Cybercrime is constantly on the rise. Cybercriminals on the internet are always on the lookout for new ways to exploit and steal personal information from businesses and individuals.
They have new and different ways of doing so and when they get the information they were looking for, they most likely sell it for their own financial gain. It seems as though there is no place on the internet that hackers cannot get into as they have even gained access to classified government websites. The question here is, how? How are cybercriminals able to hack and gain access to personal information? The answer is that there is no lone method.
There are many different types of cybercrime and methods in which they could be carried out. This article will cover all these different types, and go into detail about all the cyber-attacks occurring in today’s world.
What Is The Definition Of Cyber Crime?
Cybercrime is essentially any type of crime that involves the use of a network. This is usually done via the internet on a computer which are tools that allow the crime to be committed.
A cybercriminal may use a device, such as a computer, to access someone’s personal information, confidential business information, government information, or disable a device. It is also considered a cybercrime to sell or merely obtain the above information online.
This definition makes the category of cybercrime extremely broad, and so categories have been created that help narrow down the different types of cybercrime, so you know exactly what types of threats there are and how you can deal with them.
What Are The Categories Of Cyber Crime?
There are three major categories that cybercrime falls into which are individual, property and government. The types of methods used and difficulty levels vary depending on the category.
Individual: This is a category of cyber crime that targets specific and individual people. Most of the time it involves cyber harassment, stalking, This can include cyberstalking, distributing pornography and trafficking, credit card fraud, identity theft, and online libel or slander.
Property: These online crimes occur against property, which in this case includes items such as a computer or server. These crimes can be very malicious and can include things like using software to gain access to a web page with confidential information, hacking, virus transmission, computer vandalism, and copyright infringement.
Government: Although this type of cybercrime is less common than the other two categories listed above, it is extremely serious and considered a much more significant offence. This is because when cybercrime is committed against the government, it is considered an attack on that nation’s supreme power. The type of cyber crimes committed within this category includes hacking government websites, military websites or distributing propaganda, as well as accessing confidential information and pirated software.
What Are The Different Types Of Cyber Crime?
In order to protect yourself and your organisation, you need to know about the different ways in which your computer can be compromised and your privacy infringed. Below we discuss the most common ways that cyber crime is committed.
Phishing
Phishing is a cyber security threat and consists of a fraudulent message that has been designed specifically to be used for fake communication, such as through an email. Usually, these cybercrimes are committed by impersonating trusted and popular brands creating fake social media profiles and rogue websites to lure users into them. These sites copy the appearance of the real website to create a sense of security and usually ask to fill forms with personal information to receive some kind of benefit, such as discounts.
The goal of these scams is to trick the receiver into opening it and carrying out the instructions inside, such as providing a credit card number, account details, personal information, or passwords. This not only reveals sensitive information to the attacker, but they can also deploy malicious software on the victim’s infrastructure like ransomware.
Botnets
A botnet is a number of Internet-connected devices, each of which is controlled externally by remote hackers. This network of comprised computers is called a botnet and gives cyber criminals the ability to control infected computers or mobile devices from afar.
This means that the instance that the infected malware is launched on your computer or mobile device, it takes it straight into the infected botnet network and allows a cybercriminal to access, control and use your data in the background, without you even knowing.
DDoS Attacks
A DDoS attack involves flooding a computer resource with more requests than it can handle, therefore consuming its available bandwidth which results in server overload. This causes the resource (e.g. a web server) to crash or slow down significantly so that no one can access it.
This way of making online services unavailable allows a cyber criminal to then hack into the system and take any of the information or data that they want.
Identity Theft
Identity theft is when someones personal details are stolen, with the intent of using them maliciously for personal benefit. These personal details are then used to steal funds, access even more confidential information, or participate in tax or health insurance fraud.
Identity thieves often use computers to steal and/or sell social security numbers, bank account information or credit card information through social media or fake job adverts.
Cyber Stalking
This kind of cybercrime involves online harassment where the victim is at the receiving end of what can seem like endless messages and emails. Cyber stalkers usually use social media to do this as they can easily intimidate someone, possibly even using a fake account. Usually, the cyberstalker knows their victim and makes the person feel afraid or concerned for their safety.
Cyber Terrorism
Cyber terrorism, also known as information wars, can be defined as an act of Internet terrorism that includes deliberate and large-scale attacks and disruptions of computer networks using computer viruses, or physical attacks using malware, to attack individuals, governments and organisations.
The goal of these types of cyber terrorism attacks is to create a feeling of terror in the minds of the victims. This makes it very different to other types of cyberattacks of which their purpose is simply for a financial, or egotistical, gain.
Cyber terrorists operate with the goal of damage and destruction at the forefront of their activities. For this reason, if they are caught, their legal offence is considered much greater than other types of cybercrimes.
Software Piracy
The unfortunate truth in the case of software piracy is that it’s an integral part of our lives to which, most of us, unknowingly contribute. What makes it a cybercrime is those who knowingly contribute to it.
Software piracy is the illegal copying, installation, use, distribution, or sale of software in any way other than that is expressed in the license agreement. This affects the global economy as a whole as funds are relayed from their original sectors and this consequently results in less investment in marketing and research.
Password Attacks
Password attacks, also known as password cracking is the process of recovering passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system in scrambled form.
This type of cybercrime is simply meant to decrypt or even attempt to obtain a user’s password with the help of criminal intentions. Attackers can use dictionary attacks, password sniffers, or even cracking programs in such cases. These attacks are conducted by accessing passwords that are exported or stored in a file.
How To Prevent Cyber Crimes?
It really seems, in this day and age, that attackers are out to get your information wherever you are online. Knowing how to recognise cybercrime is the first step to helping protect yourself, your data and your organisation. It is also a good idea to know who to contact when you see others engaged in criminal activities so that you can successfully report them.
You might want to learn how to prevent cybercrime, but here’s the thing: You can’t. There are however certain precautions you can take to educate yourself and others, as well as to protect yourself as an individual or as a business.
- Use strong passwords: this includes not repeating the same password on multiple sites and changing them every so often to decrease the chance of them being guessed or hacked.
- Keep your software updated: cybercriminals frequently use known exploits, or flaws in software are used as an entry point to access your system and data. Keeping your software updated can help patch up these flaws so it’s harder for you to become a victim.
- Update your social media privacy settings: cybercriminals can often get your personal information with just a few data points, so the less you share publicly, the better.
- Never click on unfamiliar ads or links: these can lead you straight into the middle of a cyber-attack as they may contain malicious malware or computer worms that steal and manipulate your data.
- Install a VPN: this can help to protect the data you send and receive online, especially when accessing the internet on public Wi-Fi.
