Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism

Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism

• Cybercrime and cyber terrorism are evolutionary and fundamentally different from other subjects due to their rapid growth and changing nature.
• The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war have significantly impacted the scope and impact of cybercrime and cyber terrorism.

Defining the Terms

• The prefix "cyber" refers to anything related to computers or computer networks.
• Cybercrime and cyberterrorism encompass a range of crimes committed in the fields of information technology and computer networks.
• Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware, which aim to disrupt computer services, collect sensitive information, or gain access to private computers.

Overview of Cybercrime

• Cybercrime has increased dramatically in recent years.
• There is inconsistency in defining computer crime offenses and a lack of systematic data collection on offenses.
• Offenses vary in character, from clear criminality to acts where culpability is less clear.
• The global nature of networking offenses complicates the situation.

The Reality of Increased Cybervictimization

• The exponential growth of e-commerce and online financial transactions has increased threats from outsiders.
• The greatest threats may come from insiders or outsiders.
• The number of cybercrime victims is expected to grow substantially.

Changes to Cybervictimization and the Emergence of Cyber Terror

• Cybercrime and cyberterrorism are on parallel tracks, with cyberterrorism posing a grave threat.
• The National Infrastructure Protection Plan defines both "acts of terrorism" and "cyberthreats" as important evolving threats to critical infrastructures.

The Computer as Target

• Crimes where the computer is the target include:
  • Denial of expected service (DoS) attacks, which seek to deny legitimate users access to their data or computer.
  • Network intrusions that alter data, targeting server owners or business operations.
  • Computer vandalism, including defacement or alteration of a website, causing loss of revenue and public embarrassment.

The Computer as Instrument

• Crimes where the computer is used as an instrument of the crime include:
  • Theft, which can be the use of proprietary services without payment.
  • Fraud, which exploits trust in business transactions and can be perpetrated by buyers, sellers, or peers.
  • Pyramid schemes, which have found new legitimacy through professional-looking websites.
  • Phishing, which uses convincing fraudulent websites to track victims and obtain financial information.
  • Threats, harassment, and bullying, which have found a "perfect" medium in the internet.

The Computer as Incidental

• Crimes where the computer is incidental to the crime, but facilitates it, include:
  • Loan sharking, drug rings, money laundering, and production and distribution of child pornography.
  • Luring victims, which has been facilitated by the internet.
• There is no clear distinction between when the computer is incidental to the crime and when it is an instrument of the crime.