Cyber Security
As society evolves in the way of life, so does crime around it. In a span of 100 years, the human way life has dramatically changed in many aspects, one of which being computer technology. At the beginning of the 20th century, the computer as we know it today didn't even exist, however, over the course of the century, developments in things like relay-switching circuits and achievements like the invention of the transistor all eventually led to where we are today, a civilization heavily influenced by computing technology. In the developed world, it's commonplace to have a computer at home and a smaller one - a smartphone - in your pocket among many other devices like smartwatches and even smart fridges. The internet, essentially a global network of interconnected, intercommunicating computers, has become widely used as computers became a household item. From sunrise to sunset, from when we check the forecast before leaving home to when we check social media before sleeping, we interact with these devices, just going to show how much life is dominated by technology in modern times. Yet, for as much as our lives have changed with the increasing prominence of technology, so has crime built around that increasing prominence. Criminals have taken advantage of the fact many who use the internet are vulnerable, lacking cybersecurity to stay safe on the net or lacking knowledge in how to recognize and stay away from cybercriminals. Millions get affected by cybercrime, costing billions in damages. Nevertheless, for as important it is to improve cybersecurity, it's just as important to educate the masses about cybercrime.
The Different Types of Cybercrime and How to Protect Yourself From It
Cybercrime and take place in various ways, one of the most common methods being phishing. Phishing is an attempt by a cybercriminal to steal your personal information and credentials. Often, this theft is done through a phishing website, a website made to look like a legitimate company's website but will ultimately send any data entered on it to the cybercriminal. You might get an email from a bank saying there's something wrong with your account and you should log in, however, upon further inspection of the email, something seems fishy. The email source and URL of the webpage are probably one or two letters off from the actual company name or the logo used might be outdated, details that might not be noticeable at first but are warnings you're being phished. You could prevent these types of attacks by using features of your browser that filter these sorts of webpages but also by thinking twice before opening any email or clicking a link. If you do get an email from a company or website, check to see if the source is legitimate. If you're told to log in, don't log in from the link given but from the verified website of the company. Lastly, if you get an email from a company you never heard of or signed up with, don't bother reading the email or clicking any links. It doesn't pertain to you if it is legitimate and if it isn't, it's a scam.
Another common method of cybercrime is online harassment. This type of crime can take place in many places where there is communication, such as email, but commonly takes place on social media sites and forums. It consists of repeatedly sending unwanted messages or threats to a target recipient, this type of crime frequently cited in instances of cyberbullying. The harassment could come from both real accounts and fake accounts and the effects on the victim can be severe, driving them to self-harm in many cases. To deal with this type of crime, you should report activity of this kind before it gets too extreme, even if you may know the people behind the accounts in real life. If you're not the target but witness someone else getting harassed, you should still report it since when the target is pushed to the breaking-point, adverse things are bound to happen.
Lastly, there is invasion of privacy. This occurs when a cybercriminal tries to intrude on your personal life doing things like hacking into your computer, reading your personal messages, and monitoring your online activity. If you suspect you've already fallen victim to this type of crime, you should file a report with the police and report it to local law enforcement. Otherwise, you can prevent yourself from falling victim by having verified anti-spy and anti-virus security software installed and running on your computer. You should make the passwords to your computer and other accounts secure instead of using the same password for every account or using easily predictable passwords. Additionally, you should try and avoid suspicious emails and links as they could be used to steal info and gain access to your computer and accounts.
There are many more types of cybercrime, such as DDoS and social engineering attacks, but for now, these are the most common attacks to look out for on an individual basis.
Parallels Between Real-Life Crime and Cyber Crime: Why do People Fall for Scams Online than in Person?
In essence, many cybercrimes mimic the nature of real-life crimes that have the same goal. Take for instance theft: someone trying to steal money from you in person and someone stealing from your bank account online are doing the same thing - stealing money from you. It's just that for the former, you would call the cops while for the latter, you call the bank to get your money back rather than the cops. The way we think of and treat cybercrime is different even though cybercrime often mimics real-life crime. This difference also contributes to why some fall for cyber scams more easily than real-life ones. Many don't think twice about a certain email or lack knowledge about how to identify scams online. In-person, it might be more obvious if a person is a scammer from the way they act or from what they say but that seems not to be the case online. People too easily trust what they get online instead of verifying it and fall victim to scams. It's too easily trusting and not verifying which also plays a key role in disinformation.
Disinformation: Its Role in Fooling and Trapping People
Disinformation is the intentional spread of false information with the intent to deceive and trick others. In a time where many get their news from online sources like social media, disinformation has become more relevant. Before we discuss the role disinformation plays in cyber traps, it's important to discuss the impacts of disinformation's brother - misinformation. Misinformation is false or inaccurate information which isn't necessarily spread intentionally like disinformation. Misinformation encompasses disinformation, meaning all disinformation is misinformation but not all misinformation is disinformation. Nevertheless, both have a negative impact on society. Misinformation about a topic can cause many to have a perception that's not supported by any evidence or truth. This flawed perception can lead to harm to both the person who holds it and those around them. Take for instance the anti-vax movement, a movement based on false notions and conspiracies that vaccines cause more harm than good. Not getting vaccinated because of this false information ultimately causes harm to these people who contract more illness and disease because they refuse to get vaccinated. Additionally, there has been a resurgence in measles, a disease thought to have been completely eradicated, because many refuse to get the proper vaccine out of an unjustified fear caused by misinformation.
The reason why it's critical to understand the impact of misinformation is because it's what people with malicious intent use in their disinformation campaigns. Spreading false information to trick others into harming themselves is how a lot of cybercriminals conduct their crimes. There have been too many instances of Facebook posts that tricked people into giving away sensitive information, things like SSNs or Credit Card info. It often looks like a post that ties a certain string of numbers to a personality trait or nickname and asks users to post their results in the comments. The criminal doing this just has to decode the comment and they have someone's personal info. Another example is false or highly exaggerated articles meant to create mass-panic. Often employing clickbait, these articles invoke fear in the reader and get them to do something unnecessary or harmful. Articles written on things like the apocalypse or imminent collapse of the USD urge readers to stock up on things they don't need or buy/invest in a suspicious product. It may not give the criminal and gain but it certainly causes the victim a loss. It's for this that learning facts from the primary source or scientific community is very important. Getting your information second hand could mean the info is biased or untrue. It may've been rewritten for clicks or misinterpreted like in a game of telephone, so getting news from the primary source eliminates a lot of potential for misinformation. Verifying facts with science is important to make sure what you're reading is fact-based. Many articles gloss over important facts for sensationalism or feed you inaccurate details which cause you to have the wrong assumption on many other things. Science helps discern fact from fiction and helps you avoid having an uninformed world view.
The Different Types of Cybercrime and How to Protect Yourself From It
Cybercrime and take place in various ways, one of the most common methods being phishing. Phishing is an attempt by a cybercriminal to steal your personal information and credentials. Often, this theft is done through a phishing website, a website made to look like a legitimate company's website but will ultimately send any data entered on it to the cybercriminal. You might get an email from a bank saying there's something wrong with your account and you should log in, however, upon further inspection of the email, something seems fishy. The email source and URL of the webpage are probably one or two letters off from the actual company name or the logo used might be outdated, details that might not be noticeable at first but are warnings you're being phished. You could prevent these types of attacks by using features of your browser that filter these sorts of webpages but also by thinking twice before opening any email or clicking a link. If you do get an email from a company or website, check to see if the source is legitimate. If you're told to log in, don't log in from the link given but from the verified website of the company. Lastly, if you get an email from a company you never heard of or signed up with, don't bother reading the email or clicking any links. It doesn't pertain to you if it is legitimate and if it isn't, it's a scam.
Another common method of cybercrime is online harassment. This type of crime can take place in many places where there is communication, such as email, but commonly takes place on social media sites and forums. It consists of repeatedly sending unwanted messages or threats to a target recipient, this type of crime frequently cited in instances of cyberbullying. The harassment could come from both real accounts and fake accounts and the effects on the victim can be severe, driving them to self-harm in many cases. To deal with this type of crime, you should report activity of this kind before it gets too extreme, even if you may know the people behind the accounts in real life. If you're not the target but witness someone else getting harassed, you should still report it since when the target is pushed to the breaking-point, adverse things are bound to happen.
Lastly, there is invasion of privacy. This occurs when a cybercriminal tries to intrude on your personal life doing things like hacking into your computer, reading your personal messages, and monitoring your online activity. If you suspect you've already fallen victim to this type of crime, you should file a report with the police and report it to local law enforcement. Otherwise, you can prevent yourself from falling victim by having verified anti-spy and anti-virus security software installed and running on your computer. You should make the passwords to your computer and other accounts secure instead of using the same password for every account or using easily predictable passwords. Additionally, you should try and avoid suspicious emails and links as they could be used to steal info and gain access to your computer and accounts.
There are many more types of cybercrime, such as DDoS and social engineering attacks, but for now, these are the most common attacks to look out for on an individual basis.
Parallels Between Real-Life Crime and Cyber Crime: Why do People Fall for Scams Online than in Person?
In essence, many cybercrimes mimic the nature of real-life crimes that have the same goal. Take for instance theft: someone trying to steal money from you in person and someone stealing from your bank account online are doing the same thing - stealing money from you. It's just that for the former, you would call the cops while for the latter, you call the bank to get your money back rather than the cops. The way we think of and treat cybercrime is different even though cybercrime often mimics real-life crime. This difference also contributes to why some fall for cyber scams more easily than real-life ones. Many don't think twice about a certain email or lack knowledge about how to identify scams online. In-person, it might be more obvious if a person is a scammer from the way they act or from what they say but that seems not to be the case online. People too easily trust what they get online instead of verifying it and fall victim to scams. It's too easily trusting and not verifying which also plays a key role in disinformation.
Disinformation: Its Role in Fooling and Trapping People
Disinformation is the intentional spread of false information with the intent to deceive and trick others. In a time where many get their news from online sources like social media, disinformation has become more relevant. Before we discuss the role disinformation plays in cyber traps, it's important to discuss the impacts of disinformation's brother - misinformation. Misinformation is false or inaccurate information which isn't necessarily spread intentionally like disinformation. Misinformation encompasses disinformation, meaning all disinformation is misinformation but not all misinformation is disinformation. Nevertheless, both have a negative impact on society. Misinformation about a topic can cause many to have a perception that's not supported by any evidence or truth. This flawed perception can lead to harm to both the person who holds it and those around them. Take for instance the anti-vax movement, a movement based on false notions and conspiracies that vaccines cause more harm than good. Not getting vaccinated because of this false information ultimately causes harm to these people who contract more illness and disease because they refuse to get vaccinated. Additionally, there has been a resurgence in measles, a disease thought to have been completely eradicated, because many refuse to get the proper vaccine out of an unjustified fear caused by misinformation.
The reason why it's critical to understand the impact of misinformation is because it's what people with malicious intent use in their disinformation campaigns. Spreading false information to trick others into harming themselves is how a lot of cybercriminals conduct their crimes. There have been too many instances of Facebook posts that tricked people into giving away sensitive information, things like SSNs or Credit Card info. It often looks like a post that ties a certain string of numbers to a personality trait or nickname and asks users to post their results in the comments. The criminal doing this just has to decode the comment and they have someone's personal info. Another example is false or highly exaggerated articles meant to create mass-panic. Often employing clickbait, these articles invoke fear in the reader and get them to do something unnecessary or harmful. Articles written on things like the apocalypse or imminent collapse of the USD urge readers to stock up on things they don't need or buy/invest in a suspicious product. It may not give the criminal and gain but it certainly causes the victim a loss. It's for this that learning facts from the primary source or scientific community is very important. Getting your information second hand could mean the info is biased or untrue. It may've been rewritten for clicks or misinterpreted like in a game of telephone, so getting news from the primary source eliminates a lot of potential for misinformation. Verifying facts with science is important to make sure what you're reading is fact-based. Many articles gloss over important facts for sensationalism or feed you inaccurate details which cause you to have the wrong assumption on many other things. Science helps discern fact from fiction and helps you avoid having an uninformed world view.
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