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The technology has been growing skilfully, and it has been conducive in a number of ways for the humans. There are a series of unnumbered crimes which are being committed in this technological development era. With the growth of digitalization and artificial intelligence everywhere the cyber crimes are becoming countless in number. These crimes may include hacking, phishing, identity theft, malware attacks, online fraud, cyberstalking and harassment, denial-of-services attacks, data breaches, and online child exploitation. In this essay let us try to understand about how these crimes act as dead of night.
Hacking is unauthorized access to computer systems or networks with the intent to steal, modify, destroy data, disrupt operations and commit other illegal activities. In this contemporary modern world, the act of hacking has been increasing steadily and uninterrupted. The increasing interconnectedness on devices, reliance on technology and growing sophistication of hackers contribute to this trend. The main truth about hacking is it is all about manipulation. There are individuals who want certain information in an individual’s computer to be manipulated so they appoint hackers to do the job for which they pay the prize. These were considered fine up to some extent but the real struggle started when this manipulation moved into manipulating legal activities like manipulation of evidence in order to confront someone as guilty against their innocence.
Globally, an estimated 30000 websites are hacked each day. 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. Only 5%company folders and files are properly protected. As in the case of India around 44,546 cases were recorded in cyber crime head in 2019 which was a spike of 63.5% when compared to 2018 which recorded 27,248 cases. Let us consider the example of a significant case Darkode Takedown (2015). Darkode, a notorious underground hacking forum, was infiltrated by law enforcement agencies from various countries. The takedown resulted in the arrest and prosecution of numerous hackers involved in cybercrime activities like hacking, malware distribution, and identity theft.
Phishing, a deceitful technique used by cybercriminals to trick individuals into revealing their sensitive information including passwords, credit card details, or social security numbers. The technique includes sending fraudulent messages or emails that appear to be from legitimate sources such as banks or online services to obtain personal information from individuals for malicious purposes such as identity theft or financial fraud. The persisting issue of phishing is influenced by social engineering which has adverse effects on human psychology and behaviour. The use of advanced tactics such as spear phishing, which targets specific individuals or organizations or whaling, targeting high-profile individuals like executives has contributed for the increasing sophistication of phishing over time. These phishing attackers use the trust which the individuals have put forward in institutions like banks or online services to deceive them and gain access to their sensitive information.
The phishers acclimatize their techniques to bypass security cameras and destroy new vulnerabilities and these techniques include URL obfuscation, spoofed domains and sophisticated email spoofing to make it appear as though it was from legitimate institutions. These attacks will exist until there is valuable information for financial gain or malicious purposes. As per the recent research performed by IRONSCALES, 81% of the organisations in the world have experienced an increase in email phishing since March 2020 and a recent study. For example, let us consider the example of Facebook and Google where the scammers sent emails to tech giants and an estimated amount of $100 million was stolen away. In the case of United States vs Peteris Sahurovs(2010), Peteris Sahurovs, a Latvian citizen was extradited to the United States and was convicted for his involvement in a network of phishing schemes. He controlled fake websites that mimicked well-known institutions to steal personal and financial information from victims.
Identity Theft refers to stealing of someone’s personal information with the intent of using their identity to perform fraudulent activities. The effect of darkness of identity theft is experienced by individuals economically, emotionally, psychologically, etc. The darkness of identity theft enters into the deep roots of individuals where they experience financial loss. The fraudsters use the stolen identity of individuals to make purchases, create bank credit accounts and empty the bank accounts which will lead to a tremendous economic loss for the victims. Victims may experience feelings of violation, helplessness, anger, anxiety along with stress and frustration in an attempt to recover their identity and resolving legal and financial implications. Victims may spend months or years undoing the damage caused by the theft which may include credit reporting agencies, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies. This can have profound impact on future financial opportunities and creditworthiness. Identity theft is also said to cause discredit to one’s reputation as an individual’s identity is used to commit fraudulent crimes which leads to legal issues or dishonour to the individual which may be difficult to solve and prove one’s innocence and regain their reputation. Identity theft can also take a chance on affecting a victim’s mental well-being where he/she experiences betrayal, worry, and a loss of personal security. Victims often are intended to gather information, file reports and communicate with various institutions to correct the damage to regain identity theft and these processes may be frustrating, overwhelming, exhausting and some cases it may also involve legal assistance.
This cybercrime can affect employment prospects, relationships, and even the ability to obtain loans or housing due to damaged credit history from the theft. According to the Identity Theft Research Centre (ITRC) Annual Data Breach Report 2022 says that an average of 422 million have been impacted because of identity theft. One of the most significant cases is United States vs Max Ray Butler (2009). Max Ray Butler also known as “Max Vision” is known for his involvement in hacking and identity theft. He stole personal and financial information from thousands of individuals which lead to a number of individuals to financial loss. This case provided for the understanding that there is an interconnection between hacking and identity theft.
Malware Attacks or Malicious Software specifies the introduction of viruses, worms, trojans or ransomware in computer software to destroy any information or extort money from victims. These software are introduced with the intent of causing harm to steal information of individuals like personal information, login credentials, and financial data which eventually will lead to identity theft or financial loss. Its aim also includes disrupting or destroying software, corrupting or deleting files and taking control of the devices for nefarious purposes. These attacks are done in such a way that it remains undetected to increase the chances of exploitation. It means that the victims cannot determine the presence of such software until a significant amount of damage is done. These may include various types of harm which include worms, viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware, adware, etc each of them having its own destructive capabilities and having targets of different computer systems or user behaviour. The impact which this malware has on individuals, organizations increase the darkness of the attack. These attacks have a far-reaching capacity where cybercriminals can perform these attacks from any part of the world targeting anyone from anywhere else. It means that any person who has access to an internet connection is at potential risk from this malicious software deepening the darkness. On an average, the number of malware attacks that took place in 2022 was 5.5 billion which was a two percent decrease compared to the previous year’s record of 10.5 billion in 2018.
Online fraud to be said refers to any fraud which is performed by using email, websites, etc to get unauthorised access to individuals' sensitive or personal information to perform fraudulent activities. It can also be said to include identity theft or phishing. It also includes
These are just some of the issues in the technological world, there are also other cybercrimes which have far more darkness and affect individuals in every aspect of their life. In modern days, the social issues have been modernized, expanded and connected with the help of technology. The governments of various countries have been trying their best to form organisations and promote laws relating to cybercrimes. Overall, there has only been a minimal rise in the percentage of crimes when compared to previous years. We all know the proverb of “ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY’ comparing the proverb with technology it can be said that darkness within this technology cannot be taken immediately or in one day but with the constant efforts from both the government and the people it will be easy to insert a window of light in the darkness.