Cyber Crimes and Security on the Internet - Research Paper Example

 The internet has revolutionized business landscape given that the information highways created by digital technology make it possible for different types of businesses to be conducted online. This space is commonly referred to as cyberspace and is not affected by any geographical or physical barrier (Hofman, 17). The internet has also increased the speed with which business can be conducted online and this method is secure. However, there has been a growing concern about issues related to cyber security since there are numerous cyber crimes that have been reported in the media in different parts of the globe. As such, this paper seeks to discuss various issues related to cyber security as well as to provide suggestions as to what can be done in order to curb these critical issues. Some people tend to abuse the internet in order to commit different types of crimes and this practice is commonly known as cybercrime. This type of type of crime can be attributed to the fact that there is a gap that exists between the social systems that cannot match the rapidly changing technical system such that they can control the flow of information through the use of digital technology. According to Huang & Wang (5), cybercrime can be described as violation of the law which involves the abuse of information through the use of the internet. There are different cybercrimes that can be committed through the use of the internet and they include the following: computer viruses, unlawful access to computer systems, manipulation of data, theft of information, and fraud. Organizations as well as individuals often commit these crimes and they are bent on stealing from unsuspecting members of the society. The following part of the paper will critically discuss each type of cyber crime and its impact on the affected people. The element of computer viruses is on the rise and this crime is committed by people who have different motives and intentions. Haag, Cummings & Dawkins (187) posit to the effect that a computer virus is a program that is designed with the sole purpose of destroying or manipulating data belonging to different people. The internet is used to send different computer viruses to different machines that are connected to the network. The people who are involved in this kind of crime are so cunning such that the unsuspecting person can just open a certain web page without knowing that it is full of virus. On such pages, there are certain prompts that will lead the unsuspecting person to install the program on the machine and it manipulates information. When the information in the data base has been manipulated, the affected person is then instructed to purchase the product that can be used to solve the problem. In most cases, people who have been affected by the problem of viruses often lose their data. It is quite disturbing to lose all the data that is stored on the machine as a result of the virus. Another important aspect to take into consideration is that fact that cyber crime can be committed using data about other people that is obtained from public domains (Lessig, 221). In some instances, unscrupulous people often try to invade personal accounts belonging to other people with the intention of stealing their money. Unsuspecting people are often lured by attractive but nonexistent deals such as claims that they have won money but they should provide their personal banking detains so that the money can be deposited into their accounts. Once the victims have provided their personal information, it can be seen that this information is then used to commit crimes such as fraud. Crimes involving credit cards are widespread in different parts of the globe and a lot of people are losing their hard earned cash to unscrupulous criminals who use new information and communication technology to commit different types of crimes. This kind of crime is commonly referred to as identity theft where the criminals steal information and personal data belonging to different individuals so that they can commit various crimes on the internet. In the same vein, this kind of crime involving manipulation or theft of individual information is also known as hacking. The criminals use sophisticated technology to copy private and personal identity information and then they use it to create duplicate cards if it involves credit cards. The criminals can also hack into networks of big organizations and they steal information that is later used to commit serious crimes such as fraud. A good example of this type of crime has been reported by Jones David and Finkle Jim of Reuters who state that, “Federal prosecutors said on Thursday they have charged five men responsible for a hacking and credit card fraud spree that cost companies more $300 million and two of the suspects are in custody, in the biggest cyber crime case filed in U.S. history.” These criminals would hack into different systems of large organizations and steal information that would then be used in making duplicate credit cards. These duplicate credit cards are then used to withdraw large sums of money from different account holders without their consent. Millions of people and several organizations have lost money worth millions of dollars to unscrupulous people who hack into other people accounts as well as networks of big organizations. Scams are also widespread during the contemporary period and they represent a serious form of cyber crime. Robins (324) state that spams are committed when individuals receive e-mails from unknown people inviting them to join deals that would offer them huge sums of money. In some cases, people may also end up receiving mails about certain products and services even if they are not interested in the goods offered. There are people who have a tendency of sending junk mail to different individuals informing them about lucrative deals but the targeted people may not be interested in such deals. This practice negatively impacts on the privacy of the individuals involved since they may not be interested in the deals. Al individuals have a right to enjoy their privacy and this scenario where they end up receiving unwanted e-mails is tantamount to invasion of privacy. Huang & Wang (9) state that people have a right to enjoy their privacy in normative spaces and continual flow of spams into their mailboxes amounts to infringement of privacy. The other type of cyber crime is related to the aspect of theft of intellectual property. The copyright laws in different countries across the globe make it an offence to use other person’s intellectual work without prior permission or agreement. Lessig (228) states that property rule is concerned with the aspect of showing that an individual has legal right over his or her privacy and personal property such as intellectual work. Any information about an individual can only made available to other parties through consent obtained from that particular individual. However, it can be seen that the element of piracy has been on the increase during the contemporary period since people can access other people’s works and they sell them through the internet for commercial gain. This is a serious crime given that the owner of intellectual property is entitled to it and is protected by the law to keep his or her work. Through the use of the internet, people can download different works belonging to other people and they use them to gain financial benefits. This is not allowed since it is violation of other people’s rights and property. A person should first obtain consent from the title holder before reproducing the work belonging to another individual so as to make sure that they do not violate the rights of the other people in the process. When the individuals pay the price, then they can reproduce the work belonging to other people and they are legally bound by the agreement that has been made. As such, Lessig thinks that property rule can be used as a source of privacy as well as protection of intellectual property where people can be encouraged to respect other people’s property. The other type of cybercrime is related to child exploitation as well as human trafficking where the victims are often exposed to things such as pornography. Unsuspecting people are lured by criminals through the internet where they are promised lucrative jobs. Once they positively respond to the adverts that are often flighted on the internet, travel arrangements are made for them only to discover that they have been duped when they are exposed to dirt work such as commercial sex work. A lot of people have fallen victim to human trafficking and this is a serious crime that has attracted the attention of different governments across the globe. In some instances, warfare terrorism is sponsored through the internet. It can be seen that the cases of terrorism have been on the rise in different parts across the globe. The internet is used by different terrorist groups to gather as well as to disseminate information about their planned terrorist attacks. These terrorists often encrypt their messages so that they cannot be easily decrypted by someone without the proper key. This kind of crime exposes a lot of people to danger which often results in loss of life. As discussed above, it can be seen that there are different forms of cyber crime that are committed in different parts of the globe. The main problem likely to be encountered when trying to control this type of crime is that internet is not controlled by anyone. This scenario makes it quite challenging to try to curb cyber crimes given that it is not easy to identify the person who has committed the crime as well as the place where he can be located. The other issue is that the internet has no boundaries and people can either receive information or disseminate it from any part of the globe instantly (Whitworth, 20). The other issue is that it is difficult to curtail or determine the type of information that is disseminated through the internet. Therefore, in view of the above discussion, it can be seen that internet users need to be enlightened about the dangers of different types of cybercrimes that exist in order for them to avoid falling into this trap. For instance, the users should avoid responding to emails that are sent from unknown persons. It is always important for internet users to provide their banking as well as identity details to unknown people. The risk is that these hackers would steal the details to commit cyber crimes such as fraud. It is also important for internet users to change their passwords periodically or whenever they suspected that another person has attempted to hack into their email accounts. In most cases, unscrupulous people often invite different individuals to upload money in order to claim nonexistent prizes. In order to avoid the trap of loosing hard earned money, it is essential for the individuals to ignore all spam emails since these contain false information. When sending confidential information via e-mail, it is essential to encrypt the text such that it can only be decrypted by the receiver through the use of a specific key provided by the originator of the message. In case of computer viruses, this problem can be solved by installing antivirus software on the machine. There are different types of antivirus softwares and these are very effective in dealing with the problem of malware, Trojans and viruses that can corrupt the machine such that it can crush resulting in the loss of valuable data. Internet users should also avoid opening suspicious websites since these are carriers of virus. When downloading some information from the website, it is imperative for the user to establish the credibility of the source to avoid the trap of opening corrupt web pages. When using public internet cafes, the users should always make sure that they log out their emails or even delete the browser history so as to prevent other hookers from getting access to their personal information. Over and above, it can be noted that the issue of cyber security ought to be carefully taken into account so as to avoid falling prey to criminals who commit sophisticated crimes such as fraud over the internet. There are different types of cyber crime that involve aspects such as credit card fraud, invasion of privacy, identity theft, manipulation of data as well as computer viruses among others. These crimes result in loss of data or even money and this is the reason why they are so serious. Whilst there is still a long way before people find a long lasting solution that can be implemented in a bid to deal with the problem of cyber crime, the above mentioned preventive measures can go a long way in mitigating the problem. Works cited Hofman Julien. Cyberlaw. Ampersand Press: Cape Town, 1999. Print. Jones David & Finkle Jim. “U.S. indicts hackers in biggest cyber fraud case in history.” Reuters. < http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/25/us-usa-hackers-creditcards-idUSBRE96O0RI20130725>. 25 July 2013. Web. 29 November 2013. Lessig Lawrence. Code. Basic books. . 2006. Web. 29 November, 2012. Whitworth, Moor Handbook of Research on Socio-Technical Design and Social Networking Systems. Hershey, New York: Information Science Reference, 2009. Print. Haag Stephen, Cummings Maeve & Dawkins James (2000). Management information systems for the information age. 2nd Edition. Boston. Irwin McGraw-Hill. Huang, W. & Wang, S.K Emerging Cybercrime Variants in the Socio-Technical Space. 2009. Valdosta and Florida State Universities. Robinson Wilson (1997), Strategic Management and Information Systems, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, UK Read More