edit

SURNAME 2

Name

Instructor

July 15th 2015

Research

Cyber Crime

Introduction

Led by resignation of the head of the U.S. Office in the field of Personnel Management, it was generally the wake of a staggering cyber-attack by hackers thought to be operating in China. As time passed; they had left extremely huge cyber security problems at both the agency and across the federal government which remained unsolved. On this turn, following the reports on the number of people affected grew from four million to north of 21 million on Thursday. The federal government’s problems with computer security won’t be easily solved with viewable changes at the top whereby it was dated back to at least 2011 where they identified a cyber-security skills gap among federal workers at numerous departments, (recode.net). Over time, cybercrimes have registered to be threats though some controls can become integrated in all aspects and functions of the particular organization.

Reports accorded with cited cyber security had it that one of the six mission critical skills gaps detected within the federal workforce and said it posed an extremely high risk to the country related. Ignited by Hidden Lynx covert Chinese group known, it was believed that this group had up to 100 skilled hackers who carried out prolonged campaigns on behalf of their specific clients. Tracked by a software company for two years, it was gathered that these persons were also related to six major online attacks. As reported, the group employs sophisticated hacking techniques in campaigns which are usually meticulously researched, and which at times targets hundreds of different organizations at the same moment. Various organizations have been attacked including financial institutions such as investment banks whereby asset managers are hacked most commonly, while generally, all government levels from local to national level have been targeted, (cyber crimes.net).

A cybercrime is any crime that involves a computer and a computer network at per. For this instance, the computer may have been involved in crime commission, or even may be the targeted option. With exclusion, the criminal exploitation of the Internet is a net crime. As defined by scholars, cybercrimes usually have to do with offences that are committed against individuals or between groups with criminal motives of intentionally harming the reputation of the victim. This may head up to even causing severe physical or mental harm either directly or indirectly, by the modern telecommunication networks being un-purposely used, (Dr. Debarati, Dr. Jaishankar, 2011).

These crimes always threaten a nation’s security and financial health whereby issues that are surrounding these types of crimes have become regular. They specifically are those rotating around hacking, copyright transgression, and child pornography, just but to name a few. Related are also problems of privacy when confidential information is intercepted or imparted, prescript or otherwise by the specific astray parties, (Halder).

Deception runs like red thread throughout the human history and a good example of study conducted by Robert S. Feldman who privately videotaped students who were asked to talk with a stranger, (Smith). Human beings engage in forms of non-verbal deception which in this case relates to the deception of governments in collaboration with hackers.Cases have found that both the governmental and non-state actors may be found engaging in cybercrimes like espionage, financial theft, and other related crimes. Cyber warfare is also evident whereby illegal internet related activity crosses international borders and involves the interests of at least one nation state. Measures to curb this have been set with the international legal system attempting to hold actors accountable for their actions through the International Criminal Court. Nowadays, it is obvious that even nonhuman species put a lot of effort into sending inaccurate messages and this is what hackers try to do using the computers and the online network, (Smith).

In a previous article by Stanley Milgram, it was validated in a test between volunteers that obedience to authority can become dangerous in “The Perils of Obedience.” Here, the so called volunteers tend to think they are shocking the actor without information that that it is part of an experiment in the test of the “effects of punishment on learning” (Milgram 317). The volunteer however do not have knowledge concerning the experiment’s real test to see how far people would go in harming other living souls. Volunteers’ accorded morals were properly set against “stark authority” (Milgram 317). Amid cybercrimes for this case, authority overtakes morals most of the time and hackers for instance feel compelled to do as the government asks them under some particular basis without looking on the other extreme negative side. Milgram’s purpose in doing the experiment was to show just how powerful obedience to authority really is.

Obedience to authority can quickly take a turn toward danger for example where international cybercrimes are involved since strikes may occur or even worse. Roles in society can be taken to extremes and others can be hurt as a result and therefore the government should be cautious while approaching such risks. A single ascendancy figure mandate people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Surprisingly, a group usually causes deep influence in an individual’s ability to make preferences. As Asch explains this phenomenon, he argues that when a group adjusts to course, an individual will anticipated pursue, (Asch 315). An intelligent, young, well-meaning person can call white black if faced with conformity or nonconformity (Asch 315).

Under this course, offenders may for instance gain access to a particular switchboard by impersonating a technician thus fraudulently obtaining an employee's personal codes, or else through the help of hack software available on the internet. Here, we can see that no obedience to authority was taken into practice by the related parties and whether incited by curiosity or vindictiveness, electronic intruders cause distortion at best, and even have the potential for inflicting massive harm. As this potential has yet to be contained, a number of individuals and protest groups usually have hacked the official web pages of various governmental and commercial organizations in return, (Wall).

Under general terms, there are various types of cybercrimes which vary widely upon differentiated parties.

1. Against particular Persons or Individuals

(i) Drug trafficking

Currently, drug traffickers are on a large basis taking advantage of the Internet through which they are selling illegal substances by the means of encrypted e-mail. In this, some drug peddler’s purpose deals at internet cafes using courier Web sites to track illegal packages of pills, and even exchange recipes in restricted-access chat rooms. With this increase in Internet drug trades; there could be some attribution due to the lack of face-to-face communication. The sketchy effects associated with such drug trades are severely minimized and the filtering process that comes with physical interaction slowly fades away as time passes, (Wall).     

 ii.            Offensive content & Individual Harassment

Some content in websites and other electronic communications may be distasteful, obscene or even to an extent offensive for a variety of reasons. Generally, communications may be illegal in this case for instance and as seen, approximately 25 jurisdictions place limits on certain speech and ban racist, blasphemous, or even politically subversive material that usually tends to incite hate crimes. Nations and countries contain varied extents of these unlawful communications. Child pornography so far has become part of Internet pornography that has been the target of the strongest efforts at curtailment and influence. Seemingly, such type of injustice often occurs in chat rooms, and various specific newsgroups, whereby there is the process of sending hate e-mails to interested parties. Normally, comments found disrespectful or offensive are considered to be some kind of harassment.  

   2. Cybercrimes against Individual Property

i. Electronic Funds Transfer Fraud

With the continued growth of electronic funds transfer systems, so has the risk that such transactions may be taken into hold and diverted have exploded. Credit card numbers can be easily intercepted electronically, or physically whereby the digital information stored on a card can be recreated wisely, (Wall). For instance, in Russia, Vladimir Levin retrieved the computers and transferred funds from large corporate accounts to other accounts which had been opened by his subordinates in The United States Citibank's central wire transfer department. A hacker robs telecommunications services and uses them for aimed vandalism, or for criminal conspiracy, (Wall).

ii. Dissemination of Offensive Materials

Various objectionable contents abundantly exist in cyberspace and this may include sexually explicit materials, racist propaganda, or worse enough to be instructions for the fabrication of inflammatory and extremely explosive devices. By this, specific systems can also be used for harassing, or even threatening. In a similar case, some financial institutions were once reported to have paid portentous amounts to sophisticated computer criminals who had extensively threatened to wipe out computer systems in England, (Wall).

3.   Cybercrimes against Society

Cyber-bullying & Cyber-stalking

Generally, cyber-bullying is whereby harmful use of the Internet and related technologies are used to harm other people, in some deliberately repeated and to an extent hostile manner. Legislation and awareness campaigns have come up to combat it since it has become more often in society, particularly among young people. Cyber-bullying can for example be in instances where there is continued sending of e-mail to persons who don’t need any further contact with the sender accompanied by threats on victims therefore making them the subject of ridicule in forums for purposed humiliation, (Brenner).

Cyber-stalking is similar in a case where any electronic means is used to stalk persons who may be accompanied by identity theft and damage to data or equipment for putting one in distress, (Wall).

4.  against Private Organizations

     i.            Theft of telecommunications services

From ages, since 1990, it has been found that security failures on one particular major telecommunications carrier may cost approximately up to £290 million, and up to 5% of total industry turnover can be partaken to be lost to fraud under approximations with significant individual subscribers’ costs currently. Records for instance show that in one case computer hackers had illegally obtained access to Scotland Yard's telephone network in the United States for which Scotland Yard was responsible of international calls worth £620,000, (Brenner).                

ii. Telecommunications Piracy

Normally, there has been an irresistible obvious temptation to reproduce copyrighted material either for personal purpose or for sale at a lower price thus raising related concerns to the specific owners of copyrighted material. Once, the Software Publishers Association computed that approximately $7.4 billion worth of software was lost to piracy in 1993 with $2 billion of that being stolen from the Internet. For the same case, a copy of the James Bond Film “The World is not enough” was available free on the internet before it attained its official release. This initially accorded large financial losses on at large (Wall).                                  

5. Against Government and nations

i. Cyber Warfare and Terrorism

First in case, a cyber-terrorist is a person who coerces a government or particular organization to continue with political or social objectives through the introduction of computer-based attack on computers, network, and the stored data. Followed by an illustration, it may be simply misinformation in the Internet or may be hacking activities intended towards persons. The general concept of cyberspace operations impacts may be adapted by war in fighting military commanders in the future me out of the domain, (Wall).

  i.            Electronic Vandalism and Extortion

Lastly, any damage upon interdependent complex data processing and telecommunications systems may lead to deterrent consequences. Under the current situation, defense planners around the world are investing in information warfare where it is taken as means of interrupting the information technology infrastructure of defense systems. For instance, attempts to interrupt the computer systems were made in the Sri Lankan Government and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (Brenner).

Conclusion

Over time, cybercrimes have registered to be threats though some controls can become integrated in all aspects and functions of the particular organization. When utilised and coordinated as needed, efforts capable of handling cyber matters within a realistic goal for accepted level of tolerance can be attained. The management should make regular and substantive reports on the organization’s top cyber-threat risk that comes their way and establish continuous monitoring methods that can help the organization predict and prevent cyber-threat-related issues. This should apply nation wise and should also be global for required efficiency ratings.

Works Cited Asch, Solomon. "Opinions and social structure." (n.d.). Brenner, Susan W. Cybercrime: Criminal Threats from Cyberspace. 2nd. ABC-CLIO, 2010, 2010. "Cyber crimes." 06 07 2015. 15th 07 2015 <http://www.recode.net/2015/07/10-director-resigns-in-wake-of-massive-hack>. Halder, Dr. Debarati. (2011). Milgram, Stanely. "Perils of Obedience." (n.d.). Smith, David Livingstone. "Natural-born liar." (2005). Wall, David S. Cyber Crime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age. first. John Wiley AND Sons Ltd, 2007.