January 2005

The Effects of Cybercrime

When you purchase a home it comes with a door and a lock. You always will make sure that the door/lock exist and that the lock is working properly. If you want you can aim to further secure your home against any threats. You may purchase a new security system, an additional lock or maybe even a pet dog for added safety. Why would you not secure your investment? Would you invite criminals to use your home to commit additional crimes wherever he/she pleases?

When it comes to your PC or Network, you need to ask yourself the following questions.

- Would you like to have yourself, organization or business responsible for cyber-crime, without you knowing?
- Would you like to be prosecuted for something you did not do?
- Would you like to be sued for privacy violations?
- Would you like to be the base of operations for major crime?
- Would you like to become another survey statistics?
- Would you like to loose clients due to lack of public confidence in your Information Technology system?
- Would you like to be the VICTIM?

So how are criminals committing the crimes? We have listed some of the tools of the trade below.

•Wireless networking technology poses the biggest problem, as an unsecured network can be hacked from someone outside using a simple radio antenna, PDA or cell phone.

•Password Crackers (Software designed to decrypt passwords, so they can gain access)

•Network Scanning software that looks for open ports to gain access to a network (software or hardware based)

•Illegitimate Websites (fake URLs), to lure you into giving information over the web or even hack an un-patched (updated) system

•Spam is used to get email lists to possibly cause more damage

•Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to defraud the user into surrendering private information that is used for identity theft.

One may ask what are general reasons, for hacking, by cyber-criminals? Some are to gathering trophies, financial rewards, revenge, protest, criminal activity, identity theft, forging documents and just plain general mischief.

In the same fashion, computer viruses that can generate havoc on your PC system are just as criminal. Viruses can cost companies millions and dollars in time to repair an infected system. Recently, Microsoft went as far as to post a $250,000 bounty for the writers of the MSBlast worm and the SoBig.F virus. Organizations such as Interpol now have sections of their website devoted to cyber-crime, with other websites such as the IFCC “Internet Fraud Complaint Center” specializing in Internet Crime.

Hopefully, the information provided above will aid in protecting your PC from unwanted computer viruses, and PC problems that can harm hardware, software and productivity. The bottom line is that if you have a virus or if your computer has been hacked, you are no longer in control of your PC. If viruses, hackers or criminals destroy nothing else, they destroy your confidence in your PC or network, which is something that is quite valuable. Hopefully, the information provided above will aid in protecting your PC from unwanted computer viruses, and PC problems that can harm hardware, software and productivity. The bottom line is that if you have a virus or if your computer has been hacked, you are no longer in control of your PC. If viruses, hackers or criminals destroy nothing else, they destroy your confidence in your PC or network, which is something that is quite valuable.

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