CYBER CRIME IN COMPUTER

                              CYBER CRIME IN COMPUTER

         

           Cyber crime encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers and networks (called hacking). Cyber crime also includes traditional crimes conducted through the Internet. For example: hate crimes, telemarketing and Internet fraud, identity theft, and credit card account thefts are considered to be cyber crimes when the illegal activities are committed through the use of a computer and the Internet.

• “Cyber” refers to imaginary space, which is created when the electronic devices communicate, like network of computers.
• Cyber crime refers to anything done in the cyber space with a criminal intent.
• These could be either the criminal activities in the conventional sense or could be activities, newly evolved with the growth of the new medium.
• Cyber crime 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 has nowhere been defined in any statute /Act passed or enacted by the Indian Parliament.
• The concept of cyber crime is not radically different from the concept of conventional crime.
• Both include conduct whether act or omission, which cause breach of rules of law and counterbalanced by the sanction of the state .
• particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement through warez, child pornography and child grooming.
• The term ‘cyber crime’ is a misnomer. This term has nowhere been defined in any statute /Act passed or enacted by the Indian Parliament.
• The concept of cyber crime is not radically different from the concept of conventional crime. Both include conduct whether act or omission, which cause breach of rules of law and counterbalanced by the sanction of the state.

Reasons for Cyber Crime

A Resistive Touch Screen panel comprises several layers, the most important of which are two thin, transparent electrically-resistive layers separated by a thin space.

 These layers face each other, with a thin gap between. One resistive layer is a coating on the underside of the top surface of the screen. Just beneath it is a similar resistive layer on top of its substrate. One layer has conductive connections along its sides, the other along top and bottom.

Capacitive:

Hart in his work “ The Concept of Law” has said ‘human beings are vulnerable so rule of law is required to protect them’. Applying this to the cyberspace we may say that computers are vulnerable so rule of law is required to protect and safeguard them against cyber crime. The reasons for the vulnerability of computers may be said to be:

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 loggers that can steal access codes, advanced voice recorders, retina imagers etc. that can fool biometric systems and bypass firewalls can be utilized to get past many a security system.

c) Complex-

           The computers work on operating systems and these operating systems in turn are composed of millions of codes. Human mind is fallible and it is not possible that there might not be a lapse at any stage. The cyber criminals take advantage of these lacunas 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 cyber criminal 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.

TYPES OF COMPUTER CRIMES

The following are some of various types of computer crimes:

1)Data Interception: This type is exclusive to network environment with teleprocessing activities in which the criminal may tap the signal sent to a computer from remote source. One of common example of interception of data in transmission is commonly called hacking.
 
2)Data Modification: Alteration, destruction, or erasing of data in the computer, usually done with desire to misallocate money or to cover up management incompetence.
 
3)Theft of Software: Taking or copying data, regardless of whether it is protected by other laws, e.g., copyright, privacy, etc. The cause of this may be for profit purpose or for private use.
 
Network Interference: This is impeding or preventing access for others. The most common example of this action is instigating a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack, flooding Web sites or Internet Service Providers. DDOS attacks are often launched from numerous computers that have been hacked to obey commands of the perpetrator.
 
4)Virus Dissemination: Introduction of software damaging to systems or data it contains.
 
5)Aiding and Abetting: Enabling the commission of a cyber crime especially some cyber café operators in Nigeria.
 
6)Computer-Related Forgery: Alteration of data with intent to represent as authentic.
 
7)Computer-Related Fraud: Alteration of data with intent to derive economic benefit from its misrepresentation.
 
8)Misuse of Computer Assets: This is another form of computer crime, although it may be more correctly described as computer abuse. It involves the use of company assets, in this case computers, by employees for non-authorized activities.

9)Theft of Computer Hardware: There have been occasions where the theft of computer hardware, specifically computer memory chips, made them more valuable than anything

                 Mode and Manner of Committing Cybercrime:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. E.g. the Ziegler case wherein a logic bomb was introduced in the bank’s system, which deducted 10 cents from every account and deposited it in a particular account.

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.

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. E.g. love bug virus, which affected at least 5 % of the computers of the globe. The losses were accounted to be $ 10 million. The world's most famous worm was the Internet worm let loose on the Internet by Robert Morris sometime in 1988. Almost brought development of Internet to a complete halt.

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 date (like the Chernobyl virus).

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. 

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. 

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.

PREVENTION AGAINST CYBER CRIME

1.     Use Strong Passwords

Use different user ID / password combinations for different accounts and avoid writing them down. Make the passwords more complicated by combining letters, numbers, special characters (minimum 10 characters in total) and change them on a regular basis.

2.     Secure your computer

o    Activate your firewall
Firewalls are the first line of cyber defense; they block connections to unknown or bogus sites and will keep out some types of viruses and hackers.

o    Use anti-virus/malware software
Prevent viruses from infecting your computer by installing and regularly updating anti-virus software.

o    Block spyware attacks
Prevent spyware from infiltrating your computer by installing and updating anti-spyware software.

3.     Be Social-Media Savvy

Make sure your social networking profiles (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, MSN, etc.) are set to private. Check your security settings. Be careful what information you post online.  Once it is on the Internet, it is there forever!

4.     Secure your Mobile Devices

Be aware that your mobile device is vulnerable to viruses and hackers.  Download applications from trusted sources.

5.     Install the latest operating system updates

Keep your applications and operating system (e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux) current with the latest system updates. Turn on automatic updates to prevent potential attacks on older software.

6.     Protect your Data 

Use encryption for your most sensitive files such as tax returns or financial records, make regular back-ups of all your important data, and store it in another location.

7.     Secure your wireless network

Wi-Fi (wireless) networks at home are vulnerable to intrusion if they are not properly secured. Review and modify default settings. Public Wi-Fi, a.k.a. “Hot Spots”, are also vulnerable. Avoid conducting financial or corporate transactions on these networks.

8.     Protect your e-identity

Be cautious when giving out personal information such as your name, address, phone number or financial information on the Internet. Make sure that websites are secure (e.g. when making online purchases) or that you’ve enabled privacy settings (e.g. when accessing/using social networking sites).

9.     Avoid being scammed

Always think before you click on a link or file of unknown origin. Don’t feel pressured by any emails. Check the source of the message. When in doubt, verify the source. Never reply to emails that ask you to verify your information or confirm your user ID or password.  

10.    Call the right person for help

Don’t panic! If you are a victim, if you encounter illegal Internet content (e.g. child exploitation) or if you suspect a computer crime, identity theft or a commercial scam, report this to your local police. If you need help with maintenance or software installation on your computer, consult with your service provider or a certified computer technician.