Computers,
despite being such high technology devices, are extremely vulnerable.
In fact it may be easier to steal national secrets from military
computers than to steal "laddoos" from a "mithai"
shop.
Cyber
crime is an evil having its origin in the growing dependence
on computers in modern life. In a day and age when everything
from microwave ovens and refrigerators to nuclear power plants
is being run on computers, cyber crime has assumed rather sinister
implications.
The
first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! That
is not surprising considering the fact that the abacus, which
is thought to be the earliest form of a computer, has been around
since 3500 B.C. in India, Japan and China. The era of modern
computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles
Babbage.
In
1820, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a textile manufacturer in France,
produced the loom. This device allowed the repetition of a series
of steps in the weaving of special fabrics. This resulted in
a fear amongst Jacquard's employees that their traditional employment
and livelihood were being threatened. They committed acts of
sabotage to discourage Jacquard from further use of the new
technology. This is the first recorded cyber crime!
At
the onset, let us satisfactorily define "cyber crime"
and differentiate it from "conventional Crime". A
simple yet sturdy definition of cyber crime would be "unlawful
acts wherein the computer is either a tool or a target or both".
There
are several types of cyber crime. Financial crimes, Cyber pornography,
Sale of illegal articles, Online gambling, Email spoofing, Forgery,
Cyber Defamation, Cyber stalking and Intellectual Property crimes
are some of them. These would include cheating, credit card
frauds, money laundering, pornographic websites; pornographic
magazines produced using computers (to publish and print the
material), the Internet (to download and transmit pornographic
pictures, photos, writings etc), sale of narcotics, weapons
and wildlife etc., by posting information on websites, auction
websites, and bulletin boards or simply by using email communication,
software piracy, copyright infringement, trademarks violations,
theft of computer source code etc.
There
are millions of websites; all hosted on servers abroad, that
offer online gambling. In fact, it is believed that many of
these websites are actually fronts for money laundering. A spoofed
email is one that appears to originate from one source but actually
has been sent from another source. Email spoofing can also cause
monetary damage. Counterfeit currency notes, postage and revenue
stamps, mark sheets etc can be forged using sophisticated computers,
printers and scanners.
This
occurs when defamation takes place with the help of computers
and / or the Internet. Cyber stalking involves following a person's
movements across the Internet by posting messages (sometimes
threatening) on the bulletin boards frequented by the victim,
entering the chat-rooms frequented by the victim, constantly
bombarding the victim with emails etc.
Frequently Used Cyber Crimes
Unauthorized
access to computer systems or networks : This activity is commonly
referred to as hacking.
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. 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).
Theft of information contained in electronic form : This includes
information stored in computer hard disks, removable storage
media etc. Email bombing : Email
bombing refers to sending a large number of emails to the victim
resulting in the victim's email account (in case of an individual)
or mail servers (in case of a company or an email service provider)
crashing. Data diddling :
This kind of an attack involves altering raw data just before
it is processed by a computer and then changing it back after
the processing is completed. Salami attacks : These
attacks are used for the commission of financial crimes. The
key here is to make the alteration so insignificant that in
a single case it would go completely unnoticed. Denial of Service attack : This
involves flooding a computer resource with more requests than
it can handle. This causes the resource (e.g. a web server)
to crash thereby denying authorized users the service offered
by the resource. Another variation to a typical denial of service
attack is known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack
wherein the perpetrators are many and are geographically widespread.
It is very difficult to control such attacks. The attack is
initiated by sending excessive demands to the victim's computer(s),
exceeding the limit that the victim's servers can support and
making the servers crash. 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. Trojan attacks : A
Trojan as this program is aptly called, is an unauthorized program
which functions from inside what seems to be an authorized program,
thereby concealing what it is actually doing.
Internet time thefts : This connotes the usage by an unauthorized
person of the Internet hours paid for by another person.
Web jacking : This occurs when someone forcefully takes control
of a website (by cracking the password and later changing it).
The actual owner of the website does not have any more control
over what appears on that website Theft of computer system :
This type of offence involves the theft of a computer, some
part(s) of a computer or a peripheral attached to the computer.
Physically damaging a computer
system : This crime is committed by physically
damaging a computer or its peripherals
Cyber Criminals Kids (age group 9-16 etc.)
It
seems really difficult to believe but it is true. Most amateur
hackers and cyber criminals are teenagers. To them, who have
just begun to understand what appears to be a lot about computers,
it is a matter of pride to have hacked into a computer system
or a website. There is also that little issue of appearing
really smart among friends. These young rebels may also commit
cyber crimes without really knowing that they are doing anything
wrong. Organized hacktivists
Hacktivists
are hackers with a particular (mostly political) motive. In
other cases this reason can be social activism, religious
activism, etc. Disgruntled employees
One
can hardly believe how spiteful displeased employees can become.
Till now they had the option of going on strike against their
bosses. Now, with the increase independence on computers and
the automation of processes, it is easier for disgruntled
employees to do more harm to their employers by committing
computer related crimes, which can bring entire systems down. Professional hackers (corporate
espionage)
Extensive
computerization has resulted in business organizations storing
all their information in electronic form. Rival organizations
employ hackers to steal industrial secrets and other information
that could be beneficial to them.
What are the reasons for the vulnerability of computers? Computers
store huge amounts of data in small spaces, ease of access,
complexity and human error are some of them. Hackers easily
exploit the numerous weaknesses in operating systems and security
products. People who guard confidential papers with their
lives would not think twice about using simple passwords.
Most people don't realize the security implications and ramifications
of a simple 'guessable' password.
Vladimir Levin, Johan Helsingius, Kevin Mitnick, Robert Morris,
Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson are the World's Most Famous
Hackers
