How is cyber crime different?
Information technology (IT) has increasingly become a part of our life
but while it gives a lot of positive benefits, it has also provided
criminal minds with new opportunities. Cyber crimes are increasingly
becoming a common phenomenon. According to a recent report, the United
States, which has integrated information technology to a much greater
extent as compared to other countries, also leads in cyber attacks. The
annual loss to US organisations in 2005 was estimated to be around
$67.2 billion (Rs 2,68,000 crore). Virus attacks continue to be the
source of the greatest financial losses in the US and unauthorised
access is the second greatest source of cyber crime. The US-based
businesses are the most targeted organisations in phishing e-mails and
account for 71.37 per cent of all phishing e-mails. The government
sector accounted for 25 per cent of all identity theft related data
breaches more than any other sector. There are a lot of common elements
between crimes in the cyberworld and those in the brick-and-mortar
world. Nevertheless, cyber crimes sometimes may not be committed only
by criminals, but highly intelligent people to whom breaking into a
system or hacking is an intellectual challenge. This has a hoary
tradition. In the 1940s, when the Manhattan Project for building the
first atom bomb was on, one of the most intelligent scientists in the
project was Richard Feynman who went on to win the Nobel Prize in
Physics. For Feynman, breaking security locks of classified papers in
this highly sensitive project was an intellectual challenge. In his
book, ‘Surely you are joking’, Feynman reports how he was able to beat
the system most of the time. The most striking aspect of cyber crime is
that computers enhance the power of intelligent criminals in terms of
magnitude. Thanks to the Internet, the world has become a global
village. Communication is at the speed of light. In this incredibly
fast world, crimes can be committed with devastating effect.
The
enhancement of the individual’s power and disproportionate power he
derives in committing crimes is an aspect where cyber crimes differ
from conventional brick-and-mortar crimes. The world of computers and
Internet is a 24x7 world. The cyberworld never sleeps. There is no time
when one can relax. Eternal vigilance, it used to be said, is the price
of liberty. Eternal alertness is the solution to tackling cyber crime.
Even though technology provides the basis for the cyberworld, the same
technology is used for detecting and tackling cyber crimes. In this
eternal game of catching up, one has to always remember Oscar Wilde’s
perceptive comment -- ‘The thief is an artist and the policeman is only
a critic’. Apart from the technology aspect, perhaps the more important
factor is the human dimension. The motive for most cyber crime may not
only be an intellectual challenge for the hacker, but also a sense of
frustration and impotent anger of some employees who feel that an
organisation or the world, has not been fair to them. Studies of cyber
crimes have shown that 80 per cent of cyber crimes are committed by
insiders. And in a typical reflection of the helplessness and
pragmatism of the victims, 80 per cent of the cyber crimes are not
reported. Hence an understanding of human psychology and motivation
becomes very significant. Apart from tackling the problem of attracting
and retaining talent in an increasingly competitive world of IT, one
also has to retain the loyalty of employees. In the ultimate analysis,
it is the human aspect that is the key.
but while it gives a lot of positive benefits, it has also provided
criminal minds with new opportunities. Cyber crimes are increasingly
becoming a common phenomenon. According to a recent report, the United
States, which has integrated information technology to a much greater
extent as compared to other countries, also leads in cyber attacks. The
annual loss to US organisations in 2005 was estimated to be around
$67.2 billion (Rs 2,68,000 crore). Virus attacks continue to be the
source of the greatest financial losses in the US and unauthorised
access is the second greatest source of cyber crime. The US-based
businesses are the most targeted organisations in phishing e-mails and
account for 71.37 per cent of all phishing e-mails. The government
sector accounted for 25 per cent of all identity theft related data
breaches more than any other sector. There are a lot of common elements
between crimes in the cyberworld and those in the brick-and-mortar
world. Nevertheless, cyber crimes sometimes may not be committed only
by criminals, but highly intelligent people to whom breaking into a
system or hacking is an intellectual challenge. This has a hoary
tradition. In the 1940s, when the Manhattan Project for building the
first atom bomb was on, one of the most intelligent scientists in the
project was Richard Feynman who went on to win the Nobel Prize in
Physics. For Feynman, breaking security locks of classified papers in
this highly sensitive project was an intellectual challenge. In his
book, ‘Surely you are joking’, Feynman reports how he was able to beat
the system most of the time. The most striking aspect of cyber crime is
that computers enhance the power of intelligent criminals in terms of
magnitude. Thanks to the Internet, the world has become a global
village. Communication is at the speed of light. In this incredibly
fast world, crimes can be committed with devastating effect.
The
enhancement of the individual’s power and disproportionate power he
derives in committing crimes is an aspect where cyber crimes differ
from conventional brick-and-mortar crimes. The world of computers and
Internet is a 24x7 world. The cyberworld never sleeps. There is no time
when one can relax. Eternal vigilance, it used to be said, is the price
of liberty. Eternal alertness is the solution to tackling cyber crime.
Even though technology provides the basis for the cyberworld, the same
technology is used for detecting and tackling cyber crimes. In this
eternal game of catching up, one has to always remember Oscar Wilde’s
perceptive comment -- ‘The thief is an artist and the policeman is only
a critic’. Apart from the technology aspect, perhaps the more important
factor is the human dimension. The motive for most cyber crime may not
only be an intellectual challenge for the hacker, but also a sense of
frustration and impotent anger of some employees who feel that an
organisation or the world, has not been fair to them. Studies of cyber
crimes have shown that 80 per cent of cyber crimes are committed by
insiders. And in a typical reflection of the helplessness and
pragmatism of the victims, 80 per cent of the cyber crimes are not
reported. Hence an understanding of human psychology and motivation
becomes very significant. Apart from tackling the problem of attracting
and retaining talent in an increasingly competitive world of IT, one
also has to retain the loyalty of employees. In the ultimate analysis,
it is the human aspect that is the key.
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