Cyber Crimes

Abstract:     
Cybercrime encompasses criminal acts that involve computers and networks. Thus, “Cybercrime” is a broad term that describes everything from electronic hacking to denial-of-service attacks that cause e-business websites to lose money.

Cybercrimes are essentially criminal activities where computers, networks or electronic information technology devices are the source, tool, target or place of crime. Cyber crimes are effected by way of illegal access into another data base, illegal interception, data interference, system interference, misuse of devices, forgery and electronic scams.

Generally, cybercrimes may be divided into to categories:
1. Crimes that target computer networks or devices directly.
2. Crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which is independent of the computer network or device.

Examples of crimes that primarily target computer networks or devices include the following:

• Cyber stalking

• Fraud and Identity Theft

• Phishing Scams

• Information warfare

Understanding types of Cyber crime and basic prevention techniques can help internal auditors evaluate whether a company has adequate defenses against cybercrime. For households or individuals, understanding cyber crime guides us not to fall prey to specific cyber crimes such as identity theft and cyber fraud.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 14

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