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.