Cyber Crime

WATCH OUT!!!…….it is possible that the computer you are using is providing a window of opportunity to the cyber criminals living probably a continent away, waiting to steal all that you have worked hard for. This article illustrates the grainy world of cyber crime and ways to protect yourself and your confidential information from being watched by cyber criminals. It also reveals attempts of the cyber police in trying to get a sharper picture of the actions of these criminals.

     Somewhere in St. Petersburg, Russia, a tiny start up has struck internet gold. Its dozen or so employees are raking well over $100 million a year from the world’s largest banks, including Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual. Their two years rise might be the greatest success story of the former eastern Bloc’s high-tech boom – if only it weren’t so illegal. The cash may be just coming from your bank account and they could be using your computer to commit their crimes.

     The enigmatic company named ‘Rock Phish’ by the security community has rapidly become a giant of the internet underground by perfecting a common form of internet crimes known as ‘phishing.’ The thieves capture people’s personal computers, and use them to send phony emails that trick other users into revealing private financial information.

     During the past few years a professional class making a living out of stealthy online fraud has transformed internet crime, rendering obsolete the hobbyist hackers who sought fun and games. These people are like ghosts in our web browsers, silently taking over our computers, stealing digital bits and turning our data into cash. They’ve created a sophisticated, cyberspace shadow economy; government and research firms estimate that this (shadow economy), costs us billions of dollars annually. The crimes and their effects are disturbing, but the greater concern is the failure of corporations, governments and the average citizen to comprehend the mounting threat and to fight back.

      A few terms being used in the world of cyber crimes which could help increase the awareness amongst victims and future victims include the following. Bot-herdes are those who control the armies of computers called botnet. Botnet is a robot network or collection of zombie PCs installing malware on people’s computers. Drive-by download is when a malicious code is automatically installed on the user’s PC from a website he/she visited. Spam is unwanted emails sent to users forcing them to buy something, or to reveal information. Trojan is malicious software disguised as a graceful program. Virus is a computer code that infects a file then takes action and spreads when the user opens that file. Worm is a self replicating program that transfers itself between PCs, often clogging the network as it spreads. Phishing is sending false emails that appear to come from trusted entities.