Cybercrime can be dark and scary, and it’s unfortunately on the rise too. Rapid technological growth and developments in the past decade have provided vast areas of new opportunity and efficient sources for organisations of all sizes, and that includes online criminals too.
But why do people turn to computer crime? It can be difficult to decipher the reasons behind committing a crime online, as there is no physical reward compared to real-life thieves who get a ‘real pay-out after a crime.
Within this article, we will explore the reasoning behind why most computer crime is committed, as well as how law enforcement organisations are putting a greater emphasis on online investigation and deterrents.
What Is A Cyber Attack?
As a definition, a cyber attack is ‘any offensive manoeuvre that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices.’
These attacks can then can maliciously disable computers, steal data, or use a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks. If successful, they can cause valuable downtime, data loss or manipulation, and money loss through ransoms. Also, having to go into downtime to fix this disruption can lead to major service interruptions and financial losses.
Why Do Cyber Criminals Attack?
Cyber security attacks can have devastating impacts on a business or even an individual. Data is breached and stolen, and many hackers leave the system inoperable or broken down afterwards to cause more damage. But why do they do it? Here are a few of the reasons why cybercriminals may attack.
Publicity
Hackers can work individually or as part of a group. Either way, they will want to be known as a force to be reckoned with and so may target nig-branded or well-known websites. This is because they know that this will give them huge amounts of publicity if they can get away with it.
Socio-political motivated attackers seek attention for their causes. As a result, they make their attacks known to the public—also known as hacktivism. They figure that this way, people will see them as danger and a threat, so they will get the recognition that they wish for. In fact, attacks on retailers, police forces and government websites have led to the recognition of hacker groups such as Lulzsec and Anonymous who can now lay their claim to attacking major websites such as Sony and the NHS.
Power
For any criminal, not just cybercriminals, a major motive behind their attack is power. That is why cybercriminals look for weakness within a target’s system or network so they can pinpoint exactly where they can get in easy to extract and transmit the data they want.
To do this, they may conduct research on the company’s employees and infrastructure. It does not help that many hackers are hard to trace, which means that the majority get away with defacing websites and stealing data. The power hackers have, knowing that they are untraceable and unstoppable is an attraction for many, encouraging them to repeatedly attack.
Revenge
As much as you try, you cannot always satisfy everyone and keep them happy. Many hackers will attack a website if they have reason to be annoyed with the organisation or brand. Either for political reasons, beliefs, or personal grudges, hackers can use cyber attacks as a way of getting their voices heard.
There is also a risk of a security breach and sensitive information being stolen by a previous employee who maybe left the organisation under poor terms and still has access to your systems. They can steal data simply by transmitting data files over the internet, photocopying and distributing documents, and using the knowledge they have gained whilst working for your company.
Types Of Cyber Attackers: Insiders And Outsiders
Now that we understand some of the reasons as to why attackers commit cybercrimes, you should know the different types of attackers. Being up to date with this type of information can better help you to protect your business or organisation.
Cyber attackers fall under two categories: those that threaten your business from the outside of your organisation, and those that present risks from the inside.
Insiders
Insider cyber attackers can include anyone who has access to the inside of your business’ building, or computer system. They can include:
trusted employees accidentally misplacing information
disgruntled employees or ex-employees with the intent on damaging your business
malicious insiders with legitimate access to critical systems and information
Jealous business partners, clients, or suppliers with access to your assets.
Outsiders
Outsider cyber attackers can come from anywhere, and therefore are harder to pinpoint than people on the inside. With that benign said, there are some leads that can provide clues as to who is damaging your business:
- Organised criminals or criminal groups
- Professional or amateur hackers
- Cybercriminals trying to access financial info for financial gain
In order to manage cyber risk, regardless of its source, you need to fully understand all the different types of cybercrime, which we will go into detail next. You should also know where and how to report cybercrime, in the unfortunate event that it happens to your business.
What Are The Main Types Of Cybercrime?
Phishing Scams
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.
Identity Theft
Identity theft is when someones personal details are stolen, with the intent of using them maliciously for personal benefit. Identity thieves often use computers to steal and/or sell social security numbers, bank account information or credit card information.
Much like all the other types of cybercrime, identity theft is illegal. However, many hackers and cybercriminals are finding ways to steal personal information without getting caught. This is why identity theft continues to grow in popularity, and it is rapidly becoming one of the most frequently perpetrated computer crimes.
Internet Fraud
Internet fraud is a type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance.
These types of scams have been around for a long time and before the internet was used to make internet fraud easier, they were quite widespread through fax, telephone and traditional mail.
Usually, internet fraud scammers will get in contact with their target telling them that they are in need of help to move a large sum of money, and if they cover a small portion of the cost of moving the assets, they will receive a bigger cut of the benefits when the process is over.
Many people have become aware of these types of scams and so cybercriminals have had to come up with new ways to trick their victims. One of these new ways is fake job listings, where the target is asked to pay some money to cover the cost of paperwork or pre onboarding formation before starting their job.
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 punishment will be much greater than other types of cybercriminals.
Computer Vandalism
This is a type of malicious behaviour that involves damaging computers and data in various ways and potentially disrupting businesses.
Typical computer vandalism involves the creation of malicious programs designed to perform malicious functions such as extracting a user’s password or other data or erasing the hard disk. Computer vandalism differs from a computer virus, which in comparison attaches itself to an existing executable program.
Piracy or Theft
Piracy is the act of illegally reproducing or disseminating copyrighted material, such as computer programs, books, music, films and software.
This is a major type of cybercrime that is widely spread around the internet and can cause so much distress and lost revenue for publishers, which in turn results in higher prices for the consumer.
This type of crime has been around since the creation of the internet and today you can even find peer sharing websites that encourage software piracy, most of which are now being targeted by the FBI. The judicial system is addressing this huge cyber crime issue and laws have been put in place to prevent people from illegal downloading such as The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
