Cyber Crime, Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Incident Reporting - Literature review Example

However, these technologies represent significant costs for communication companies, and ultimately, the general public. With more businesses coming to depend on computers and internet-based systems, attacks on these systems have increased. Such attacks have been considered crimes which covers the application of computer networks, alongside financial scams, hacking, virus attacks, phishing, cyber stalking, and pornography (Li, et al. 2012). In 2000 for instance, the ILOVEYOU virus caused billions of dollars in damage to different computers and companies all over the world (Mishra and Pajrapati, 2013).

It was later discovered that two Filipinos were responsible for the creation of the virus. However, since the Philippines, at that time, did not have any cybercrime laws which would have held the perpetrators accountable, the perpetrators were later released (Mishra and Pajrapati, 2013). Regardless of the presence or absence of cybercrime laws however, the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators have been made difficult by the nature of the offence, including the complications related to the cyber security awareness and cyber incident reporting (McGuire and Dowling, 2013; KPMG, 2011).

This paper shall carry out a literature review of cybercrimes, cyber security awareness, including cyber incident reporting. Related details shall refer to the usual cybercrimes which have gained notoriety and in general, government actions related to cybercrimes, and the challenges presented by cybercrimes and cyber security.According to Gercke (2012) cybercrimes are also considered in relation to computer crimes. Different perspectives have been considered to develop a more encompassing definition and understanding of cybercrimes and computer crimes (Gercke, 2012).

Cybercrimes nevertheless have a more specific focus than computer-related crimes, especially as computer-crimes only involve computers (Stephenson and Gilbert, 2013).  Computer-related crimes include crimes which do not actually have a specific relationship to a network.  The most acceptable definition for cybercrime was laid out in 2000 by the 10th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Gercke, 2012).