Cyber frontier in fight against crime And cyber law: still unaware Bangladesh & the world.

by Sayed Taufiq Ullah on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 8:54pm

Cyber crime 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. Cyber crime also includes non-monetary offenses, such as creating and distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the Internet. Cyber crime: Perhaps the most prominent form of cyber crime 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. Parents, teachers, non-profits, government, and industry have been working hard to protect kids online. However, we also need to think about protecting the Internet from kids who might abuse it. The Department of Justice categorizes computer crime in three ways: The computer as a target - attacking the computers of others (spreading viruses is an example). The computer as a weapon - using a computer to commit "traditional crime" that we see in the physical world (such as fraud or illegal gambling). The computer as an accessory - using a computer as a "fancy filing cabinet" to store illegal or stolen information. Reports of alleged computer crime have been a hot news item of late. Especially alarming is the realization that many of the masterminds behind these criminal acts are mere kids. In fact, children no longer need to be highly skilled in order to execute cyber crimes. "Hacker tools" are easily available on the Net and, once downloaded, can be used by even novice computer users. This greatly expands the population of possible wrongdoers. Children (and in some cases - their parents) often think that shutting down or defacing Web

sites or releasing network viruses are amusing pranks. Kids might not even realize that what they are doing is illegal. Still other kids might find themselves hanging out online with skilled hackers who share hacking tools with them and encourage them to do inappropriate things online. Unfortunately, some of these kids don't realize that they are committing crimes until it is too late. Even more distressing and difficult to combat is the fact that some in the media portray the computer criminal as a modern day Robin Hood. Nothing could be further from the truth. So what are cyber crimes? Can the law enforcement authorities find criminals online? How can you create context for your children to understand what cyber crimes are? The following information (and areas throughout the site) will help familiarize you with unethical and illegal online behavior. Additionally, to learn more about cyber crime visit the Department of Justice Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section's website at www.cybercrime.gov. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at www.cert.org and the National Infrastructure Protection Center at the FBI at www.infragard.net provides regularly updated information and descriptions of cyber crimes. Because cyber crime covers such a broad scope of criminal activity, the examples above are only a few of the thousands of crimes that are considered cyber crimes. 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 spy ware blocking software and being careful where you enter your personal information. Cyber Ethics: Applying Old Values to a New Medium An old adage tells us "Character is what you do when no one is watching." So it is with the Internet. Online, people can feel invisible and capable of doing things they normally wouldn't do in person or in public - things that they know might be wrong. As the Internet becomes an indispensable tool for everyday life, it is more important than ever to dust off the concept of "citizenship" and apply it to the online world. Relatively new terms, "cyber citizenship", "cyber ethics", and "netiquette" refer to responsible cyber social behavior. These terms refer to what people do online when no one else is looking. As our kids go online in increasing numbers, cyber ethics is a critical lesson, especially since poor e-habits can start at an early age. Unfortunately, we are learning all too well that children armed with computers can be dangerous and cause serious damage and harm, regardless of

whether they are being mischievous or trying to intentionally commit cyber crimes. still unaware, Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, a draft Bill on Information and Communication Technology has been introduced in the Parliament. The final report on the Law on Information Technology was approved by the Office of the Law Commission in its meeting dated 08.09.2002. The Proposal: Chapter VII on Penalties and Adjudication and Chapter IX on Offenses include some cyber crime provisions that prohibit attacks or unauthorized access to computers and computer systems. Chapter IX: Section 66. Punishment for tampering with computer source documents Whoever intentionally or knowingly conceals, destroys or alters or intentionally or knowingly causes any other person to conceal, destroy or alter any computer source code used for a computer, computer program, computer system or computer network, when the computer source code is required to be kept or maintained by any law for the time being in force, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to Taka two lakes, or with both. Explanation.- For the purpose of this section, computer source code means the listing of programmers, computer commands, design and layout and program analysis of computer resource in any form. Section 67. Hacking with computer system - Whoever, with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or damages to the public or any other person, does any act and thereby destroys, deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes its value or utility or affects it injuriously by any means, commits the offense of hacking. Section 68. Punishment for hacking -Whoever commits hacking shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to Taka two lakhs, or with both.

Now we can understand that the 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.

edited by s.T.ullah 2012 Have you ever wondered which countries face the most cyber crime?

If you have ever wondered which countries have the most cyber crime, then you may be surprised to know that there are few contributing factors that attract cyber criminals to specific regions of the world. Security research firm, Symantec, has discovered specific factors that determine why a certain country is plagued with cyber crime more so or less than another which allowed them to come up with a ranking for each.

Symantec has ranked 20 countries that face, or cause, the most cyber crime. In compiling such a list, Symantec was able to quantify software code that interferes with a computers normal functions, rank zombie systems, and observe the number of websites that host phishing sites, which are designed to trick computer users into disclosing personal data or banking account information. Symantec was also able to obtain data including the number of boot-infected systems which are those controlled by cyber criminals, rank countries where cyber attacks initiated and factor in the a higher rate of cyber crime in countries that have more access to broadband connections. The highest rate of cyber crime was found to be in the United States which may mainly contribute to the broad range of available broadband connections, which are those that allow uninterrupted internet connectivity.

All of the contributing factors allowed Symantec to effectively rank a top 20 list of countries that have the most cyber crime. List of Top 20 Countries with the highest rate of Cyber crime (source: Business Week/Symantec)

Each country lists 6 contributing factors, share of malicious computer activity, malicious code rank, spam zombies rank, phishing web site hosts rank, boot rank and attack origin, to substantiate its cyber crime ranking "The summit is unique in that it is a meeting of the minds of cyber-security experts, researchers and government policy makers from around the world," he said. By running this annual meeting, the university hopes to help achieve a future which is as free as possible from cyber-crime and cyber-conflict. The keynote speaker is Eugene Kaspersky, a Russian expert who founded Europe's largest anti-virus company.

He said cyber-crime is unfortunately a very successful enterprise. "Cyber-criminals have a very easy job because they're just software engineers," he said. "It's very hard to find them so it's a low-risk business. "They make a lot of money." According to Scotland Yard, cyber-crime costs the UK economy 27bn per year. Cyber-security is not a national problem, it's international Dr Douglas Maughan US Department of Homeland Security Governments are taking the issue increasingly more seriously. They are also considering the implications of online weapons being deployed in wars. For example, electricity grids are often run by computers. So, in theory, one country could disrupt another's power network in a cyber-attack. Using a cyber-weapon is very dangerous because it's a boomerang which will strike back at you," he said. ReF info:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150582521692014 http://be.net/feelingpractitioner http://www.cybercitizenship.org/ethics/ethics.html www.cybercitizenship.org/crime/crime.html www.naavi.org/pati/pati_cybercrimes_dec03.htm www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17409481 http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/cyber_crime.html