Understanding Cybercrime: Types, Perpetrators, and Mitigation Strategies

This article discusses the impact of cybercrime on Australia and the types of cybercrime, perpetrators, and mitigation strategies. It also highlights the Spam Act passed by the ACMA. The article is based on research articles and real-life cybercrime attacks.

Running head: CYBERCRIME
CYBERCRIME
Name of the University
Name of the student
Author Note

1CYBERCRIME
After reviewing the Symantec Cybercrime Report, I was shocked to find out that
Australia is present in the list of top ten countries that are severely affected by cyber-attacks.
After researching a bit further, I realized that the number of cyber-attacks in Australia has
doubled since last year. In 2016, more than 60% of the businesses in Australia has faced a
cyber-vulnerability on a monthly basis (Holt, Bossler & Seigfried-Spellar, 2015).
I already had a vague idea about cybercrime that it was usually conducted through
computers for illicit purposes such as child pornography, trafficking, stealing of intellectual
property and banking fraud. To understand about the cybercrimes, I had to understand why
the attacks were so prevalent nowadays. The first reason I found out was that the increasing
complexity of the computer systems was the main reason for the increasing vulnerability.
Recently, researchers found a vulnerability which utilized a complex system of processors
named speculative execution to extract user data. The second reason was related to higher
consumer expectations.
Next, I studied some research articles to understand the types of exploits. A code
which is programmable and forces a computer to behave in an unexpected way is known as
Virus. A Worm is a malicious program that attaches itself in a computer’s memory to
duplicate itself. A Trojan horse is a hidden malicious code inside a harmless program that
activates itself during a specific event. DDoS attacks causes a computer or a server to flood
the targeted system with continuous requests for data and tasks (Yar, 2013). Other lesser
known cyber threats are spams, rootkits and phishing. One particular threat called botnets
caught my attention. Botnets are used to control a number of computers by the attacker from
a remote location without the knowledge of the user. The affected computers are used to
distribute malicious codes.

2CYBERCRIME
Due to these wide number of threats, the Spam Act was passed by the ACMA or
Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2003 which prevented users from
sending unauthorized electronic messages (Loader & Thomas, 2013). Mobile text messages,
instant messaging as well as emails were included in the Act and those who went against the
Act were penalized heavily.
The classification of perpetrators and their motives also interested me. I was only
aware of hackers and cyber terrorists but the other classifications such as crackers, malicious
insiders, industrial spies and hacktivists forced me to understand the motive behind their
attacks in details (Kirwan & Power, 2013).
Next, I studied some real life cybercrime attacks and assessed their mitigation
strategies. Establishing a security policy is mandatory for every organization. According to
me, the main areas of concern should be email attachment and wireless devices I found out
that a basic corporate firewall will definitely limit network access in an organization
preventing users from downloading an exploit accidentally (Yar, 2013). Intrusion detection
system or IDS will help the administrator to monitor the system activities and notify him or
her when a network traffic attempts to get around the security measures.
For a normal citizen like me, a basic antivirus or basic safeguard (like deleting login
passwords after the work is done) can prevent these cyber threats from implementing
malicious codes in the system. The AFP (Australian Federal Police) should check whether
these policies and strategies are followed by every organization in the state. Computer
forensics need to be properly developed so that perpetrators can be punished in the court of
law.

3CYBERCRIME
References
Holt, T. J., Bossler, A. M., & Seigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2015). Cybercrime and digital
forensics: An introduction. Routledge.
Kirwan, G., & Power, A. (2013). Cybercrime: The psychology of online offenders.
Cambridge University Press.
Loader, B. D., & Thomas, D. (Eds.). (2013). Cybercrime: Security and surveillance in the
information age. Routledge.
Yar, M. (2013). Cybercrime and society. Sage.