Cyber Crime

Cyber crime can be defined as criminal activities carried out by means of computers or the Internet. Cyber crime has become increasingly dangerous as computers are becoming powerful and a lot of negative things can be carried out using the internet. 

More and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the Internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders, either physical or virtual, cause serious harm and pose very real threats to victims worldwide.

Although there is no single universal definition of cybercrime, law enforcement generally makes a distinction between two main types of Internet-related crime:

• Advanced cybercrime (or high-tech crime) – sophisticated attacks against computer hardware and software;

• Cyber-enabled crime – many ‘traditional’ crimes have taken a new turn with the advent of the Internet, such as crimes against children, financial crimes and even terrorism.

Read about online safety: how to protect yourself and your devices from cyberthreats.

The changing nature of cybercrime

New trends in cybercrime are emerging all the time, with estimated costs to the global economy running to billions of dollars.

In the past, cybercrime was committed mainly by individuals or small groups. Today, we are seeing highly complex cybercriminal networks bring together individuals from across the globe in real time to commit crimes on an unprecedented scale.

Criminal organizations turning increasingly to the Internet to facilitate their activities and maximize their profit in the shortest time. The crimes themselves are not necessarily new – such as theft, fraud, illegal gambling, sale of fake medicines – but they are evolving in line with the opportunities presented online and therefore becoming more widespread and damaging.

Ryan Halligan's Cyber Bullying Story

CyberBullying Statistics

• Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.
• More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online.
• Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.
• Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs.
• Around half of teens have been the victims of cyber bullying
• Only 1 in 10 teens tells a parent if they have been a cyber bully victim
• Fewer than 1 in 5 cyber bullying incidents are reported to law enforcement
• 1 in 10 adolescents or teens have had embarrassing or damaging pictures taken of themselves without their permission, often using cell phone cameras
• About 1 in 5 teens have posted or sent sexually suggestive or nude pictures of themselves to others
• Over 80 percent of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most popular form of technology and a common medium for cyber bullying
• About half of young people have experienced some form of cyber bullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly
• Mean, hurtful comments and spreading rumors are the most common type of cyber bullying
• Girls are at least as likely as boys to be cyber bullies or their victims
• Boys are more likely to be threatened by cyber bullies than girls

Ryan's Stories

John and Kelly Halligan lost their thirteen year old son, Ryan, to suicide on October 7, 2003. At the time of his death, Ryan was a student at a middle school in Essex Junction, Vermont. After Ryan’s death, it was revealed that he was ridiculed and humiliated by peers at school and on-line.

Ryan father writes: “A few days after his funeral I logged on to his AOL IM account because that was the one place he spent most of his time during the last few months. I logged on to see if there were any clues to his final action. It was in that safe world of being somewhat anonymous that several of his classmates told me of the bullying and cyber bullying that took place during the months that led up to his suicide. The boy that had bullied him since 5th grade and briefly befriended Ryan after the brawl was the main culprit. My son the comedian told his new friend something embarrassing and funny that happened once and the friend (bully) ran with the new information that Ryan had something done to him and therefore Ryan must be gay. The rumor and taunting continued beyond that school day … well into the night and during the summer of 2003.”

Ryan’s father, John, devotes his time to touring the United States and Canada, meeting with young people and promoting the need for more education and prevention of bullying, cyber bullying and teen suicide. He has also established a website in his son’s memory.

Jason’s story

 

A boy named Jason lived in Detroit city of Michigan. He was a happy and cheerful 14 year old student who was fascinated by the world of computers and the internet. One day, he got in to a fight with one of his junior schoolmates. They developed strong envy against each other. This continued for quite some time and never talked to one another. Few weeks later, one day, Jason started receiving mean and obscene messages on his social medias. He also started receiving threats and got bullied in different manners. He became a victim of cyber bullying. Jason is one of the millions of young adults who are reportedly victims of cyber bullying. Research has shown that 25% of the total number of teenagers have reported that they have experienced repeated bullying by their cell phone, or on the Internet.

People

These people from around the world are working against cyber crime and cyber bullying:-

1. Susan McLean

Susan McLean is Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and young people and was a member of Victoria Police for 27 years. Widely known as the ‘cyber cop’ she was the first Victoria Police Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people. In 2003 she was the Victoria Police Region Four Youth Officer of the Year. She has also been awarded The National Medal and the Victoria Police Service Medal and 2nd Clasp.  To know more, click here. 2. Trisha Prabhu Trisha Prabhu, a 13-year-old from Chicago, won a spot as one of Google's 15 global Science Fair finalists for her project about stopping cyberbullying by making teens and tweens think before posting hurtful comments. The science behind Prabhu's idea is simple: Teens are impulsive and more likely to post hurtful messages without pausing to think about the consequences because of their brain structure. The prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain responsible for self-control that helps people think before acting - isn't fully developed until age 25. Her theory is that if teens are forced to take a moment of reflection before posting a mean comment, they won't do it. She created a system called Rethink to test her hypothesis that prompted students who said they would post a mean comment to think about how it might affect its target before posting it. Turns out, in 93.43% of her 533 trials, the student decided not to post the comment. To know more, click here.