Cyber crime is computer oriented crime. When a person commits crime using computer or Internet is called cyber crime. Cyber crime is a fast-growing area of crime. Criminals are using high brain to stop our works, lessening Internet speed or closing our account. As this crime is caused by computer or any smart devices they target those devices wanting to destroy or to get personal gain from them. It is easy to make crime being expert in modern technology from anywhere of the country. Today’s world is growing very fast. Some miscreants try to keep behind their opposite party. Hence they try to take help those persons who are highly expert in Information and technology system.
Through their expert knowledge they hack or do cyber crime which is computer based or internet based. In the era of modernism most of the people use computer connecting with Internet.
Dr. Debarati Haldar and Dr. K. Jaishankar defined cyber crimes as such- “Offenses that are committed against an individual or group of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm or loss to the victim directly or indirectly using modern telecommunication networks such as internet (chat rooms, emails, notice boards or groups) and mobile phone (SMS/MMS).’’
So it is clear that in order to do cyber crime the knowledge of modern technology like computer, any devices or the knowledge of Internet is needed. When the crime is occurred using the technology or Internet is called Cyber Crime. After all real space crime is not being regarded as cyber crime. Only those crimes which are held in cyberspace called Cyber Crimes.
Different Types of Cyber Crimes
There are different types of cyber crimes. They are of two categories –
a) Which targets devices named as
Malware
Dos attacks
b) Which are used for crimes
Phising
Cyberstalking
Identity theft
Botnets
Hacking
Social Engineering
E-mail spoofing
Cyberterrorism
Cyber-extortion
Spamming
Ransomware
Session Hijacking
Spyware
Child pornography
Malicious Software
Data diddling
Cyber crimes can be held against property, individual or government. These crimes are operated in separate way. Each crime has each separate system for gaining own benefit of criminals.
DoS attacks:
It makes online service unavailable and makes the network down by disturbing the site from different sources. When these are attacked criminals gain their own benefit.
Botnets:
Botnets are networks from compromised computers that are controlled externally by remote hackers. The remote hackers then send spam or attack other computers through these botnets.
Identity theft:
This type crime is available in the society. For this crime Criminals enter one’s personal computer to get information. Using the information they do crimes. By sending email or phishing or messages they do this crime. Facebook is a great source of information. If any criminal using or stealing passwords hacks one’s account to get benefit then it is called Identity theft.
Hacking:
The most topic of the day is hacking. Hackers try to hack those accounts from which they can get benefit. Even one friend hacks another friend to destroy his goodwill and to publish something wrong about him. Now a days it is a common seen in the present world that large companies or big businessman are victims of hacking. These losses billion dollars of them. In Bangladesh there happened and happening hacking the accounts. Sometimes it is heard that by hacking one’s facebook account hackers spread rumors in the country.
Then it comes to knowledge that it was the activity of hackers. For hacking, hackers need to know some information such as password or phone number or Gmail account or bank account name or account number. In total some information is required for hacking. It is thought that those who are close to the user can hack easily. It is true but it is also true that hackers need not to be close to victims. A USA hacker can hack an account of another state’s user. In the global world hackers are using their high thoughts to hack ones account.
Cyberstalking:
This crime is ensured by threatening others through any media. Using social media they create fear to the victims. Those who are victims get feared and deliver any demand asked by them. So by fearing or anxious text or information they create fairness among them and try to get their benefit.
Social Engineering:
In this crime the criminals use their brain to connect with others…Connecting others by their social media then exchange information. They take strategy to get secret information from them like bank account number, password of social media. Totally criminals try to get information to harass the victims.
There is no way why the criminals send them friend request or connect with them. Applying method they do crimes.
E-mail spoofing:
A spoofed email is that email which appears to originate from one source but actually has been sent from another source. It is happening in today in the cyberspace. Receiving users can not recognize whether it is original or not. The receiving users think it real and fall in trouble due to senders named cyber criminal.
Phishing:
This type of attack involves hackers sending malicious email attachments or URLs to users to gain access to their accounts or computer. Getting password they do crimes. Here users can not be known that criminals have sent the text or attachment or URLs. Users with curiosity open the file. When the users open the file then instantly the password of that user goes to hackers and this type of crime is called Phishing.
Cyber terrorism:
Cyber terrorism is committed through the use of cyberspace or computer resources. In this crime the terrorist try to threat or hack or get information for disclosure from any group or government in any situation and they disclose them publicly. To harass opposition in case of politics they are used to commit this crime.
Cyber-extortion:
It just likes threat to gain benefit from the users. Collecting information criminals demand from users or otherwise threat to disclose the got information.
Spamming:
Spamming is unwanted text or advertisement. It is used for commercial purposes. Those who want to earn sending text or email to other users indiscriminately they do this type of crime. It disturbs the user very extensively. This type of activity is rising day by day.
Ransomware:
It is an available crime in the cyberspace. This type of crime is blocking user’s account and asked to pay ransom from that user or otherwise the criminals threat the users to publish or delete or destroy the document of the users. The victims or group of victims bound to pay their demand instantly. This crime is held in the large scale institutions or in case of big business or rich person in the society or county.
Session Hijacking:
This crime is held with trusted customers or client those who go to them to solve their technical problem. When they go to the criminals their passwords and important information are stolen. Hence this type of crime is held.
Spyware:
Spyware is a type of program that is installed to collect information about users, their computers or their browsing habits. It tracks everything you do without your knowledge and sends the data to a remote user.
Child pornography:
It is a common seen in the cyberspace. Criminals make porn videos using cyberspace and earn money. Sometimes they create pornography using morphed picture of a known girl or unknown girl or women to harass her or for meet up their demands they need to fulfill. It is often heard that children and girls are the victims of pornography. This type of crime is also called cyber crime because these are held using Internet on the cyberspace.
Malicious Software:
It is also a crime in the cyberspace. Cyberspace is computer based. There is some software which is used to disrupt the victims’ network. Using this software the criminals steal data or important information which is needed to harass the users. So when a user uses modern communication system should be more careful about malicious software.
Data diddling:
Data diddling is a computer based crime. Unauthorized altering of data before or during entry into a computer system and then changing it back after processing is done is called Data diddling. In this crime the hacker steals data from that user’s computer or alters data of that user. Even after stealing data or altering data, the hacker may rearrange the data in his computer system so that the victim user cannot understand it. In this method of crime, the user cannot identify that his data has been altered or ratified or stolen. So, hackers feel free to diddle the data without any risks. The close one of user can do this such type of crime because he needs the victim’s personal computer or password of that document.
Written by Mithun Kumar Saha, Department of Law, University of Dhaka.
Read more Cyber Crimes in Bangladesh
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References
1.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybercrime
2. “Developer Policy Center – Intellectual Property, Deception, and Spam”. play.google.com. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
3. “Spam”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary (definition & more). 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
4.Jeff Melnick,Published: May 15, 2018
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