Last Updated on September 15, 2022 by admin
Cybercrimes are illegal activities performed by criminals over the internet that will result in data theft, privacy breach, and takedown of Cyber Security measures of a company or an organization. Today Cybercrimes are rising in every part of the globe. None is safe from an attack unless they take proper measures to counter it. Here in this blog, we will be discussing the various types of Cybercrime and all you need to be aware of to tackle illegal activities over the internet. If you are aspiring to become an Ethical Hacker, check out this Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Course from a reputed e-learning firm to get a head start in your career.
Table of Contents
Types of Cybercrime
It’s rightly said that to protect yourself from the dangers, you must first be aware of them. In this section, we will discuss the various ways your personal computer or personal devices could get compromised.
Hacking
Hacking, simply put, is a process of gaining illegal access to your systems and devices and interfering with normal operations, which could include stealing data for economic or personal reasons and rendering the system useless unless the demands of the hacker are met.
The person behind a Hacking is termed a Hacker. They are computer experts who know ins and outs of computer-related things. There are mainly three types of hackers, White, Black, and Grey Hat Hacker. Black Hat Hackers hack systems illegally and conduct all unlawful activities, whereas White Hat Hackers help organizations identify their security weaknesses and patch up vulnerabilities. Finally, Grey Hat Hackers are those that sometimes play by the rule and are also ready to break them if needed.
Hackers can perform SQL Injections, Cross-site scripting, etc. SQL injections are techniques that allow hackers to insert malicious code onto the website forcing it to give out information demanded by the hacker. Cross-site scripting is infecting a website with malicious programs that will redirect users of a website to a fake look alike. It’s used to gather sensitive information about a user like user credentials or financial credentials.
Virus or Malware
They are computer programs designed to infect a computer system or file and circulate to other computers on a network. They tend to disrupt the normal operation of a computer system by modifying or deleting data altogether. There are different types of Viruses and Malware used by hackers around the world. Worm, Trojan, Ransomeware, Adware, Botnets, Rootkits, etc., are different Malware used by hackers to propagate their destructive actions.
Denial-of-Service attack
A DoS attack is attempted by hackers to deny users from accessing a service. This attack is carried out by hackers who populate a website or application with traffic more than they can handle, ultimately leading to a crash or slowing down. The hacker will turn the website inoperable to even process genuine requests from users. Hackers who perform DoS attacks will target websites that are of high profile and process huge amounts of traffic like Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Phishing
Hackers perform phishing to extract confidential information like credit card information, username passwords, and other sensitive information from users. Phishing is generally performed by creating a fake website or application that will look alike a genuine or trustable website or application. If the users enter the website/application they might be asked to fill out their information. The most common way is by email spoofing which is sent out by hackers to users looking like a legitimate email, tempting users to fill out their information.
Email bombing and Spamming
Hackers perform email bombing wherein they send huge volumes of emails to their target resulting in the crashing of the victim’s mail servers. Email bombing is performed using Botnets that automate these bombings to a particular user. It also comes under a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. This form of Cyberattacks is difficult to mitigate, as the botnets are trained to send different messages that serve the purpose of defeating spam filters in email services. Email Spamming is very similar to bombing, wherein hackers harvest a list of email from a group, website, address books, or any other resources, and then spam it with a large number of emails that is entirely irrelevant and invalid for the victim.
Cyber Stalking
Cyber Stalking is a new form of Cybercrime wherein the victim is followed online and experiences abuse and harassment from the virtual stalker. The stalker follows the victim to every social media platform the user logs into, scans through all the posts and comments they post, and keeps a track of their online movement.
They could use email, chat rooms, websites, or forums to harass or publically abuse the victim based on their online activities.
Conclusion
Any form of illegal activity performed using the Internet comes under the purview of Cybercrime. Different countries have different rules for these cybercrimes which hackers take advantage of. Be responsible, be alert and be aware of your online presence, because you are just an attack away if you are not conscious of your online behavior.
