Concept of Cyber Crime and Classification of Cyber Crime According To Criminal and Non Criminal Offenses
Concept of Cyber Crime and Classification of Cyber Crime According To Criminal and Non Criminal Offenses
Concept of Cyber Crime and Classification of Cyber Crime According To Criminal and Non Criminal Offenses
PRESENTED BY
ROHIT REVO
CONTENTS
Title
Page
Definitions of Cybercrime
Cyber Criminals
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Definitions of Cybercrime
Crime is defined as an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.
While the definition of Crime is widely accepted, there is an absence of an agreed definition for Cybercrime. Given the fast
changing pace of developments in this industry, the definition of Cybercrime is still evolving. Though widely used in day today conversations
and in media, this term means different things to different people.
Directed at computers
Computer Crime
Computer-focused crimes
Computer-mediated activities
Classification of Cyber
Crime
Many academicians, agencies and companies have tried to
classify the cyber crimes and group them into different sub
classifications. This is important to identify the level of offence
and which category the offence falls into.
True Cyber Crime and E-enabled Cyber Crime
Take an example of an email got from a spammer, which the receiver forward to another friend without checking the contents. The sender
may be committing a cyber crime offense by distributing a malicious Trojan or self replicating virus unintentionally. The penalties for
unintentional cyber crime are lenient as compared to people committing intentional acts of cyber crime with the sole aim of causing financial
and reputation loss
A recent addition to cyber crime is corporate espionage, and planning or carrying out terrorist activities online.
Cyber Criminals
The computer underground lexicon generally divides computer criminals into three
separate types: script-kiddies, hackers, and crackers.
Script-kiddies employ tools downloaded from the Internet to exploit common security
weaknesses. They are involved in nuisance crimes like defacing websites and the amount
of damage they cause is limited.
Hackers are able to use the standard tools with a much higher degree of sophistication
and some are adept enough to design intrusion programs. There is also a voyeuristic
component
Crackers include those who attack computer systems for personal profit, such as people
carrying out economic espionage, or for malicious purposes, like virus writers. Cyber
terrorists are grouped with crackers because they share similarly malevolent purposes 15
CYBER CRIME THEORY
In some countries the laws may either not been developed yet or they may
be tolerant and lenient towards certain cyber crime activities, which would
in the long run cause these criminals to localise their activities in certain
countries. Like the Nigerian email spam and the Russian and Chinese
malware activists.
Ease of Location
Cyber crime is easier to conduct that a traditional crime as an
operator can operate from any location, and in the absence of a
formal crime scene, cyber crime needs specialised people and data
forensics to track the digital evidence. All the collaborators can
operate in a virtual world and once they taste success, they boast
and build a false aura around their digital personalities, which is also
encouraging a lot of hackers.
Cybercrime
Traditional criminals or robbers in the past would have to physically enter
the bank premises and gain entry to collect cash and monies. Whereas
cyber criminals can gain access to banks computer system and steal
money and cause massive disruptions to the operations of the bank and
also cause irreparable damage to the banks reputation.
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It would be fair to say that traditional crime is now migrating into the realm of
Internet as Cyber Crime.
Traditional crime
Cybercrime equivalent
Fraud
Online fraud/mass marketed fraud (including auction fraud, advance fee fraud, phishing)
Burglary/malicious damage
Money laundering
Theft
Identity theft, bank website phishing and movie, music and software piracy
Stalking
While there are tough penalties for traditional crime, the regulation has been behind when it comes to deterring cyber
criminals. Probability of being caught is minimal and the penalties do not adequately fit the crime. For this reason, in spite
of the increasingly stringent regulations and compliance mandates, we can expect to see criminals continue to target the
payment card industry and will see continued data breaches. 17
One of the main differences in Cyber and Traditional Crime is that in a traditional crime, the victim and the offender operate
in close proximity to each other whereas in the realm of cyber crime, the victim and the assaulter could be in different
CYBER CRIME THEORY
geographical areas and maybe in different time zones as well.
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This includes spamming, malware infection, botnets, denial of service, misuse of devices , intrusion
attempts, malicious code, infections worms and malware. This could include simple or malicious hacking
An offense carried out by an individual can have criminal or non criminal retribution.
Certain offenses can be charged as either ordinance or criminal offenses - for example, retail theft
(shoplifting) or disorderly conduct. And some offenses are noncriminal for first time offenders but
criminal for second time violators.
A non criminal offense may result in a monetary penalty like a parking fine whereas a criminal
offense may lead to a jail term and a possible penalty. 21
As a general principle if its a crime offline, then it is also a crime online and can have an
equivalent severe punishment for the act. 22
Research has shown that people who are involved in cyber crimes know their victims more often.
Digital threat offenders threaten their ex-partner more often (28.9%) than in the case of traditional
threats (15.5%). Digital fraud occurs more often between business partners (47.3% vs. 24% for digital
and traditional fraud, respectively) and occurs less often among acquaintances (1.8% vs. 7% for digital
and traditional fraud, respectively). 23
CYBER CRIME THEORY
Offense
-
Type of Offense
Hacking
Defacing of Websites/Cyber
Vandalism
This offense is non criminal in nature and is primarily aimed to hurt company reputations
and also to propagate a message usually done by either fanatics or cross border non state
actors.
Dissemination of viruses
The effect of this could be minimal or major. The act could be classified as Criminal or Non
Criminal based on the classification of data this virus destroys and if this leads to Denial of
critical Service.
While this is equivalent to cyber trespassing and could be classified as an Act of Civil
Disobedience, (occupy protests/sit-ins) on the Internet this is classified as high Tech cyber
crime in Australia. European Unions Cyber Crime Convention and UK legal system also
criminalizes this attack.
Creation of viruses, worms, trojans is a criminal activity which is done with the sole aim of
causing disruptions in service. However there could be a Non Intentional Act of distribution
of such malicious software which may replicate by sending in an email and if the person
CYBER CRIME THEORYdoes not know about the malicious contents then it is a non criminal offense.
Offense
Type of Offense
This is an criminal act in which funds are stolen and transferred overseas. It is increasingly
becoming a cyber crime as people turn to online channels to transfer these funds.
Cyber terrorism
Intellectual
Property/Copyright
infringements/Piracy
This is a criminal act which could result in a jail term as well as a hefty fines.
Spam
It is an offense to send Spam to individuals you dont deal with. While this may be Non
Criminal offense, some of the outcomes or actions resulting from the Spam could have
Criminal consequences.
Cyber
obscenity/pornography
This could be a criminal offense in some countries but in some countries it is perfectly legal
to allow pornography for people aged 16 years and above. Child Abuse Material generation
and distribution is however a criminal offense.
Bullying/Stalking
Cyber Criminals take advantage of vulnerabilities and peoples emotions. These act is
Criminal in Nature according to NSW (Domestic and Personal Violence Act 2007)
Offense
Type of Offense
Domain name
hijacking/Cyber Squatting
This could lead to loss of revenue for companies attacked. However this act can be classified
as Non Criminal in nature.
This is a criminal act which could have severe consequences for the perpetrators.
Blackmail
These act is Criminal in Nature according to NSW (Domestic and Personal Violence Act 2007)
Hate sites
There has been a lot of debate about Hate Laws in Australia and the amendments being
bought in by the government to allow free speech and to modify Racial Discrimination Act
18c. This is a non criminal offense at this moment. However if any hate crime gets reported
on such sites that is a criminal act.
Corporate Espionage
It is a federal crime in many countries including US. In some countries civil laws cover these
acts however they are better addressed by bringing this under the purview of criminal law.