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Technology

'The Bad Guys are a Step Ahead of the Good Guys'

Dolly Bhasin
Mar 2009

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In the present day world, India has witnessed an unprecedented index of Cyber crimes whether they pertain to Trojan attacks, salami attacks, e-mail bombing, DOS attacks, information theft, or the most common offence of hacking. Despite technological measures being adopted by corporate organizations and individuals, we have witnessed that the frequency of cyber crimes has increased over the last decade.

Cyber crime refers to the act of performing a criminal act using cyberspace (the Internet network), as the communication vehicle.

Though there is no technical definition by any statutory body for Cyber crime, it is broadly defined by the Computer Crime Research Center as - “Crimes committed on the internet using the computer either as a tool or a targeted victim.”

All cyber crimes involve both the computer and the person behind it as victims, it just depends on which of the two is the main target.

Cyber crime could include anything as simple as downloading illegal music files to stealing millions of dollars from online bank accounts. Cyber crime could also include non-monetary offenses, such as creating and distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the Internet.

An important form of cyber crime is identity theft, in which criminals use the Internet to steal personal information from other users. There are two ways this is done - phishing and harming, both methods lure users to fake websites, where they are asked to enter personal information. This includes login information, such as usernames and passwords, phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and other information criminals can use to "steal" another person's identity.

History

The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820 which 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 was the first recorded cyber crime.

Manifestations

The broad range of cyber crimes can be better understood by dividing it into two overall categories, defined for the purpose of understanding as Type I and Type II cyber crime.

Type I cyber crime has the following characteristics:

It is generally a single event from the perspective of the victim. For example, the victim unknowingly downloads a Trojan horse which installs a keystroke logger on his or her machine. Alternatively, the victim might receive an e-mail containing what claims to be a link to a known entity, but in reality it is a link to a hostile website.

It is often facilitated by crime ware programs such as keystroke loggers, viruses, root kits or Trojan horses.

Software flaws or vulnerabilities often provide the foothold for the attacker. For example, criminals controlling a website may take advantage of a vulnerability in a Web browser to place a Trojan horse on the victim's computer. Examples of this type of cybercrime include but are not limited to phishing, theft or manipulation of data or services via hacking or viruses, identity theft, and bank or e-commerce fraud.

Type II cybe rcrime, at the other end of the spectrum, includes, but is not limited to activities such as cyber-stalking and harassment, child predation, extortion, blackmail, stock market manipulation, complex corporate espionage, and planning or carrying out terrorist activities. The characteristics of Type II cyber crime are:

• It is generally an on-going series of events, involving repeated interactions with the target. For example, the target is contacted in a chat room by someone who, over time, attempts to establish a relationship. Eventually, the criminal exploits the relationship to commit a crime. Or, members of a terrorist cell or criminal organization may use hidden messages to communicate in a public forum to plan activities or discuss money laundering locations, for example.

• It is generally facilitated by programs that do not fit into the classification of crimeware. For example, conversations may take place using IM (Instant Messaging). Clients or files may be transferred using FTP.

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