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Assignment
On

CYBER CRIME
Course title: English Writing Course code: ENG1212 Spring Semester 2011

Submitted by:
1101020006 1101020007 1101020008 1101020009 1101020010 Dept. of C.S.E

Submitted to:
Debashish Moy Dutta Lecturer, Dept of English

Date of submission: 30-03-2011

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Acknowledgement:

Firstly, we would like to give a special thank to our honorable teacher Debashishmoy dutta for giving us the opportunity for preparing assignment on Cyber Crime. This is definitely helping us to acquire lots of knowledge regarding this topic. We also like to give thanks to our follow classmate who helped us regarding this assignment.

Sincerely Yours:
Name ID

1101020006 1101020007 1101020008 1101020009 1101020010

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Content
Introduction What is cyber crime? Origin and History of Cybercrime Commercialization and Modernization of Cybercrime Types of Cybercrime Case Study Effect of cyber crime in Bangladesh Preventing Cybercrimes for Businesses and the Public The Future of Cybercrime and Recommendations References 04 04 04 05 06 07 09 11 11 References

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Cyber crime
Introduction:
The internet has revolutionized how individuals interact with each other. After four years of the Internet, fifty million people are connected to this global network. It took the radio thirtyeight years to reach fifty million users, and a mere sixteen years for the computer to reach fifty million users. The popularity of the Internet is growing exponentially.

What is cyber crime?

A new strain of crime has developed through the invention of the computer and Internet: cybercrime. Cybercrime is when a men use computers or networks as a tool, place, or target for criminal activity and behavior. The development of cybercrime has affected law enforcement agencies and society. Enforcement has led to the creation of laws, policies, and legislature. Law enforcement agencies must vigorously fight and prevent cybercrime in order to help create a safer society.

Origin and History of Cybercrime:

The origins of cybercrime can be traced back to the days without Microsoft Windows, the Internet, or even the Personal Computer. Stewart Nelson, a student at MIT, used the universitys computer to generate the tones needed to access their long distance phone service. Over the years, cybercrime and all of its auxiliaries have grown in complexity, danger, and risk. The term hacking became popular and mainstream in 1970 with the creation of the first personal computer, the Altair 8800. The Altair 8800 created the hacker, as it enabled them to own a computer and learn to program. Several years later the first multimedia computer was released, the Commodore 64, the computer was perceived as a toy for teenagers, and introduced them to present-day hacking. The first networks did not use the Internet at all. The earliest of networks contained a mainframe computer, and several dumb terminals. A dumb terminal possesses no processor power; everything it runs comes off of the mainframe. These terminals had no memory or processor, simply a mouse, keyboard, and display. This network failed, due to the simple fact that if the mainframe crashed, so did all of the other terminals. In 1970 researchers for Xerox developed the Ethernet at their Palo Alto Research Center. The

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Ethernet is still the basis for most local area networks (LANs) today. A local area network allows many PCs to access a server (mainframe) with the information. Thus, if a server crashes, the users workstation is still accessible. The modem and phone line created a new way for computers to communicate with each other throughout the world. This led to the creation of the Bulletin Board System (BBS) in 1978. This system was unreliable and extremely slow. As the BBS service grew, it attracted many computer gurus and hackers. As the forums grew more complex, hackers began sharing software. This is referred to as warez, which means pirated software. Pirated software is applications that were created to be sold, but someone copied the program to their computer and posted it for others to use, free of charge. During these stages of the BBS service, pornography began to be posted. Sysops would create a forum, post images, and charge a fee to view the pictures. Until the creation of the dial up Internet, the BBS were for the elites, those who could afford expensive computer equipment, such as a modem. Scientists claim that the emergence of the BBS fostered, and are the roots of, cybercrime .

The first Internet Service Providers (ISPs) consisted of two computer geniuses (nerds) with a low cost budget. These are not referred to ISPs, rather as Wide Area Networks, because they were not able to communicate with the outside world. At the time, the operating system of choice was Windows 3.x. This operating system lacked the software to access the Internet, Transmission Control Protocol\Internet Protocol (TCP\IP) and Winsock. Once the user has obtained the software, which could take weeks, they must configure the settings in a text editor, with the settings written in computer jargon. Accessing the Internet in the early stages was a challenge, and actually required hacking and programming, which later resulted in the influx of cyber crimes .

Commercialization and Modernization of Cybercrime:

In the 1980s companies such as CompuServe, Prodigy, and AOL began to emerge. These were commercial providers who would charge amonthly fee to users if they wanted to access their community. In the 1980s the fee to dial into CompuServe was $25 per hour. Users chose to connect through these companies due to ease of use. There was no configuring; inserting a disk and running a program would have the user wired In the early 1990s the fees for dial up internet decreased to $25 per month for unlimited access. The decline in cost made it possible for more online criminals to emerge in the anonymous online community. In 1990 and 1991 users began to ponder the thought of privacy. They were not sure if a third party would intercept their Internet communications. As a result Phillip Zimmermann created an encryption program called Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). PGP was used to hide sensitive

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information, but criminals also used the program to hide evidence of crimes they had committed to the police. In 1994 the first online bank opened, called First Virtual. This opened up a lot of opportunities for hackers. Cybercrime was slowly becoming more popular. In 1995 the Secret Service and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) obtained the first Internet wiretap, which is exactly like a phone wiretap. The DEA was able to shut down a company who was selling illegal cell phone cloning equipment. From here on out, Cybercrime was not uncommon. Hundreds of websites and servers were hacked, including the US Department of Commerce and the US Senates website. In the midst of chaos the Melissa virus was programmed, which sent a virus to e-mail servers causing thousands of companies servers to malfunction . From hacking passwords to creating viruses and worms, cyber criminals were doing it all. As the millennium was near, a group of criminals created a website to simulate that of Bloomberg Financial. The false news story created a huge profit for a third party small technology company, increasing their wealth by 31% . Entering the millennium caused a huge disruption for companies due to a Denial of Service attack. Major web sites like MSN, Yahoo, and Apache were shut down and hacked. The Code Red virus and Sircam virus spawned to millions of e-mail accounts worldwide. Cybercrime has only accelerated through the years, and has no plans to slow down.

Types of Cybercrime:
Assault by Threat threatening a person with fear for their lives or The lives of their families or persons whose safety they are responsible for (such as employees or communities) through the use of a computer network such as email, videos, or phones. Child Pornography the use of computer networks to create, distribute, or access materials that sexually exploit underage children. Cyber Contraband transferring illegal items through the internet (such as encryption technology) that is banned in some locations. Cyberlaundering electronic transfer of illegally-obtained monies with the goal of hiding its source and possibly its destination. Cyberstalking express or implied physical threats that creates fear through the use of computer technology such as email, phones, text

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messages, webcams, websites or videos. Cyberterrorism premeditated, usually politically-motivated violence committed against civilians through the use of, or with the help of, computer technology. Cybertheft using a computer to steal. This includes activities related to:Breaking and entering, DNS cache poisoning, embezzlement and unlawful appropriation, espionage,identify theft ,fraud,malicious hacking, plagiarism, and piracy. Examples include: Cybertresspass someone accesses a computers or networks resources without the authorization or permission of the owner but does not alter, disturb, misuse, or damage the data or system. Cybervandalism - Damaging or destroying data rather than stealing or misusing them (as with cybertheft) is called cybervandalism. This can include a situation where network services are disrupted or stopped. This deprives the computer/network owners and authorized users (website visitors, employees) of the network itself and the data or information contained on the network.

Case Study:

WikiLeaks Reveled The Biggest Cybercrime of All Time

WikiLeaks, a website run by Julian Assange, an Australian with a background in computer network hacking, has already released 77,000 secret records on Afghan conflict in July and 400,000 similar documents on Iraq in October. The whistle-blowing website has released some 250,000 cables---this time communications and messages between the US State Department and its embassies and consulates around the world sent between 1966 and 2010. The entire bundle of cables has been made available to five publications, including the New York Times and the United Kingdom's Guardian to publish stories as and when they fancy. Among the messages revealed is a report that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, among other Arab leaders, urged the US to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad however dismissed the leak as sheer US propaganda. Other concerns aired in the cables include the possibility of Pakistani nuclear material falling into the wrong hands, allowing militants to make an atomic weapon. The widespread use of computer hacking by China's government is also reported in one message.

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Other issues reportedly covered in the cables are Iranian attempts to adapt North Korean rockets for use as long-range missiles, corruption in Afghanistan, bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama, US officials being instructed to spy on the UN leadership by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, alleged links between the Russian government and organized crime, with intelligence agencies using underworld bosses to carry out operations, etc. No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to WikiLeaks, but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Assange's website. Journalism, at the basic level, should give citizens information that helps them in their everyday lives. So it makes sense to report on, say, development projects, changes in laws, the weather, crime rates, politics, etc. But, what is the point in showing diplomatic cables to general public? People of course have right to have access into information if such information are of use. But there are pieces of information that need to be kept confidential.

The damage the leaks will cause to American interests at home and abroad will be profound. The release of these classified cables will only serve to hurt international relations of all the countries of the world. Releasing documents carelessly and without regard for the consequences is not the way a journalist should pursue his professionalism. WikiLeaks' release of classified records may redefine the very concept of secrecy, thanks to hacking by internet nerds like Mr. Assange. Now heads of state and civil and military diplomats alike will be sealing their lips, lest their words are downloaded by internet hackers. A foreign government may not wish to discuss any sensitive subject with the United States or for that matter with any other state, now that confidentiality can't be guaranteed. In this age of information technology and an era when there is always a sneaking suspicion that a neighbor can suddenly turn into an enemy, a passenger may turn into a terrorist and a diplomat may be engaged in espionage, the old values are fast dying giving rise to a delusion of grandeur among people---security authority in an airport or journalists in a web-based media---who are fast forgetting their onus to honor the sanctity of privacy and the necessity of secrecy.

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Bangladesh is still unaware of Cyber threat:

Targeting to make a digital Bangladesh by 2021, we have already stepped into the digital era. Lives will be much easier, quicker and meaningful if we use the digital facilities to perform our day-to-day activities. Once, people did not feel satisfied if a printed newspaper was not at their hands in the morning. Today, the same people feel nasty if the Internet is disconnected. It is very easy to think that we will be in a digital Bangladesh in few years. But very few people imagine that the digitalization without proper security measures will make our lives hell overnight. On 23 August 2004 an email was sent to the Bangla Daily Prothom Alo threatening to kill Sheikh Hasina, the then Leader of the Opposition in the parliament. Two days latter on 25 August/2004 another email was sent to the Bangladesh Police Headquarters threatening Khaleda Zia, the then Prime Minister, her elder son and some members of the parliament. These were the first cyber crime incidents in Bangladesh which received due attention of the police authority. In 2008, a Bangladeshi petty hacker named Shahi Mirza occupied the RAB web site. In his confession to the police, Mirza claimed that he hacked not only the RAB web site, but he had been hacking domestic and international web sites also for long time. He invaded at least 21 domestic web sites including the web site of Bangladesh Army. An analyst of Premium Bank Brokerage House, Mahbub Saroar, robbed nearly five million Taka from the root level investors of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. He disseminated misleading share-tips to his Face Book friends manipulating price of certain shares in the Dhaka Stock Exchange. While in police custody Mahbub provided the law enforces with sensational information about Internet fraudulence. The Prime Minister inaugurated the opening of 64 district web-portals on 06 January 2010 while the hackers invaded 19 of them by 21 March/2010. This was the last known invasion in government's cyber territory as well as the first criminality by the foreign hackers. However, the news of cyber crime sporadically published in the newspapers at intervals. But like the traditional ones most of the computer related crimes remain unpublished, unregistered and un-investigated. The petty hacker Shahi Mirza who hacked the RAB web site put forward a pertinent question about our cyber security. "You do not know what the cyber security is or how to protect yourself." He also claimed that if he would hack the RAB web site by changing the Internet Protocol (IP), he could not be traced. One thing is clear from the confession and claim of Mirza that though Bangladesh Police showed some success in detecting hacking business committed inside the country, they are probably unable to trace the same if it is committed from outside the country. The terrorist organizations are the beneficiaries of the Internet communication system. From disseminating motivated information to the innocent public to credit card fraud, the terrorist organizations may use the Internet system in their benefits. Many of the terrorist organizations maintain their own web sites. At least 12 of the 30 groups on the US State Department's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations maintain Web sites on the Internet. Most communications of the Al Queda network are performed through Internet. Even the Bangladeshi terrorist organization JMB does not go less. Although their own web

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site is still unknown, they have developed Internet specialization among their operators. They used the Internet materials to teach their members bomb-making formulae. The intensity of cyber crime victimization in Bangladesh is yet to be measured. There are no research or data collection efforts on how much money is lost every year due to cyber criminality. Neither the government nor the non-government organizations have initiated any data-collecting project about it. But many countries of the world collect and preserve statistics on cyber crimes and the monetary loss due to cyber criminality across and outside of their countries. In the United States the total money-loss from the reported cyber fraud is increasing leaps and bounds. According to the US Internet Crime Complaint Center statistics, in 2001 the dollar loss of reported cyber crime was only $17.8 million dollars. But this amount, in 2009, reached at $559.7million dollars. Yet, it is a small portion of the actual loss of money as only 15 percent of cases of cyber fraud are being reported to crime control agencies. With compare to the developing and the third world countries, the developed ones are more infested with cyber crimes. So, to detect and investigate the cyber crime they have been adopting innovative measures. Almost every country developed Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). The Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) operates the Cyber999 Help Center, a public service that provides emergency response to computer security related emergencies as well as assistance in handling incidents such as computer abuses, hack attempts and other information security breaches. The Chinese government have taken innovative techniques to fight cyber crimes. This country is the home of the second largest number of internet users in the world. Their measures are simultaneously preventive, investigative and propagative. According to reports from Chinese media, two virtual police officers -- one male, one female -- will appear at the bottom of users' browser windows every 30 minutes, a visual reminder that they are being monitored. The virtual long arm of the law will be there to remind users of Internet security -and to sniff out any activity the Government deems illegal. Cyber-crime is still a low priority to Bangladesh Police. As a whole Bangladesh is not aware of her cyber security. Though computer is becoming a common household item and the number of Internet users has already crossed six millions, very few computer related offences are reported to the police. As our police have not been furnished with modern techniques and technology to investigate even traditional crimes, we cannot expect them to acquire the necessary skills to investigate the most complicated hi-tech computer related crimes. The present government is expected to invest millions of taka to materialize their promise to build a digital Bangladesh. So, the issue of Cyber Security must get due priory and a considerable portion of budget should be allocated for making the police capable of fighting cyber crimes. There is no denying that Cyber-criminals are very much capable of robbing Bangladesh of crores of taka. They can make havoc in our national life at any time. At that time we will find that our stallions are stolen and we will then be very much careful to lock our empty stables. So, let us prepare for the worse before hand. Prevention is, undoubtedly, better than cure.

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Preventing Cybercrimes for Businesses and the Public:

Businesses have lost billions of dollars due to cyber crimes. Any time a companys network is shut down means a loss of profit. Many businesses, especially smaller organizations, do not allocate proper funding for security implementations, software and hardware. The first step in prevention is to create a security plan for the company, a mixture of invasive (hardware firewalls) and non-invasive (software applications) is needed. Such examples include a router with a firewall and Norton Anti Virus. Measures need to taken in regards to the privacy and personal information stored on servers and computers. Adding an encryption or password can greatly detract a hacker. It is vital for businesses to have an updated operating system. Checking for updates on a daily, even hourly, basis will ensure that if vulnerability is found, it will be fixed. Antivirus, anti-spam, and anti-Trojan applications are essential. These will prevent harmful data to be placed on user workstations. Businesses can prevent cybercrime by monitoring user workstations, going on commercial websites dramatically increases the risk of infection. The key to success is communication businesses must train their employees on proper internet usage at work, as well as how to store confidential data and passwords. As a bottom line, users should never take work related information home that is confidential, such as databases with social security numbers.

The Future of Cybercrime and Recommendations

The future of cyber crime is uncertain, but cyber terrorism is a threat to society that will always exist, and law enforcement agencies must continue to expand into the cyber universe. A terrorist can do more with a computer than he can with a gun. People would be surprised if they knew how much information is stored on the Internet, and on computers, about them. Lastly, law enforcement must target those criminals who create spam, spyware, adware, viruses, and worms. They are the heart of corruption on the Internet. One must work in a pyramid, finding the creators of the viruses and worms will create a better Interne For yong teenagers and children, parents are the first line of defense. Most parents do not track their

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childs online usage; many children have computers in their rooms, behind closed doors. Having such technology is a privilege, online stalking occurs mainly behind parents backs, until children come forth and confess. Parents must realize that using the Internet is a privilege, not a god given right. This is harder for the younger generation as they grew up with the Internet. Companies such as Myspace and Facebook must take responsibility too. They do a poor job at verifying a users age. Children register for the site claiming to be 15 or 16, when in fact they are nine or ten. These websites are a lure for stalkers, based on the fact that most users list their screen name, city, and even address. Pictures are a problem for young women; stalkers are exposed to quite scandalous pictures of women who are only twelve or thirteen. However, the stalker is lead to believe they are the age on the profile. The creators of such websites need to ensure that users are of age, and perhaps limit pictures to profiles of users 18+. Social security numbers or licenses may then verify the persons age. A credit card authorization is a new form of verifying ones age, assuming no children have a VISA or MasterCard. It is the recommendation that all sexual predators, and anyone on parole or probation for similar charges, have to submit their IP address for review on a periodic basis; this will ensure that there has not been any activity on stalking websites. Furthermore, their IP addresses should remain static, and not change. Such websites as MySpace, Facebook, and any dating\personals site be banned. Such tasks can be accomplished electronically without the work of parole or probation officers.

Because of the pervasiveness of the internet, I would like to provide an insight to crime that can happen there, on the internet, known to many as cybercrime. According to TechTerms.com, Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the internet. Sometimes, it may also be known as E-crime, computer crime or online crime. When the word cybercrime is mentioned, I reckon many people will be reminded of computer hackers or organizations that commit fraud via the internet. However, apart from the above mentioned, there are various other types of cybercrimes. Maybe even before you know it, you have already fallen victim to internet crime or committed a cybercrime. I would agree that the Internet is a great tool and companion for all age groups especially for students and working adults. It is a great source of information, which even surpasses books, encyclopaedias and dictionaries. This is because all information is available only a few clicks away and easily accessible. While using the internet for research purposes, some people tend to copy paste material without doing any citing. Some were ignorant; some dont know how to do proper referencing, while some just couldnt be bothered. However, people while using this convenience to their advantage, neglected the fact that they could get into trouble. Using ideas and material without authorization of the original author is a crime called plagiarism.Presenting ideas from others as your own is a form of theft. Thus, to avoid plagiarism, acknowledgement of the author should be done. And in this case, referencing tools like the Oxford Reference Online or Harvard Referencing Guide will come in handy. I was unlucky enough to fall into a phishing scam two years ago. The phisher in question sent me an email, stating that he was an administrator from Facebook, and that my Facebook account was reported several times for abuse. The email directed me to a Facebook log in page, to lodge a report if these complaints were false. I did it accordingly, as it looked legitimate to me. It wasnt until the next day when I realised my mistake. I couldnt

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access my Facebook account anymore. Shortly after, I received a forwarded email from one of my contacts, asking me to beware of a certain phishing scam. The phisher mentioned was the same with the one who sent me the phishing mail. But it was too late. My account was already hacked and the password changed. It wasnt until after I requested a password change that I realised some of my information was changed and some applications sabotaged. Since then, I began to screen my mails more carefully. Phishers try to obtain data such as log in information or credit card numbers through email scams, so think twice before you check out links in fishy emails. By doing a simple search with search engines, we can know that there are many sites offering free download of songs, videos, movies, files, software and other materials. However, it is to common knowledge that not all of these downloads are legal. Some illegal downloads are against the copyright law. Copyright is defined by Britannica Online Encyclopaedia as the exclusive, legally secured right to reproduce, distribute, and perform a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work. Therefore, the uploading and distrib uting works that are protected by copyright law without permission of the copyright owner is illegal. The same goes to downloading these illegally distributed works. Copyright law is amended to acknowledge the creator, also to protect the monetary rights of the creator from the copyrighted work. Have it ever crossed your mind that when youre downloading illegally on one end, youre letting the creator down at the other end? He/she not only loses revenue, but also influence and honour. Apart from that, it is against the law and you are at the risk of being apprehended. So, the right thing to do is to purchase original works or obtaining them through legitimate sites like iTunes, instead of downloading them from the net illegally. This way, you show respect to both the creator and the law. Another common cybercrime is cyber-bullying among minors, which can form a branch of its own. There are various types of cyber-bullying, such as harassment, threatening, using foul language towards someone, defamation and so on. It is very different from school-bullying, as in school usually those physically or mentally weaker students get harassed or bullied, whereas cyber-bullying can happen to anybody, and sometimes cyberbullies can even target a random person to satisfy their ego or rage, or just for the gist of it. Sometimes you wont even know who is the one harassing you, as the person could remain anonymous if he or she chooses not to reveal themselves. In 2007, BBC news UK reported the story of a cyber-bullying victim, Julianne Flory. She has an outgoing personality, yet she was insulted by a group of schoolmates through her social networking website. They got access to her instant messaging service and the insults grew worse. In the end, they even threatened to stab her and hurt her family members. It was only resolved after she reported it to the authorities, and the bullies were tracked down and warned. Last but not least, the most serious cybercrime of all hacking. Hack, as defined by the Oxfords Advanced Learners dictionary, is to secretly find a way of looking at or changing information on somebodys computer system without permission. Thus, there are many who use this skill to enter others computer systems in order to obtain data or change information to their own benefit, or for sabotaging purposes. There can be various types of hacking attacks too, each with a different motive and implication, such as theft of identity, theft of confidential business information, obtained credit card information and so on. Sometimes, using others accounts without permission is also a form of hacking. We see this often when someone uses a friends password to log in to social networking sites without permission. This is an act of invading privacy, and it could turn into an offense. Hackers cause serious problems to internet users, companies and the online community, and cannot be ignored. Thus, steps to ensure internet security such as the installation of firewalls, spyware and antivirus software and so on is a must, to prevent hackers having a chance to gain access to your computer system. Regretfully, there are many other illegal activities conducted via the internet that I did not manage to cover. Cyber stalking, creating and distributing viruses to destroy computer systems, illegal trading, stealing of identity, spamming and so on are all classified under cybercrimes. These are happening every second round the clock, on any corner of the earth. They can happen to you too. So, from now on, be sure to take measures to protect you and your computer from all sorts of risks, and be on your toes to avoid being associated with cybercrime.

References: TechTerms.com n.d., Cybercrime, viewed 25 February 2011, http://www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime Britannica Online Encyclopaedia n.d., Copyright, viewed 25 February 2011,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136956/copyright

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BBC News 2007, Cyberbullying: A victims story, viewed 26 February 2011,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7006473.stm th Hack. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. 6 ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.

Cheryl Ting, preferably Cheryl Plankton has an obsession towards plankton, for no whatsoever reason. A random girl with a peculiar temper, she laughs and turns red-faced at jokes and bites if you step on her toes. Completed AUSMAT in Sunway College JB and currently doesnt belong to any tertiary institution. Oops. No student discount for now. =)