INTRODUCTION

Crime is not new. The means by which criminals are able to commit crimes has vastly

changed in some respects thanks to the use of the Internet and computers. As technology

advances, so does the ways in which criminals are able to pull off their horrendous deeds.

With the Internet, crimes can now be committed more anonymously and with lightning

speed. On the other hand, the same technology that allows criminals to engage in felonious

acts is the exact same technology that helps law enforcement catches them.

Cyber crime is the latest and perhaps the most complicated problem in the cyber world.

Cyber crime may be said to be those species, of which, genus is the conventional crime, and

where either the computer is an object or subject of the conduct constituting crime. Any

criminal activity that uses a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means for

perpetuating further crimes comes within the ambit of cyber crime.

THE DEFINITON OF CYBER CRIME

The term ‘cyber crime’ is a misnomer. One of the leading countries in IT penetration is India.

India Parliament has nowhere been defined in any statute or Act passed or enacted regarding

the cyber crime. The concept of cyber crime is not radically different from the concept of

conventional crime. Both include conduct whether act or omission, which cause breach of

rules of law and counterbalanced by the sanction of the state.

Before evaluating the concept of cyber crime it is obvious that the concept of conventional

crime be discussed and the points of similarity and deviance between both these forms may

be discussed.

THE FIRST DEFINITION

Cyber crime encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers and networks (called

hacking). Additionally, cyber crime also includes traditional crimes conducted through the

Internet. For example; hate crimes, telemarketing and Internet fraud, identity theft, and credit

card account thefts are considered to be cyber crimes when the illegal activities are

committed through the use of a computer and the Internet.

THE SECOND DEFINITON

Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet. This includes

anything from downloading illegal music files to stealing millions of dollars from online

bank accounts. Cybercrime also includes non-monetary offenses, such as creating and

distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the

Internet.

Perhaps the most prominent form of cybercrime is identity theft, in which criminals use the

Internet to steal personal information from other users. Two of the most common ways this is

done is through phishing and pharming.

Both of these methods lure users to fake websites (that appear to be legitimate), where they

are asked to enter personal information. This includes login information, such as usernames

and passwords, phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and

other information criminals can use to "steal" another person's identity. For this reason, it is

smart to always check the URL or Web address of a site to make sure it is legitimate before

entering your personal information.

THE SCOPE OF CYBER CRIME

Because cybercrime covers such a broad scope of criminal activity, the examples above are

only a few of the thousands of crimes that are considered cybercrimes. While computers and

the Internet have made our lives easier in many ways, it is unfortunate that people also use

these technologies to take advantage of others. Therefore, it is smart to protect yourself by

using antivirus and spyware blocking software and being careful where you enter your

personal information.

A generalized words referring to the cyber crime may be unlawful acts wherein the

computer is either a tool or target or both. The computer may be used as a tool in the

following kinds of activity regarding to the scope of cyber crime such as: -

i) financial crimes

ii) sale of illegal articles

iii) pornography

iv) online gambling

v) intellectual property crime

vi) e-mail spoofing

vii) forgery, cyber defamation viii) cyber stalking

The computer may however be target for unlawful acts in the following cases, such as: -

i) Unauthorized access to computer

system or computer networks.

ii) theft of information contained in

the electronic form

iii) e-mail bombing

iv) data didling

v) salami attacks

vi) logic bombs

vii) Trojan attacks

viii) internet time thefts

ix) web jacking

x) theft of computer system

xi) Physically damaging the computer system.

CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIMES

It can be classified into 4 major categories which are: -

1) Cyber crime against Individual

2) Cyber crime Against Property

3) Cyber crime Against Organization

4) Cyber crime Against Society

1) Cyber crime against Individual

i) Email spoofing

A spoofed email is one in which e-mail header is forged so that mail appears to originate

from one source but actually has been sent from another source

ii) Spamming

Spamming means sending multiple copies of unsolicited mails or mass e-mails such as

chain letters.

iii) Cyber Defamation

This occurs when defamation takes place with the help of computers and / or the

Internet. The example is someone publishes defamatory matter about someone on a

website or sends e-mails containing defamatory information.

iv) Harassment & Cyber stalking

Cyber Stalking Means following the moves of an individual's activity over internet. It

can be done with the help of many protocols available such at e- mail, chat rooms, user

net groups.

2) Against Property:

i) Credit Card Fraud (CCF)

CCF is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any

similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose

may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account.

Credit card fraud is also an adjunct to identity theft.

ii) Intellectual Property crimes

These include Software piracy: illegal copying of programs, distribution of copies of

software.

iii) Copyright infringement:

Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright,

infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or

perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.

iv) Trademarks Violations

Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark

without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such

authorization was within the scope of the license).

v) Theft of computer source code

Computer source code is the most important asset of software companies. Simply put,

source code is the programming instructions that are compiled into the executable files

that are sold by software development companies. As is expected, most source code

thefts take place in software companies.

iii) Internet time theft

Internet time theft is the usage of the Internet hours by an unauthorized person which is

actually paid by another person.

3) AGAINST ORGANIZATION

i) Unauthorized Accessing of Computer

The Example is accessing the computer/network without permission from the owner. It

can be of 2 forms:

a) Changing/deleting data - Unauthorized changing of data.

b) Computer voyeur - The criminal reads or copies confidential or proprietary

information, but the data is neither deleted nor changed.

ii) Denial of Service

When Internet server is flooded with continuous bogus requests so as to denying

legitimate users to use the server or to crash the server.

iii) Computer contamination / Virus attack

A computer virus is a computer program that can infect other computer programs by

modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of it. Viruses can be

file infecting or affecting boot sector of the computer. Worms, unlike viruses do not need

the host to attach themselves to.

iv) Email Bombing

Sending large numbers of mails to the individual or company or mail servers thereby

ultimately resulting into crashing.

v) Salami Attack

When negligible amounts are removed & accumulated in to something larger. These

attacks are used for the commission of financial crimes.

vi) Logic Bomb

It’s an event dependent programmed, as soon as the designated event occurs, it crashes the

computer, release a virus or any other harmful possibilities.

vii) Trojan Horse

An unauthorized program which functions from inside what seems to be an authorized

program, thereby concealing what it is actually doing.

viii) Data diddling

This kind of an attack involves altering raw data just before it is processed by a computer

and then changing it back after the processing is completed.

4) AGAINST SOCIETY

i) Forgery

currency notes, revenue stamps, mark sheets etc can be forged using computers and high

quality scanners and printers.

ii) Cyber Terrorism

Use of computer resources to intimidate or coerce other.

iii) Web Jacking

Hackers gain access and control over the website of another, even they change the content of

website for fulfilling political objective or for money.

CYBER CRIME IN USA

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was formed in May, 2000 as a joint venture between

the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and a branch of the US Department of Justice.

Since its formation, the IC3 has fielded hundreds of thousands of cybercrime complaints through

its website (www.ic3.gov) from citizens and industry.  Complaints are stored in a centralized

database for access by local, state, and federal investigators.  Through this means, patterns in

complaint types, perpetrators, popular scams and complainants can be identified.  Many of these

cases have resulted in prosecution.  

In 1999, President Clinton brought about the Working group on Unlawful Conduct on the

Internet to talk about unlawful conduct in regards to the Internet, and to prepare a report on

issues such as: To what degree do the current Federal laws allow prosecution and investigation

on unlawful Internet conduct, how much will new technology help law enforcement to

investigate and prosecute unlawful Internet acts, to what extent are we able to help parents,

teachers and other people get the tools they need to help reduce the chances of unlawful Internet

conduct.

Some of the many crimes that are regularly committed with the facilitation of the Internet are

child pornography, fraud, the sell and purchase of illegal guns or drugs, or other material that are

protected by copyright. In the worst cases, cyber crimes can result in child abduction and

molestation, and physical harm to victims. These heinous crimes have forced lawmakers and

legislators to look long at hard at the state of crimes in relation to the Internet, and what laws are

in effect to protect and prevent such crimes from harming those at risk.

The 2009 edition of the Internet Crime Report (www.ic3.gov/media/2010/100312.aspx) reveals

a continuing upward trend in domestic cybercrime, as well as an increase in those cases referred

to law enforcement agencies:

In 2009, the most common scam was that of e-mails purportedly sent by the FBI in order to

extort information from a targeted individual.  Another scam involved US Attorney General Eric

Holder (www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm).

Other scams included: -

- Non-delivered merchandise

- Payment Advance fee fraud

- Identity theft and overpayment fraud

Other trends in 2009 included hitman scams, astrological reading frauds, economic and job-site

scams, and fake pop-up ads for anti-virus software. Most telling for 2009 was the substantial

18.2% increase in complaints (over 2008) and the 52.7% increase in online fraud losses.  Some

conclusions may be drawn from these recent statistics on-line fraud shows no sign of abating,

fraud losses continue to increase at a dramatic rate and an awareness of the IC3 website may be

growing – which is a good thing.

As always, when conducting transactions over the Internet, deal only with reputable vendors and

trustworthy individuals.  Please do not open e-mails or attachments from entities you do not

recognize.

CYBER CRIME IN MALAYSIA

Cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide with more than a million people

becoming victims every single day, according to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011. The

victims of cybercrime also paid dearly with a total loss of US$388bil (RM1.21bil) to -

cybercriminals in 2010. The cybercrimes don’t only cost victims financially but emotionally too.

On average, it takes 10 days for a victim to recover from a cybercrime and it can be emotional

too considering the amount of data they lose. However, victims could have saved themselves

money and regret as the type of cybercrimes they fell victim to was preventable.

A report found that the most common type of cybercrimes is malware, scams and threats -

targeted at mobile devices. However many people tend to underestimate the dangers of online

crime thinking that it will happen to everyone else but themselves. The survey found that seven

out of 10 adults thought they would more likely be a victim of physical crime rather than an

online crime.

This is a lingering attitude users have when they are offline and it gets replicated when they are

online. The report also found that men, particularly those in the generation Y demographic, are

most likely to become victims of cybercrimes. Men spend more time online and do more

dangerous activities. The report also stated that more men watch adult content, gamble and

participate in online dating sites compared to women. All these are social engineering

techniques and it’s quite easy to fall victims to such tactics.

Although Malaysia wasn’t in the list of countries studied in the report, Malaysia’s cyberspace

police, Cybersecurity Malaysia said the findings are representative of the Malaysian threat

landscape. It is the same environment, so whatever that is happening in the world will definitely

affect us the same way. The Cybersecurity Malaysia chief executive officer, Lt Col (Rtd) Prof

Datuk Husin Jazri was quote that Malaysian cyber threat landscape is no less alarming with over

10,000 cases reported every month up till August 2011. For 2010, Cybersecurity Malaysia

received over 8,000 reports about cybercrime via its cyber999 hotline. Its Cyber Early Warning

System has also detected over 5,000,000 security threats up until August.

Given the increasing amount of cyber threats, there is a need for more proactive measures to

prevent more Internet users from becoming cybercrime victims and it will take more than

reviewing or improving current Cybersecurity laws. Amending laws take time and it is slower

than the prevailing problem. We need to intensify education and awareness efforts to educate

users on Internet risks. Cybersecurity Malaysia is open to the idea of working with security

solution providers like Symantec to come up with Cybersecurity awareness programmes.

Cybersecurity Malaysia already has a list of home-made security tools such as DontPhishMe,

DNSwatch and MyPHPiPs that protects users from cybercriminals which can be downloaded for

free. It is also working on establishing a Cyber Clinic which will offer an extensive list of

Cybersecurity services to computer users. The clinic is expected to be ready before the end of

the year.

CYBER CRIMES CASES IN USA

Case 1 : Operation Ghost Click busts cybercrime ring that hit 4m computers

A sophisticated internet fraud ring that infected four million computers in 100 countries over

five years and allowed criminals to manipulate people's web browsing and online advertising has

been dismantled.

The FBI announced six Estonian internet players have been arrested and charged after a two-

year investigation code-named Operation Ghost Click. It will seek to extradite them to face

charges in the US. A seventh man is still at large. According to the FBI's New York assistant

director in charge Janice Fedarcyk, the fraud began in 2007 when the cyber criminals started

using DNSChanger malware to infect computers in homes, businesses and government

agencies, including some at NASA.

The malware hijacks search links and causes users to be re-directed to web pages and

advertisements that appear related to their original search but generate advertising revenue for

the criminals, not legimate publishers.The FBI estimates the cyber thieves pocketed

US$14million ($13.8 million) in illicit advertising fees which were paid by unsuspecting

companies thinking their ads were appearing on legitimate sites.

The malware also disabled anti-virus programs, allowing computers to be further infected with

other trojans, Fedarcyk said in a statement. Microsoft alerted to the problem earlier this year as a

result of its investigations into click-fraud and their proponents' links with spam botnets. Botnets

are networks of infected computers at the command of cyber criminals.

Richard Boscovich, former US federal prosecutor, now senior attorney at the Microsoft Digital

Crimes Unit, told this writer the unit's investigations had found 25 per cent of all click-throughs

were fraudulent. Boscovich said bot masters were on-selling spare botnet capacity to automate

click-fraud and distribute links to malware-laden websites. He estimated this to equate to

US$6.5billion out of the total online ad expenditure in the US alone.

The FBI named the gang members as Vladimir Tsastsin, 31, Timur Gerassimenko, 31, Dmitri

Jegorov, 33, Valeri Aleksejev, 31, Konstantin Poltev, 28, and Anton Ivanov, 26, all Estonian

nationals, plus Andrey Taame, Russian, 31, who remains at large. According to security writer

Brian Krebs, Tsastsin is the owner of several internet companies, that have been associated with

the malware community for years.

Case 2 : Feds net 100 phishes in biggest cybercrime case ever

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco 8th October 2009

US and Egyptian authorities have charged 100 people with conducting a phishing operation that

siphoned at least $1.5m from thousands of accounts belonging to Bank of America and Well

Fargo customers. Fifty-three defendants from California, Nevada and North Carolina were

named in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Operation Phish Phry, as the case was dubbed, marks the first joint cyber investigation between

law enforcement agencies in those two countries. The case was filed in federal court in Los

Angeles. According to the indictment, the Egypt-based defendant’s phished individuals' personal

information and then used it to access victims' bank accounts. The phishers then worked with

their counterparts in the US so money could be transferred into fraudulent accounts created

specifically to receive the stolen funds.

The ring leaders were named as Kenneth Joseph Lucas, Nichole Michelle Merzi and Jonathan

Preston Clark, all of California. They directed dozens of "runners" to set up the accounts that

would receive the stolen loot. A portion of the funds were wired to the individuals in Egypt who

originated the scam. Other defendants were located in Nevada and North Carolina.

Each defendant named in the 51-count indictment is charged with conspiracy to commit wire

fraud and bank fraud. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

A handful of defendants were charged with additional felonies, including bank fraud, aggravated

identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and domestic and international money

laundering.

The operation is an object lesson in the scale and coordination found in today's professional

phishing operations. The charges are the result of an investigation that began in 2007, when FBI

agents identified criminal enterprises targeting US financial institutions.

CYBER CRIMES CASES IN MALAYSIA

The crimes comprised dissemination of lies, misuse of information, defamation, sedition and

pornography. The Malaysia government said investigations were carried out under Section 211

and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) which provided a jail term

not exceeding a year, or a fine up to RM50,000, or both, upon conviction..

Last year, 582 investigation papers were opened and probed, 422 of which were under Section

211 and 233 of the act. Apart from the act, those found to have abused the internet can also be

charged under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989, Capital Markets and Services

Act 2007, Sedition Act 1948, Defamation Act 1957 or even under the Penal Code.

Besides taking the culprits to court, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission

(MCMC) will also block the access to phishing, fraud, illegal investment and pornography

websites. The MCMC had also set up a bureau to receive complaints to identify and probe those

responsible for providing and disseminating such content.

Case 1

Kuantan police Chief ACP Mohd Jasmani Yusoff said the latest case involved a female student

who was cheated in a transaction involving 20 units of iPhone 4 through a website and involved

losses of RM10, 400. The student banked in some cash gradually into an account given by the

suspect from July 24 until last Friday and once the payment had been made, the suspect was

unreachable while the phone line was also terminated. The police said the syndicates involved

were difficult to be traced as they changed phone numbers frequently.

Case 2 : RM65mil cyber fund fraud case the first in Malaysia

Sat, Mar 01, 2008

A 47-year-old "cyber fund manager" who has been operating without a licence became the

country's first man to be charged in a court for an Internet investment scam involving RM65mil.

Phazaluddin Abu, who is also a general manager of a computer company, claimed trial to the

charge. He was said to have held himself out as a fund manager, through the Internet website

www.danafutures.com, without holding a fund manager's licence. Phazaluddin is accused of

committing the offence at Affiliate Shoppers Network at No.14 first floor of Jalan Opera C in

Shah Alam between Jan 3 and June 22 last year.

If convicted, he can be fined a maximum of RM1mil or jailed up to 10 years under Section 15C

of the Securities Industry Act 1983. Lead prosecutor Syed Mohd Naqib Syed Taha, from

Securities Commission (SC), asked the court to deny bail saying that the offence was non-

bailable and that the offence was related to an Internet scam where the accused managed

investment portfolios.Syed Mohd Naqib said that more than 100 Malaysians had invested

RM65mil over a period of three months.

The website offered investments of between US$25 and US$1000 (RM80 and RM3,194) for

100 days, with daily interest returns from 2.2% to 3.15% (for each investor)," he told Sessions

Court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah. (The website was shut down on June 22 last year.)

SUGGESTIONS

Consensus Reached For Precise Mechanism To Combat Cyber Crime

Government has to play bigger role in combating the cyber crime. So, Malaysia also has step

ahead in combating and tackling this issue. A consensus has been reached to formulate a precise

international network mechanism to combat cyber crime.

The Malaysia’s Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Datuk Seri Dr Rais

Yatim said the consensus was reached at the two-day London Conference on Cyberspace. The

conference resolved that international cooperation and a global network have to be established,

and the mechanism will be worked out at other official meetings. It can also be concluded that

the conference has got the world to agree that there must be a collaborative effort to tackle cyber

crime at the national, regional or international levels

The security aspects should also be brought to the attention of the international community so

that a clear mechanism could be formulated pertaining to the sharing of intelligence and

important data for future cooperation. The Ministers also a consensus was also reached to

establish cooperation and a network between governments and the private sector engaged in the

cyber industry.

The Malaysia government would propose to the telecommunications industry players in

Malaysia to establish a close network with the government to enable Malaysia to maintain its

sovereignty and enforce its laws with the support of the international community. And, to well

said Malaysia's contribution in combating terrorism and tackling cyber security issues have

captured the world's attention.

CONCLUSIONS

There No Free Lunch

To all Malaysians, the have to be very aware about the cyber crime issue. English proverb well

said that there is for sure no free lunch in this world. Most of the people that fell into cyber

crime victim was the one that eager to become rich in short way. The internet scam product or

scam just happened every day. Most of them having the same method of lies, different only on

the web page and the interface but the modus operandi almost same.

So, to all Malaysian, be sure and prepare not to fell into cheat trick to become rich or to get

branded product in cheap price. Once you find some suspicious activity or tricky offer, almost

get into MCMC or Cybersecurity, so that, they can initiate investigation and make sure other

will not fell into the same trick.

(3500 Words)

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http://cybercrimes09.blogspot.com/

http://www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime

http://www.crimeusa.com/Cyber_Crimes.html

http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Classification-Of-CyberCrimes--1484.asp

www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime

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www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime