMERCE, ETC.
IN THIS AGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND EASY ACCESS TO THE
INTERNET, ANYONE CAN EASILY REACH IT. BECAUSE OF THIS FAST PACE GROWTH FROM THE
PREVIOUS DECADE. BESIDES, THE INTERNET HAS OPENED A WORLD OF INFORMATION ON
WHICH ANYONE CAN CONNECT.
DUE TO,
THIS THE RATE OF CRIME ESPECIALLY THE RATE OF CYBER CRIME HAS INCREASED MUCH
FOLD. MOREOVER, THE RATE OF CIRCULATION OF DATA IS ALSO INCREASED MUCH FOLD DUE
TO THE HIGHER SPEED OF INTERNET. ABOVE ALL, DUE TO ALL THESE ISSUES, THE
CYBERSECURITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR CONCERN FOR SOCIETY.
LAWS RELATED TO CYBER CRIMES
TO STOP
THE SPREAD OF CYBER CRIME AND TO SAFEGUARD THE INTEREST OF PEOPLE THE
GOVERNMENT HAS MADE SEVERAL LAWS RELATED TO CYBER CRIMES. ALSO, THESE LAWS
SERVE AS PROTECTION AGAINST CYBER CRIME. APART FROM THAT, THE GOVERNMENT HAS
ALSO INTRODUCED CYBER CELLS IN POLICE STATIONS TO COUNTER THE PROBLEM OF CYBER
CRIME AS FAST AS THEY CAN.
WAYS OF STOPPING CYBER CRIME
CYBER
CRIME IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH WE CANNOT DEAL WITH OUR SELF. LIKEWISE, WITH
LITTLE USE OF OUR COMMON SENSE AND LOGIC, WE CAN STOP CYBER CRIMES FROM
HAPPENING.
TO
CONCLUDE, WE CAN SAY THAT CYBERCRIME IS A DANGEROUS OFFENSE TO SOMEONE’S
PRIVACY OR ANY MATERIAL. ALSO, WE CAN AVOID CYBERCRIME BY FOLLOWING SOME BASIC
LOGICAL THINGS AND USING OUR COMMON SENSE. ABOVE ALL, CYBERCRIME IS A
VIOLATION OF NOT ONLY LAW BUT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TOO.
BY PARAS PUNIYANI
