Cybercrime: Evolution, Detection, and Prevention - A Detailed Analysis

This essay delves into the multifaceted world of digital and cybercrime, examining its evolution from the Morris worm to modern e-commerce threats. It explores various detection techniques, including anomaly detection systems, honey pots, operating system commands, configuration checking tools, and tripwires, providing a comprehensive overview of how cybercrimes are identified. The paper also outlines essential prevention strategies, such as the use of authentication technologies, firewalls, filtering and blocking programs, and the importance of understanding cybercrime. The conclusion emphasizes the need for proactive measures and the role of government and individuals in ensuring a secure digital environment. The essay references key legislation and stresses the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Digital/Cybercrime Evolution, Detection, and
Prevention

Introduction
The chosen topic for this paper is digital/cybercrime evolution, detection, and prevention. It is a
most popular topic nowadays. Cybercrime is considered the combination of two terms "cyber"
and the "crime" which means leads or governs. In this paper, we will discuss the cybercrime
evolution, detection, and prevention. This will give us an opportunity to enhance our technical
skills as well as knowledge about the cybercrime trend. Cyber environment contains all types of
cyber or digital activities. On the other hand, cybercrime is considered as a most popular issue
that can hardly be separated in an interconnected cyber environment (Yar, 2013). It plays an
important role in the ongoing development of internet services as well as information
technology. It is necessary for every nation security to enhance cyber security and prevent
cybercrime to save necessary and secret information about the nation. Cyber security is not only
necessary for the nations but also for the different information technology and other technical
organizations. Making the internet safer has become the necessary part of the development of
new government policies as well as services. Thus, it can be said that cybercrime is a serious
issue due to the popularity of e-commerce trend. It should secure by using proper prevention
tools and techniques for the benefit of the organization or the nation too.
Cybercrime Evolution
Cybercrime evaluated with the Morris worm. It was the first computer virus that distributed
among the computer system via internet in 1988. Morris worm releases a trend that spread to the
whole world like a wildfire. One of the high-profile cybercrime came into existence in 1985. It is
a case of hacking. In it, two journalists stumbled upon administration credentials for the Prestel
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system of United States. This brings the first case of cybercrime legislation being introduced in
law also. It is known as the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (Bhattacharya, 2015). The idea of using
the internet as a source of earning money came into existence with the popularity of internet in
the 2000s. At that time email proved to be the important way that spawned a new technique of
cybercrime. That technique is known as spamming. There are a large number of spammers who
earned millions of pounds by promoting products and services through the use of unverified and
illegal email. Users of computers and the internet utilize the anti-spam software's to protect their
system and block unauthorized access or services. But spammer able to discovers the new way of
their business. They come up with a fresh idea which is that they require fresh computers to
continue to deliver spam. On the other hand, inspired by the Morris worm, spammers able to find
out that by teaming up with malware writers they can continue their business and can also use
infected botnets, and computers to transmit their email messages (Chouhan, 2014). Thus, it can
be said that this new business model continued spam functions, all under the control of a
particular person, circumnavigating anti-spam systems. So, it is the way by which cybercrime
came into existence and brings various problems for computer and internet users.
Cybercrime Detection
Cybercrime can successfully detect by using a large number of intrusion detection techniques.
Such type of techniques includes following:
 Anomaly detection systems
 Tripwires
 Operating System commands
 Honey pots
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 Configuration checking tools
1. Tripwires: Snooping: Tripwires are known as software programs that detect the critical
file changes by taking snapshots of key system characteristics. In the case of cyber
security, tripwires mainly provide evidence of cybercrimes because most of the intruding
hackers make modification when they install alter file system or entry points and
directory characteristics unknowingly while snooping (Al-garadi, 2016).
2. Honey Pots: Lures of Honey pot are mainly employed to keep track of an electronic
criminal so that information about the hacker can generate on an immediate basis. It is a
long technique of identification hacker information and even apprehension of the
preparatory. Lures of honey pot mainly known as a bogus system administration
accounts, a myriad of created files, or fictitious product or client information that
contains serious information. On the other hand, to facilitating perpetrator identification,
honey pots also stores various evidence of the cybercrime.
3. Operating System Commands: Generally, it can be said that cybercrime detection can
also be done by using operating system commands such as comparing outputs of same
programs or checking log files are among the different manual techniques involving
operating system commands. Mainly operating system commands utilize on a daily basis
by various system administrations. It is used to perch various evidence suggesting the
certainty of cybercrimes.
4. Anomaly Detection Systems: It is considered most important technique of detecting
cybercrime. It mainly focuses on the unusual pattern of necessary information. In
addition, anomaly detection system mainly develops and analyzes network and host
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activity, user profiles, or different system programs in hopes of identifying or detecting
deviations.
5. Configuration checking tools: These tools are also known as vulnerability assessment
tools (Radoslaw, 2016). These are the popular software programs used to detect insecure
networks. Generally, configuration checking tools are considered preventive in nature,
but they mostly use in measuring devices and provide evidence of cybercrimes. It mainly
used for detecting suspicious patterns of system misconfiguration that might be
dangerous in nature.
Thus, it can be said that detection of cybercrime activities is necessary for the government as
well as business organizations. Following all those tools help them in detecting the available
cybercrime networks in effective and efficient manner.
Cybercrime Prevention
It is necessary for every organization or individual to take required action to prevent cybercrime.
Prevention of cybercrime helps them in safeguard their necessary information from unauthorized
networks. The below-mentioned measures help these organizations to prevent cybercrime:
 Use authentication technology: The first and foremost measure in the prevention of
cybercrime is the use of authentication technologies. It means that organizations should
use password bio-metric devices, retinal imaging, and voice recognition and fingerprint
technology to immense the difficulty of unauthorized access to necessary information. On
the other hand, users need to pay their more concern on using bio-metric technology
because it is an efficient technology in use’s authentication for using the particular
computer (Cruz, 2015).
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 Lay a trap: Users of the computer need to bait a trap to catch the attacker in computer
systems.
 Understand Cyber Crime: Understand the benefit of proper training tools and equipment
to control cybercrime in a significant manner.
 Adopt computer security: Users of the computer system should avail advice and new
sophisticated products for computer crime prevention which is available on the market in
large quantity.
 Use Filtering and blocking programs: For preventing virus in computer systems, users
need to block malicious computer codes. In addition, they should use Anti-Spyware
software to prevent the criminals from accessing necessary information.
 Install Firewalls: It is considered most popular and significant tool for preventing
cybercrime. Firewalls help the user in blocking particular network traffics according to
the security policy (Williams, 2017). On the other hand, they should install patches and
fix the software security flaws. This will help them in preventing cybercrimes up to a
certain limit.
Thus, following all above prevention measures enable the users to prevent unauthorized access
from necessary information by blocking necessary networks. With the help of above measures
cybercrime such as hacking, data loss can stop in a greater manner. This will ultimately make the
safe network and users can safeguard their necessary information.
Conclusion
After studying the digital cybercrime evolution, detection and prevention measure it can be
concluded that it gives us significant knowledge about different aspects of the cybercrime. The
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government has developed various legal acts to prevent the cybercrime cases in different
countries such as Indian government develop The India Information Technology Act of 2000 to
prevent cybercrime cases (Anderson, 2013). It is the duty of government to provide the secure
technology measures to users. Furthermore, it can be said that the internet is a very powerful
tool and efficient means of communication. But the internet is vulnerable just like anything else.
It is necessary for everyone to use suitable cybercrime detection tools to problems. Detection
tools necessary to design and implement in an effective manner so that they can ensure large
security to users. The one important way to prevent cybercrime is for everyone to be smart and
follow all preventive measures.
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References
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Savage, S., 2013. Measuring the cost of cybercrime. In The economics of information security
and privacy (pp. 265-300). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Bhattacharya, D. and Nakama, D.A., 2015. Evolution of Information Security Issues in Small
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Chouhan, R., 2014. Cyber Crimes: Evolution, Detection and Future Challenges. IUP Journal of
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Cruz, E.M. and Sajo, T.J., 2015. Cybersex as Affective Labour: Critical Interrogations of the
Philippine ICT Framework and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. In Impact of Information
Society Research in the Global South (pp. 187-202). Springer Singapore.
Radoslaw, K., Michal, P., Rafal, R. and Kenji, A., 2016. Recognizing and Converting Cockney
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Williams, M.L. and Levi, M., 2017. Cybercrime prevention.
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