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MBA (General) - IV Semester, Information Technology and E-Business, Unit 5.1

New crimes in cyberspace

   Posted On :  07.11.2021 08:03 am

Pp Unauthorized use of a computer, which might involve stealing a username and password, or might involve accessing the victim’s computer via the Internet through a backdoor operated by a Trojan horse program.

New crimes in cyberspace

There are three major classes of criminal activity with computers

Pp Unauthorized use of a computer, which might involve stealing a username and password, or might involve accessing the victim’s computer via the Internet through a backdoor operated by a Trojan horse program.

Pp Creating or releasing a malicious computer program (e.g., computer virus, worm, Trojan Horse).

Pp Harassment and stalking in cyberspace.

Unauthorized Use

Unauthorized use of computers tends generally takes the following forms Computer voyeur The criminal reads (or copies) confidential or proprietary information, but data is neither deleted nor changed.

In 1999, the Melissa virus infected a [possibly confidential] document on a victim’s computer, and then automatically sent that document and copy of the virus via e-mail to other people. Subsequently, the SirCam and Klez malicious programs made a similar release of [possibly confidential] documents from a victim’s computer. These malicious programs are a new way to release confidential information from a victim’s computer, with the confidential information going not to the author of the malicious program, but to some person unknown to the author of the malicious program.

Pp Changing data. For example, change a grade on a school transcript; add “money” to a checking account, etc. Unauthorized changing of data is generally a fraudulent act.

Pp Deleting data. Deleting entire files could be an act of vandalism or sabotage.

Pp Denying service to authorized users. On a modern time-sharing computer, any user takes some time and disk space, which is then not available to other users. By “denying service to authorized users”, we mean gobbling unreasonably large amounts of computer time or disk space, for example by sending large amounts of junk e-mail in one day, a so-called “mail bomb”, by having the computer execute a malicious program that puts the processing unit into an infinite loop, or, by flooding an Internet server with bogus requests for webpages, thereby denying legitimate users an opportunity to download a page and also possibly crashing the server. This is called a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Altering Websites

In recent years, there have been a large number of attacks on websites by hackers who are angry with the owner of the website. Victims of such attacks include various Government agencies.

In a typical attack, the hacker will delete some pages or graphics, then upload new pages with the same name as the old file, so that the hacker controls the message conveyed by the site.

This is not the worst kind of computer crime. The proper owner of the site can always close the website temporarily, restore all of the files from backup media, improve the security at the site, and then re-open the site. Nonetheless, the perpetrator has committed a computer crime by making an unauthorized use of someone else’s computer or computer account.

The Internet is a medium for freely sharing information and opinions. However the criminals who trash other people’s websites are acting as self-appointed censors who deny freedom of speech to those with whom they disagree. These criminals often make the self-serving excuse for their actions that they only attack sites sponsored by bad corporations or bad people. However, this excuse makes these criminals into vigilantes who serve as legislature, judge, jury, and executioner arrogantly determining what is in the best interests of society.

Ethical Hacking

The science of testing your computers and network for security vulnerabilities and plugging the holes you find before the bad guys get a chance to exploit them

Hacker is a Word that has two Meanings

Traditionally, a hacker is someone who likes to tinker with software or electronic systems. Hackers enjoy exploring and learning how computer systems operate. They love discovering new ways to work electronically. Recently, hacker has taken on a new meaning — someone who maliciously breaks into systems for personal gain. Technically, these criminals’ are crackers (criminal hackers). Crackers break into (crack) systems with malicious intent. They are out for personal gain fame, profit, and even revenge. They modify, delete, and steal critical information, often making other people miserable. The good-guy (white-hat) hackers don’t like being in the same category as the bad-guy (black-hat) hackers. (These terms come from Western movies where the good guys wore white cowboy hats and the bad guys wore black cowboy hats.) Whatever the case, most people give hacker a negative connotation. Many malicious hackers claim that they don’t cause damage but instead are altruistically helping others. Yeah, right. Many malicious hackers are electronic thieves.

Common hacking tactics include

Password Crackers

Software that can guess passwords

Social Engineering

Gaining access to computer systems

By talking unsuspecting company employees out of valuable information such as passwords

Dumpster Diving

Sifting through a company’s garbage to find information to help break into their computers

Tags : MBA (General) - IV Semester, Information Technology and E-Business, Unit 5.1
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