INTRODUCTION TO CYBERCRIME:

Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the UK and with over 3 million Britons falling victim to hackers every year, its about time we were more clued up about online threats. The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! That is not surprising considering the fact that the abacus, which is thought to be the earliest form of a computer, has been around since 3500 B.C. in India, Japan and China. The era of modern computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles Babbage. In 1820, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a textile manufacturer in France, produced the loom. This device allowed the repetition of a series of steps in the weaving of special fabrics. This resulted in a fear amongst Jacquard's employees that their traditional employment and livelihood were being threatened. They committed acts of sabotage to discourage Jacquard from further use of the new technology. This is the first recorded cyber crime!

DEFINITION OF CYBERCRIME:
Cybercrimes are defined as: "Offences that are committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as Internet (Chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones (SMS/MMS)".[

A simple yet sturdy definition of cyber crime would be unlawful acts wherein

the computer is either a tool or a target or both. Defining cyber crimes, as acts that are punishable by the information Technology Act would be unsuitable as the Indian Penal Code also covers many cyber crimes, such as e-mail spoofing, cyber defamation, etc.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CYBERCRIME:

Cybercrime has been around since the late seventies and over the years has evolved into a more malevolent and invasive crime, threatening both our society and personal lives. The very first spam email was send back in 1978 by a Digital Equipment Corp. marketing executive called Gary Thurerk in the US, who used it to sell a new computer. Spam has since then, grown from a simple and rather annoying marketing tool, into a malicious host of scams and a carrier of software that can control the recipients computer. One of the first reports of a computer virus was made in 1982, when a high school student in the US wrote the Elk Cloner for Apple II computers. This was hidden in a floppy disk and infected machines when it was used to boot-up. It consisted of a terrible poem, which popped up every 50 boot-up attempts.

CYBERCRIME ON THE RISE:

As the years have passed and the likes of ARPAnet and Britains NPL have merged to become the Internet, cybercrime has evolved and hackers have discovered ever more imaginative ways to attack. Leading companies such as Hotmail, WordPress, The Guardian and The New York Times have all been affected by cybercrime recently and there was even digital sabotage during the 2009 US political campaigns. Barack Obamas travel details and personal info were raided and Sarah Palins personal emails were made readily available on Wikileaks during the Presidential election. The perpetrator allegedly spent 45 minutes researching Palins background and was then able to guess her password, splashing screenshots and her entire contact list all over the net.

The Pentagon reported that in 2008 there were some 360 million attempts to break into its networks, on top of multiple attempts on the White House, figures which spurred Obama to appoint a Cyber Crime Official at the White House.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CYBERCRIME?

There are many ways in which a hacker can steal your money and infect your computer; in order to stay away from these scams, you need to understand them and what they do. Adware- Adware, or advertising-supported software, is software which instantly runs or downloads an advertisement on to your computer. Computer Virus- A computer virus is not very dissimilar to a real virus in that it attempts to infect any cells, or bits of data in this case, which surround it. It often leeches onto email attachments, audio or video files and spreads through emails and instant messaging. It can also spread through portable hard drives, especially USB sticks. Identity theft- Hackers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and are able to steal your identity simply from looking at your Facebook profile. All a fraudster would need is your date of birth, address and your full name in order for them to steal your identity. They can also access information as you enter into unsecure sites and use that to gain credit in your name. Phishing scams- These are emails sent to your email address posing either as a well known company or bank. They usually look legitimate and contain messages stating that the bank needs to verify your details, or suggest that you have won some money. Then you are often directed to a web page where it asks you to enter your bank details; your money is subsequently stolen or your data is sold to other cyber criminals.

Malware- This is harmful software designed to change, delete or pass on data from a hacked computer. It comprises of viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. Spam- This is a message sent to people as part of a mass advertising campaign, often for dubious products, which can cost the recipient if opened on a mobile device. The most popular ways of distributing this mail menace is via email and on blogs and forums. It is often used as part of a phishing scam. Spyware- Spyware was created to intercept or hand-pick details from a foreign computer. Data which is often targeted includes bank or social security numbers, as well as general passwords for correspondence. The software can also partially take over a computers functions, feeding of its energy and IP address. Trojans- Much like the fateful horse that brought down Troy, Trojan Horses are disguised as software or a legitimate file. When downloaded, however, it unleashes a stream of infected content on to your PC. Worms- Probably the most self-replicating type of malware, the Worm can prove quite hard to eradicate as they do not really need to feed of files or software to duplicate. Instead it feeds of networks and file transmission capabilities.

ADVANTAGES OF CYBERCRIMES:
With more cybercrime going on there becomes more of a need for people to protect themselves. This makes businesses that deal with computer software to protect unwanted ads or sites to show up higher in demand. The company Frontier Communications is growing because of the use of cybercrimes. Its program Frontier Secure is used to fight off against harmful content like viruses or computer hackers (Defend Against Cybercrime! Frontier Communications Frontier SecureTM Computer Security Protects Children and Data.). These guys are the winners out of cybercrime. They are taking a system being hacked and they create a stronger antivirus protection. As long as viruses and hackers are continuing to grow and evolve, protection to fight against it will grow as well.

The FBI is also changing and advancing by ways of keeping up with the new forms of crime too. They dont see cybercrime going away any time soon, so they think that people in the criminal justice business have a lot of work ahead of them. This will keep jobs in need for people interested in cracking down on criminals. Fields in technology and computer forensics are growing immensely (Cyber Crime Careers.). Being able to detect when criminals are breaking into systems they dont belong in is a key system to limit and eventually stop cybercrime. In a bizarre way the criminals can come out as winners too. If you think about it, if they steal and dont get caught then they are just running away with all their stolen money. Of course its never a good thing to steal, but in a situation like cybercrime there arent many winners.

DISADVANTAGES OF CYBERCRIMES:
In reality, everyone involved with the issue suffers from cyber crimes. The ones who are being attacked and threatened to lose either privacy or money are losing their security. The ones who are doing the crimes may be feeling high and mighty now, but theyre going to get caught eventually. Just ask any of these three men who are wanted by the FBI thanks to cyber crimes theyve committed. Harrison Amadin Ekpetin, Jie Dong, and Tobechi Enyinna Onwuhara are all wanted for cyber crimes (Cyber Crimes.). Ekpetin is wanted for a Credit Fraud organization in New Mexico originating from 2009-2011. He is suspected of making fraudulent banking transactions to businesses overseas. Over $4 million was lost from those companies. He was charged on April 27th 2011 with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

Dong took a different approach in stealing other peoples money. He set up an online auctioning site and kept the money of those bidding on the product without ever sending off the good that the people were bidding on. He left over 5,000 people wondering where their items were. Dong earned over $800,000 in doing this, but he also earned himself a federal arrest warrant charging him with mail fraud and wire fraud back in 2004. Onwuhara is still on the run today. Hes involved with setting up an organization that consists of stealing identities of victims using online databases. Once they do this they obtain their personal information and steal their Home Equity Line of Credit accounts. The financial industry has lost tens of millions of dollars thanks to this man and his followers. Some members of the group have been arrested, but the man in charge is still out there today, soon to be caught and charged with bank fraud.

WHO IS VULNERABLE?
Cybercrime does not just affect big companies and famous names; it affects everyone who can access a computer. Hackers can reach you in so many different ways, for example, via spam on your email, through bogus applications on Facebook, by posting corrupt links on blog posts and if you enter unsecured websites. If you use internet cafes a great deal or you have a computer at work, you must be very careful with personal information such as bank details. There have been 4.3 million cases of identity fraud in the UK to date and with 22 per cent of you accessing bank accounts on public computers. Many more can and will fall victim to this crime.

HOW DO I PREVENT IT?

There is only so much that the companies themselves can do to protect your personal information so you must be cautious yourselves and protect your privacy. Following the simple rules below will help fend off those cyber crooks:

First and foremost, get some antivirus software! It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to protect your computer with software to stop intrusions. A pack costing about 39.99 can ultimately save you hundreds down the line, either in repair bills or when your bank details are stolen. Norton and McAfee have some great offers so check out their websites.

Regularly update the software you may already have as a new programme fights better against the newer viruses. Take care not to open emails from unknown senders and do not open dubious looking attachments- these could be phishing scams which lead to viruses and malware.

Never enter bank details onto an unsecure site and always check directly with your bank if you get any emails from them asking you to verify details online. It is a good idea to regularly change passwords on email or social networking accounts just in case someone has hacked into them. Do not display too much personal information on social networking sites as identity thieves can use this to get credit in your name and even get a passport issued.

If you have children who like to use your family computer be sure to find antivirus software that has parental controls to make sure they do not enter malicious sites.

INTRODUCTION TO CYBER LAW:

Cyberlaw is a new phenomenon having emerged much after the onset of Internet. Internet grew in a completely unplanned and unregulated manner. Even the inventors of Internet could not have really anticipated the scope and far reaching consequences of cyberspace. The growth rate of cyberspace has been enormous. Internet is growing rapidly and with the population of Internet doubling roughly every 100 days, Cyberspace is becoming the new preferred environment of the world. With the spontaneous and almost phenomenal growth of cyberspace, new and ticklish issues relating to various legal aspects of cyberspace began cropping up. In response to the absolutely complex and newly emerging legal issues relating to cyberspace, CYBERLAW or the law of Internet came into being. The growth of Cyberspace has resulted in the development of a new and highly specialised branch of law called CYBERLAWS- LAWS OF THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB. There is no one exhaustive definition of the term "Cyberlaw". However, simply put, Cyberlaw is a term which refers to all the legal and regulatory aspects of Internet and the World Wide Web. Anything concerned with or related to, or emanating from, any legal aspects or issues concerning any activity of netizens and others, in Cyberspace comes within the ambit of Cyberlaw .

DEFINITION OF CYBER LAW:

Cyber law (also referred to as Cyberlaw) describes the legal issues related to use of inter-networked information technology. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. Simplified definition of cyber law is that it is the law governing cyber space.

IMPORTANCE OF CYBER LAW:

Cyberlaw is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and concerning the Internet, the World Wide Web and Cyberspace. Initially it may seem that Cyberlaws is a very technical field and that it does not have any bearing to most activities in Cyberspace. But the actual truth is that nothing could be further than the truth. Whether we realize it or not, every action and every reaction in Cyberspace has some legal and Cyber legal perspectives.

ADVANTAGES OF CYBER LAW:

The IT Act 2000 attempts to change outdated laws and provides ways to deal with cyber crimes. We need such laws so that people can perform purchase transactions over the Net through credit cards without fear of misuse. The Act offers the muchneeded legal framework so that information is not denied legal effect, validity or enforceability, solely on the ground that it is in the form of electronic records. In view of the growth in transactions and communications carried out through electronic records, the Act seeks to empower government departments to accept filing, creating and retention of official documents in the digital format. The Act has also proposed a legal framework for the authentication and origin of electronic records / communications through digital signature.

From the perspective of e-commerce in India, the IT Act 2000 and its provisions contain many positive aspects. Firstly, the implications of these provisions for the e-businesses would be that email would now be a valid and legal form of communication in our country that can be duly produced and approved in a court of law.

Companies shall now be able to carry out electronic commerce using the legal infrastructure provided by the Act. Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act. The Act throws open the doors for the entry of corporate companies in the business of being Certifying Authorities for issuing Digital Signatures Certificates.

The Act now allows Government to issue notification on the web thus heralding e-governance. The Act enables the companies to file any form, application or any other document with any office, authority, body or agency owned or controlled by the appropriate Government in electronic form by means of such electronic form as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.

DISADVANTAGES OF CYBER LAW:

Implementation is not the only problem. Domain name issues are presently covered by legal norms applicable to intellectual properties, including trademarks. Abuse of chat rooms, cyber stalking, misappropriation and misuse of credit card numbers are just a few of the many other loopholes which are still not addressed by IT Act. Many corporates resist filing cases because there is no clear understanding of the legal implications.

PURPOSE AND OBJECT OF CYBERLAW:

To introduce the cyber world and cyber law in general To explain about the various facets of cyber crimes To enhance the understanding of problems arising out of online transactions and provoke them to find solutions To clarify the Intellectual Property issues in the cyber space and the growth and development of the law in this regard To educate about the regulation of cyber space at national and international level