How IT prevalence has changed cybercrimes against persons

Criminal Investigations: Changes in Cybercrime

The rate at which internet usage is growing is expeditious. The World Wide Web is fast eliminating the physical borders that originally existed between nations and individuals, and rapidly transforming the world into a global village. The conduct of business has been made easier, and so has education, sports, communication, to mention but a few. Thanks to the internet, people located miles away from each other, who would have otherwise been oblivious of each other's existence, or been able to communicate, can now relate at the touch of a button. This high degree of interaction is, however, also the cause of one of the most damaging cyber related concerns -- cybercrime.

Definition

Cybercrime, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a crime "carried out by means of computers or the internet." Thus, any crime that makes use of a computer, either as a target, instrument, or as a medium for further crime perpetuation, falls within the confines of cybercrime (the Legal Dictionary, 2014). Therefore, unlike conventional crimes such as stealing, mugging, or robbing, cybercrime does not require the criminal's physical presence, which explains why its control and regulation is proving difficult (the Legal Dictionary, 2014).

How IT Prevalence has Changed Cybercrimes against Persons

Cybercrime against persons involves "infiltrating the trust of other users of a computer network for profit or gain" (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). In order to bring out the change brought about by IT prevalence, two periods (pre-2000 period and post-2000 period) which had different IT prevalence levels will be compared.

Pre-2000: In the pre-2000 period, cybercrimes were mostly one-man operations - centered at taking advantage of the glaring weaknesses in computer networks (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). Such crimes were, in most cases, carried out by computer nerds who were out to prove their toughness by revealing the weaknesses in computer systems (hacking). Rarely was cybercrime committed for profit or gain (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). Cybercrime against property was, therefore, more prevalent than that against persons, and was thus not considered a serious crime as such, especially because it usually did not result in tangible intentional damage (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014).

Post-2000: The new millennium was accompanied by significant technological advancement. Internet usage became more prevalent, and computers became the most significant communication tools. Cybercrime too evolved; it was now no longer driven by ambition, but by the need to gain profit by exploiting other network users (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). Hackers realized that the internet provided a safe domain, through which one could gain profit and run a low risk of detection (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). The whole idea of hacking then changed; it was no longer aimed at proving one's ability to beat the system, but rather, at using that weakness to exploit other users for one's own personal gain (Criminal Lawyer Group). The change in the levels of IT was evidenced by the development of new cybercrimes as has been enumerated in the subsequent sections of this text.

Cyber-extortion: Criminal gangs extort finances, in the name of protection money, from businesses that are internet-based, threatening to either close the businesses down, or infiltrate their systems and make public confidential information (information theft) ( Criminal Lawyers Group, 2014).

Fraud: The most common forms of internet fraud are carried out through e-mail. A criminal sends an unsolicited e-mail to his or her victim, who unknowingly falls prey to the enticing approach, and ends up making huge financial losses. One common form of internet fraud involves the offer of Ponzi and pyramid schemes, and bogus stocks, in the name of profitable investment ventures (the Legal Dictionary, 2014). Credit card fraud, identity theft and confidence fraud are the other significant forms (the Legal Dictionary, 2014). A Gartner G2 2012 study revealed that $700 million had been lost in internet fraud in the U.S. In 2002 alone (the Legal Dictionary, 2014). The Los Angeles case in which 130,000 bogus shares were issued to unsuspecting internet users by an imaginary company, NEI Webworld Inc., offers a perfect example (the Legal Dictionary, 2014).

Intellectual Property Theft: Involves downloading intellectual property and software illegally (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). Although most people do not consider this a crime, it amounts to cybercrime, and causes the relevant manufacturing companies to incur huge financial losses (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). Most governments have, for his reason, moved fast to try and curb the prevalence of the same within their jurisdictions. The UK government, for instance, recently began the implementation of the Digital Economy Act, which seeks to reduce this kind of internet piracy (the Legal Dictionary, 2014).

Phishing and Exploitation of Children: Phishing involves illegally obtaining a victim's credit card and bank details, and then using authentic messages to defraud them (Criminal Lawyer Group, 2014). The main form of child exploitation is whereby chat rooms are used to lure unsuspecting minors into pornography (the Legal Dictionary, 2014). An Ahmadabad minor was almost sexually-abused by a gang, after being enticed in a virtual chat room (Nandini, n.d.).

The Prevention and Investigation of Cybercrimes against Persons

Computer forensics is increasingly being used in the prevention and investigation of cybercrimes, just like is the case in conventional crimes (Texas AG, 2012). In this case, advanced software and hardware tools are used "to recover deleted files and partitions, locate and preserve digital evidence and contraband, and defeat passwords and encryptions" (Texas AG, 2012). Forensic technology enables the analysis of different electronic media types, including cell phones, PDAs, and computers running UNIX, Macintosh and Windows platforms (Texas AG, 2012). Such forensic technology coupled with the complementary operations of the different investigative units will obviously go a long way in the detection of cybercrimes, and the apprehension of culprits.

Conclusion

Cybercrimes, like any other criminal activities, have detrimental effects on the society. Whereas frustration and disappointment may be regarded as the mild effects of cybercrimes, the more serious effects such as the rising levels of child pornography could significantly ruin the moral standards of future generations. There is need, therefore, for everyone to take precaution and join in the fight against cybercrime.