Pretty much everyone now is using the Internet. In fact, lots of us are so attached to it that we can't live without it. We get a lot of information through the internet, not to mention how much fun and relaxing it is when we use the Internet. Well, anything that benefits others can also harm others, not exculding the Internet too. Internet is another media that is being targeted by more and more people and it can get worse in the future.
What is cyber crime? Maybe a lot of Internet users are not used to this term. Maybe you haven't realised how dangerous the Internet can be. The fact is, online activities are just as vulnerable to crime and can endanger personal safety just as much as common crimes do in our life, maybe even more. Cyber crimes have existed long ago and individuals need to know how to protect themselves from becoming the victim of it. Well, lets look at the examples of cyber crimes.
1) Threatening someone with fear of their lives and those they care for ( family, employees etc ) through the use of technology such as the Internet, telephone, e-mails and videos.
2) The use of computer networks to create, distribute, or access materials that sexually exploit underage children.
3) Using a computer to steal. Examples of these are : breaking or hacking into others accounts such as E-mail accounts and social accounts without their permit, plagarism, piracy, embezzlement, DNS cache poisoning etc.
4) Acessing a computer or network's resources without the permisssion of the owner, even if you do not alter, missuse, disturb or damage the data or system. Other word for this is hacking.
5) Damaging and destroying data which you have or have not permission to access to.
Lots of cyber crimes we heard today is information theft or hacking credit cards account, bank accounts or hacking web sites. Pretty much the maximum damage you get is the lost of your data, trade secrets and private information you do not want to be exposed. All the internet securities focus on such simple crimes. Anyone thought before that this is the maximum damage that cyber crime can achieve? No, it isn't.
You might think that i'm lying but that's the truth. Most of us have already submitted our personal information online through the signng up of accounts such as e-mail, social networking etc. People we know are attached to our accounts and we can access their information anywhere, anytime. Pretty much of our conversations and e-mails are recorded by those service providers. Imagine someone who has access to the service providers will also have access to your personal information and everything. Your history, present, past and your life can be turned upside down just by this and you have no control over it.
Yes, it can still go worse. By been hacked, you do not get any damages, except for the stress and the lost information. But have you heard of several incidents named as cyber bullying? These incidents have started among the younger generation such as being bullied in-game by others, pictures of an individual being exposed and laughed at and pretty much the same thing. The results are bad and it seems to be getting worse as i type.
It's just a matter of time of being the victim of cyber crimes if you do not take steps to avoid it. Things that do not happen now do not mean that it won't happen in the future. When it starts happening, you will have a hell of a time settling it.
Always keep up to date with what's happening around you and never expose your personal details to anyone on the web. Be prepared to face things at all times.
