Tecnology and Cybercrime Flashcards
Introduction
There is a change in the global landscape when it comes to crimes, security and wars and this is due to the increase in cyber incidents
This happens when more people start relying on cyber technology, which results in the improvement of information technology and this consequently leads to the escalation of the frequency and severity of cyber related incidents and attacks
Definition of cybercrime
Cybercrime has existed from the early 1990s and is defined as any illegal act where a
computer, network or electronic device with a memory or processing capability is
the object or target of the crime;
the instrument used to commit the crime;
or used as a repository of evidence relating to a crime
Two categories of cybercrime
New crimes= crimes that can only be committed with computers
Old crimes= Crimes that have existed for centuries but are now being committed in the cyber environment
Cybercrime as part of the manmade risk in society
We refer to it as a risk society because society tries to organise itself as a response to the risk of cybercrime
Manmade risks are produced by the modernisation process, specifically
developments in technology
Manmade risks construct a risk society as they are very unpredictable as the
environments they create have little historical reference
The cyber threat landscape is changing as it has expanded over time and criminals
use more refined techniques
this changing landscape makes the crime difficult to police
Why cybercrime is becoming an increasing threat globally
Its an invisible enemy and is mostly anonyous
Chouhan states that because institutions, businesses, economic activities and
government organisations are becoming more dependent on the internet, cyber
criminals exploit numerous security issues that lead to many cybercrime variants
arising
Some of the challenges with tech in preventing and solving crimes
Budget and maintenance
lack of training
Fear and resistance
Management
Capabilities and restrictions of certain techs
Improper usage
Methodologies
DATA COLLECTION
reviewing published peer reviewed articles and media reports and conducting targeted online searches
Selection of cyber incidents must be based on whether they affected SA citizens or organisations
whether impact caused a breach
The affected services
whether or not it lead to a financial loss
DATA ANALYSIS
Classified into incident types, affected sector, perpetrator type and motivation
Incident type
- COMPROMISED WEBSITE
intentional or unintentional activity affecting the confidentiality integrity or availability of a website
CYBERCRIME
crime involving a computer, network or device causing financial impact
DATA EXPOSURE
The disclosure or leakage of data or information within a public domain
SYSTEM INTRUSION
The unauthorised or illegitimate access to systems or networks
DENIAL OF SERVICE
preventing authorised/ legitimate users from accessing network resources
Sector affected
Classifying an incident ito area of economy which it occurred
most common is public sector
Perpetrator type
HACKTIVIST
Person/group of people affiliated with activists for political or social change
INSIDER
individual with a trusted relationship, institutional knowledge and legitimate access to a company or organisation but acts maliciously for personal gain
HACKER
A well-versed/ unskilled person who uses skills developed by elite computer users to break security or infiltrate information networks
CYBERCRIMINAL
individual/group affiliated to criminal groups for financial gain
NATION-STATE
State hired sophisticated hacker who targets the information systems or networks of other countries
NON-MALICIOUS HACKER
Person causing internal/ external disclosure of a security flaw or a vulnerability affecting the information system
Motivation
POLITICAL
to promote political propaganda or a political crime
ECONOMIC
Illegal actions for financial gain
FUN/PERSONAL
desire to prove skills
to solve challenging problems
Expose security flaws
ACCIDENTAL
unintentional/ unexpected discovery of a security flaw
CRIMINAL
Conscious decision to actually conduct a wrongdoing but lacking financial incentive
High-tech crimes and financial wealth are interdependent
Cybercrime detection & the role of the police are crucial in the CJS
Compared to other sections of CJS, technology has the most far-reaching effect on
realm of policing
Technology and new ways of obtaining information has enhanced the capacity of the
police to “collect, retrieve and analyze information” by using cyber analysts
Cyber analysts have not yet been introduced in SA that makes detection of
cybercrime difficult as cyber criminals may have better software than the police
Cybercrime has an increasingly challenging policy area for government and has many
issues concerned with crime and security today
Phishing attacks
Unsolicited messages from scammers that pose as “legitimate” organisations to attain personal and/or financial information from a victim
There are three types of phishing attacks:
- SYNATIC ATTACKS
exploits technical vulnerabilities of soft- and hardware - SEMANTIC ATTACKS
exploit social vulnerabilities to gain personal info - BLENDED ATTACKS
combinations of syntactic and semantic attacks
World Economic Forum 2019 Global risk report
“Technological instability” = was a highlighted risk with “massive
date fraud and theft”
ranked number 4 global risk and
cyber-attacks come in at 5
