Cyber Crime And Security

Cyber crime is widely defined as any criminal activity that involves an electronic device, another electronic device or even a public system. Cyber crime often includes common computer security threats such as system attacks, data corruption, password vulnerabilities and social engineering. However, cyber crimes are much more than just these common security issues. A recent survey found that one out of every eight Australian Internet users had been the victim of some form of cyber crime. The most common types of cyber crimes are:

Identity Theft

A major problem around the world, identity theft encompasses a wide array of activities from stolen passports and social security cards to hacking financial information. It is the fastest growing type of cyber crime and has reached epidemic proportions. Cyber criminals use various tactics to obtain confidential information, including the use of software to steal passwords and illicitly gained bank account numbers. This is a huge problem for businesses and individuals alike, as it is often impossible to regain access to lost information once it has been compromised. The threat of identity theft is ever-evolving and is now not limited to criminals in one geographic location but can happen at any time.

Flood attacks

Many Internet users have been recently impacted by a massive number of Internet “flood attacks” in which attackers to flood a website with a massive amount of traffic in a short period of time to overwhelm the server and cause data loss. These attacks typically arrive from multiple sources and can come from a wide variety of resources, ranging from high-priced downloads to malware programs disguised as viruses. With the flood attacks, it is very difficult for the victim to determine the source of the attack, making it nearly impossible to stop the attack in its tracks. In many cases, the damage done to a business can easily surpass the cost of the attack on a personal level.

Harassment and Cyber stalking

Harassment and Cyber stalking are another type of cyber crime that is becoming increasingly common in Australia. Cyber stalkers typically send private, often sexual, messages or images via various methods to their victim through the Internet or other means. This can include email, instant message, instant messaging, voice and video. The images or messages may include explicit drawings, images or words, which are then sent to the recipient in an unwanted manner.

Ransomware

This type of cyber crime comes in the form of a program that downloads itself onto a victim’s computer without their knowledge. The purpose of the program is to steal personal information and bank passwords in order to extort money or other services from the computer’s owner. While there are several different forms of this cyber-crime, one of the most common is known as “ransomware”. Due to the nature of this type of crime, many businesses have developed prevention and security measures that work well.

Cyber security threats

There are a number of different types of cyber crimes that involve malicious software that sends or receives personal information or system resources. One of the most common is known as “malware”, which is a more technical term than “viruses”. Malware typically installs itself on a computer without the user’s permission and then performs a series of actions on the system without the user’s authorization. For instance, a virus could perform a scan of your computer and show you pop-ups announcing, “You have been infected with X”, “you have 5 minutes left to save” etc. The purpose of these pop-ups is to scare you into paying the money or doing what the attacker wants. A good example of this would be the so-called “scam net scam”, which has been shown to have a high success rate of over 90%.