UNDERSTANDING CYBERCRIME

CATEGORIES OF CYBERCRIME

Categories of cyberCrime 

This section gives some overview of various cybercrimes and their attack pattern. 

At the outset, the cybercrimes are broadly categorized into three broad categories,  

specifically crime against a(n): 

◾ Individual level: This type of cybercrime can be in the form of cyberstalk- 

ing, distributing pornography, trafficking, “grooming,” etc. 

◾ Property level: This type of cybercrime steals a person’s bank details and siphons  

off money, misuses credit card details to make numerous purchases online, runs a  

scam to get naive people to part with their money, uses malicious software to gain  

access to an organization’s website, or disrupts the systems of the organization. 

◾ Government level: Although not as common as the other two categories,  

crimes against a government are referred to as cyber terrorism. If successful,  

this category can wreak havoc and cause panic among the civilian popula- 

tion. In this category, criminals hack government and military websites, or  

circulate propaganda. The perpetrators can be terrorist outfits or unfriendly  

governments of other nations. 

◾ Cybercriminals through SN: Social media has become an integral part of  

daily life. Intruders can find this technology an attractive vehicle to com- 

mit cybercrimes. Cybercriminals use this platform and exploit it to steal user  

credentials, identity, and other classified information. There are various steps  

and methods used to carry out cyberattacks on SNs: 

– Target: Cybercriminal communicates with an individual via a social media  

outlet. The message passing through SN contains a link to a fraudulent web- 

site or an attachment which initiates an installation file. The most frequently  

targeted social media networks are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

– Infect: Cyberattackers use malware payloads to infect a user’s computer  

or network. Types of malware include Trojan horse, BotNet, or FakeAV. 

In the past, pop-up ads and attachments containing viruses were the  

primary methods of delivering malware. Sophisticated techniques are  

now used to compromise legitimate websites in order to spread malware  

through holes in a user’s OS. 

– Attack: Armed with a network of “zombie” machines, perpetrators can  

attack an enormous scale or target specific individuals. The attacks can  

hypothetically be carried out on any individual, corporate office, govern- 

ment, or online retailer connected to the internet. The attacks can also  

persist for long periods of time, as proxy connections and IPs can be  

constantly changed by the attacker. 

– Control: The infected machine, commonly defined as a “zombie,” con- 

tacts a public server that the attacker has set up as a control plane to issue  

commands. The infected machine will first be controlled to recruit other  

machines using the same process of scanning for vulnerabilities.

Stay tuned for more information like this.