CYBER SECURITY
&
CYBER CRIMES
CYBER SPACE
• Cyber space is a virtual environment created by computer
systems connected to the
Internet. It is the term used to refer to a simulated world, where
we can do many things at one place
Cyberspace is an unreal world in which communication
over computer networks occurs. It is an information
superhighway where individuals gather information,
interact, exchange ideas, provide social support, conduct
business, play games, engage in discussions and so on
• Cyberspace is a space where social interactions dominate.
Some people consider cyberspace as an uncontrolled and
unregulated electronic space where anyone is free
to do anything as they wish and express themselves freely.
• Such acts of people affect or negatively influence many
others. Hence, when an individual works on the Internet,
they have to follow some rules and ethics which are
beneficial to all users.
• This unregulated space also provides room for
criminals. Since activities like communication, financial
transactions, etc. in the cyberspace increase day by
day, it has opened a new medium for criminal
activities. Today cyberspace security has
become a serious concern.
CYBER CRIMES
We know that the Internet has opened new opportunities in entertainment, business
communication education, sports, etc. At the same time, it is a reality that some
people use the Internet for committing illegal activities
The increasing use of the Internet through smart phones and tablets for online
banking and other financial transactions has increased the risk. Rising Internet
penetration and online banking provides opportunities for cyber criminals to target
online financial transactions, using malicious software(malware) or through illegal
hacking
TITLE AND CONTENT LAYOUT WITH CHART
Cyber crime
Cyber crime against Cyber crime
against
individuals against property
government
Credit card Cyber
Identity theft
fraud terrorism
Intellectual Website
Harassment
property Theft defacement
Impersonatio Attack against
Internet time
n and e-governance
theft
cheating website
Violation of
privacy
A. CYBER CRIMES AGAINST INDIVIDUALS
The popularity of broadband Internet increased the dependence
of Internet for daily activities. This increased the risk of online
crimes. An act of a person in cyberspace that causes physical or
mental trouble to an individual is referred to as cyber crime
Harassment, assuming someone's identity, impersonation and
violation of privacy are
some examples of cyber crimes.
I. IDENTITY THEFT : Identity theft occurs when someone uses
another person's identifying information, like their name,
credit card number, etc. without their permission to commit
fraud or other crimes. It is a form of stealing a person's
identity, by which someone pretends to be someone else, to
gain access to resources like bank account, social media
accounts, etc. This is done with intention of transferring
money from the victim's bank account, payments for
purchases, defaming the person through social media, etc
ii. HARASSMENT: Posting humiliating comments focusing on gender, race,
religion nationality at specific individuals in chat rooms, social media, e-mail,
etc. is harassment. The use of vulgar or indecent language, threatening any
illegal or immoral act through a computer or a computer network is
considered as harassment. The use of the Internet, to harass someone is
called cyber stalking. You might have read about statements from celebrities
that the Facebook accounts in their names are fake. This is because such
accounts may contain pictures or posts with defaming content. These
profiles might be created using the photographs and personal information of
the celebrity by people with criminal intentions. There are people who
defame others by sending humiliating e-mails, Facebook posts, etc
iii. IMPERSONATION AND CHEATING: Impersonation is an
act of pretending to be another person for the purpose of
harming the victim. There are people who utilise the
anonymity of the Internet to commit impersonation online
Sometimes we may receive e-mails seeking help for
transferring large amounts of money from a distant country
to India. Usually, the sender states that this money is in the
form of an asset (land, gold, etc.) that is to be sold.
iv. VIOLATION OF PRIVACY: Violation of privacy is the intrusion into the
personal life of another, without a valid reason. This gives the person
whose privacy has been invaded, the right to file a lawsuit for damages
against the person/organisation that intruded. It consists of distributing
private information like personal data, photography, workplace
monitoring videos, etc.
You might have heard of issues regarding the use of hidden cameras,
mobile cameras etc, to capture images of women in public places.
Photography of any person (men or women) without his/her permission
amounts to violation of privacy. Posting images of others in social media,
transferring them to others through e-mail/copying,
B . CYBER CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY
Cyber crimes against all forms of property like credit cards,
intellectual property, etc. are termed as cyber crime
against property. These crime includes hacking, piracy,
computer vandalism (destruction of others property),
unauthorised intrusion through cyberspace, unauthorised
possession of information stored in computers, etc. Some
classifications of cyber crimes against property are givens
I. CREDIT CARD FRAUD: Credit card fraud involves an
unauthorised usage of another person's credit card information
for the purpose of payments for purchases or transferring funds
from it. There are instances where the web servers of
organisations are hacked and credit card information of a large
number of people is stolen by Internet thieves. They use this
information to make payments or they sell this information to
other fraudsters over Internet for a small price large
• II. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT: The infringement of
IPRs come under this category Violation of copyright,
patent, trademark, etc. are intrusions against property
Recently an Indian IT company developed software for
correcting errors in program code One of the employees of
this company copied this software in a CD and tried to sell
it to competitor for a big price. This led to huge financial
and property loss to the company. This is considered as
theft of intellectual property
• III INTERNET TIME THEFT: Today almost all modems/routers
have wireless Internet facility. They provide sharing of
Internet at homes, schools, business establishments etc. If
this is not properly secured using passwords, other people
may use our Internet.
The usage of the Internet time by unauthorised persons,
without the permission of the person who pays for it is called
Internet time theft. This leads to loss of Internet time and
money
C. CYBER CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT
Increasing popularity of e-governance has made
governments vulnerable to cyber attacks. The various
governmental computer networks and websites are
vulnerable to risks and threats of cyber crimes. The
different categories of cyber attacks against
government
• I. CYBER TERRORISM: Cyber terrorism is a cyber attack against sensitive
computer networks like nuclear power plants, air traffic controls, gas line
controls, telecom, etc. These types of attacks against governments are
increasing globally. Cyber terrorism focuses on the use of the Internet by anti
nationals
to affect a nation's economic and technological infrastructure.
In 2010 a computer virus called tuxnet was used to carry out an invisible
attack on Iran's secret nuclear programme. This virus was aimed at disabling
Iran's Uranium enrichment programme. This virus infected a large number of
nuclear controls and gave false instructions leading to nuclear malfunctions
and break down.
Cyber terrorism may prove to be very costly to a country. Therefore
governments provide very powerful security mechanisms for their servers.
II. WEBSITE DEFACEMENT: This is a common cyber attack against
a government. Defacement of websites includes hacking of
government websites and posting
rogatory comments about a government in those websites.
III. ATTACKAGAINST E-GOVERNANCE WEBSITES: These types of
attacks deny a particular online government service. This is done
using a Distributed Denial of Service(DDoS) In another case the
website may be hacked and controlled by the hackers. They gain
access to website administration through content management
system and destroy the data. This causes huge loss to the
government.
