Cybercrime
These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts.
[1] Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive information, disrupt services, and cause financial or reputational harm to individuals, organizations, and governments.
[4] The World Economic Forum's (WEF) 2020 Global Risks Report highlighted that organized cybercrime groups are joining forces to commit criminal activities online, while estimating the likelihood of their detection and prosecution to be less than 1 percent in the US.
[13] Government officials and information technology (IT) security specialists have documented a significant increase in network problems and server scams since early 2001.
According to the FBI, cyber extortionists are increasingly attacking corporate websites and networks, crippling their ability to operate, and demanding payments to restore their service.
[16] Ransomware is a type of malware used in cyberextortion to restrict access to files, sometimes threatening permanent data erasure unless a ransom is paid.
[21] Perpetrators use social media networks, video conferences, dating pages, online chat rooms, apps, dark web sites,[26] and other platforms.
[34] According to the U.S. Department of Defense, cyberspace has emerged as an arena for national-security threats through several recent events of geostrategic importance, including the attack on Estonia's infrastructure in 2007, allegedly by Russian hackers.
[36] Crimes that use computer networks or devices to advance other ends include: The unsolicited sending of bulk email for commercial purposes (spam) is unlawful in some jurisdictions.
Whereas content may be offensive in a non-specific way, harassment directs obscenities and derogatory comments at specific individuals, often focusing on gender, race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation.
Sentencing Guidelines Manual §2G1.3(b)(3) for his use of a cell phone to "persuade, induce, entice, coerce, or facilitate the travel of, the minor to engage in prohibited sexual conduct."
Sentencing Guidelines Manual states that the term "computer" means "an electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high-speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device."
These acts can also be prosecuted on the federal level, because of US Code 18 Section 2261A, which states that using computers to threaten or harass can lead to a sentence of up to 20 years.
In China, a country with over 20 percent of the world's internet users, in response to the Human Flesh Search Engine bullying incident, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council passed a strict law against cyberbullying.
[40][41] The United Kingdom passed the Malicious Communications Act, which states that sending messages or letters electronically that the government deems "indecent or grossly offensive" and/or language intended to cause "distress and anxiety" can lead to a prison sentence of six months and a potentially large fine.
She filed a lawsuit against UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan along with other defendants, accusing them of sharing her photos online.
Commonly used tools for hiding their online presence include virtual private networks (VPNs), Tails, and the Tor Browser.
In July 2017, the FBI seized one of the biggest markets, commonly called Alphabay, which re-opened in August 2021 under the control of DeSnake, one of the original administrators.
[59] But despite the large amount of time investigators spend tracking down people, in 2018 only 65 suspects who bought and sold illegal goods on some of the biggest markets were identified.
There are many ways for cybercrime to take place, and investigations tend to start with an IP Address trace; however, that does not necessarily enable detectives to solve a case.
Methods of cybercrime detective work are dynamic and constantly improving, whether in closed police units or in the framework of international cooperation.
[89] Because cybercriminals commonly use encryption and other techniques to hide their identity and location, it can be difficult to trace a perpetrator after a crime is committed, so prevention measures are crucial.
Shuman Ghosemajumder has argued that individual companies using a combination of products for security is not a scalable approach and has advocated for the use of cybersecurity technology primarily at the platform level.
[95] On a personal level, there are some strategies available to defend against cybercrime:[96] Because of weak laws, cybercriminals operating from developing countries can often evade detection and prosecution.
[99] In April 2015, then-President Barack Obama released an executive order that allows the US to freeze the assets of convicted cybercriminals and block their economic activity within the United States.
[103] However, some former cybercriminals have been hired as information security experts by private companies due to their inside knowledge of computer crime, a phenomenon which theoretically could create perverse incentives.
[citation needed] Blogs and social networks have contributed substantially to information sharing, so that beginners can benefit from older hackers' knowledge and advice.
By comparison, a software-as-a-service for mail is a scalable and inexpensive bulk e-mail-sending service for marketing purposes that could be easily set up for spam.
[113] Cloud computing could help cybercriminals leverage their attacks, whether brute-forcing a password, improving the reach of a botnet, or facilitating a spamming campaign.
Smartphone Addiction, Social Support, and Cybercrime Victimization: A Discrete Survival and Growth Mixture Model: Psychosocial Intervention.
