Cyber Crimes and their Prevention
When Charles Babbage known as the ‘Father of Computer ‘ invented computer he would never have imagined that his invention would impact and revolutionize the world in such a massive manner. Today computers have permeated to and have an influence in every task we perform. We are using computers at homes ,schools, offices , hospitals , banks , shopping malls and their modified versions in washing machines , mobile phones and cars to perform a wide array of tasks. All these facts highlights that in the present scenario our existence in entirely dependant on computers so much so that life without them is unimaginable. Although at the beginning computers were made only for the purpose of performing calculations , it was the Internet which was invented during the second World War for use by the defense department of United States which made computers suitable for the extensive purposes like ticket reservations, online banking, video conferencing , e-mails , searching and sharing research materials etc .
Internet is basically a group of computers connected together by means of a network. Internet has given rise to a ‘virtual world’ just as our actual world where we can meet and chat with different people belonging to different nationalities , caste and race. It has in fact brought the world together in a single room .Yes , this gigantic world is decreasing and it is being condensed more and more with each passing day . Twentieth century will always be known for internet revolution. As a coin has two sides , so is the case with this internet revolution . On one side it has increased our comforts and made our lives more easier it has also given rise to computer based crimes known as cybercrimes.
Cybercrime is any use of a computer as an instrument to further illegal ends, such as committing fraud, trafficking in child pornography and intellectual property, stealing identities or violating privacy. In most of these crimes internet plays the role of intermediary which connects the perpetrator of the crime with its victim. Cybercrimes can take place against the government , private institutions and organizations and against any individual who uses the internet. Identifying the culprits of cybercrime is very difficult as internet is accessible from across the globe and many times a person sitting in one part of the globe may be performing a crime in another country. Hence it is pertinent that Governments across the world come together in order to fight against this menace of cybercrimes. Cybercrimes are mostly carried out by computer savvy individuals , who are proficient in the use of computers and know all the intricacies of internet and related technologies. For this reason they are also known as white collar crimes and e- crimes etc.
Different kinds of cybercrimes are
Computer Hacking : Hacking is unauthorised breaking into someone else’s computer system to steal their personal information , erase and format their hard drives and control the working of their computers. It also includes defacing an organizations website and stealing trade secrets . The most prominent case of hacking came to light when United Nations website was hacked and defaced.
E-Mail Spoofing : A spoofed email is the one which appears to have come from a particular address while actually the real address from which it arrived has been changed.
Spamming : In spamming a lot of emails containing promotional offers flood the inbox. These emails promise free gifts and collect our personal information which is given to telemarketing companies ,which then calls the users to sell their products.
Data diddling : In data diddling raw data is altered before it is processed by a computer and re- altered afterwards.
Salami Attacks : These types of attacks are used for financial crimes where by a malicious code is inserted in the software of banks which deducts a small amount of money from account of every customer and credit it into a particular account. The deduction is so insignificant that in a single case it goes totally unnoticed.
Phishing : In phishing emails with links to fake website is sent . When the user clicks these links a website which is same as his bank’s website opens with same logos , the user is urged to enter his username and password which is then used in real website.
Pyramid Schemes : These schemes consists of a business scheme model where people are urged to become a member by investing money , after sometime the website vanishes and the owner of site vanishes with each members money. ‘ Gold Quest ‘ is one such scheme which was exposed recently.
Forgery : Counterfeit currency notes , fake mark sheets , revenue stamps are made by use of software installed on computers.
Cyber Defamation : It involves making slander comments about a person on a site , altering his photograph and pasting it on pornographic website.
Cyber Stalking : This is done by following a person across various chat rooms and the websites which a person frequents and harassing him online.
Copyright Violation : This is the newest form of cybercrime where research or work of an individual is used by another person without his due permission.
Besides cybercrimes are also being used by militants to commit acts of terrorism. After the recent blasts in Delhi terrorist hacked into Wifi system of a household in Bangalore to send emails to various news channels . When contacted by police and other agencies these families were left aghast . This is a classic case of IP spoofing. Cybercrimes have now become a global phenomenon and so it’s the responsibility of each and every country to police these cybercrimes. The major problem facing cybercrime is multiplicity of laws in one country and its sheer absence in another. The culprits use those countries as their base where cyber laws are weak or non existential. The need of an hour is to have uniform international laws against all forms of cybercrimes so that the culprits of cybercrime cannot take advantage of global reach of internet to get away with their offenses.
At an individual level we should also take some precautions like having a good antivirus and antispyware software. We should not keep our birth dates as passwords and use both digits and alphabets in our passwords. We should also have ‘Firewalls’ and ‘antiphising filters ‘ installed in our browsers which warns us of suspicious websites. Furthermore we should not give our personal details to any website . While shopping online and using E- banking facility we should see that ii is bein done through a ‘secured connection’ and personal computer. We should refrain from doing these activities from a public computer. We should also use intrusion alert and network scanning software which tells us about suspicious activities going on in our network and alerts us if someone has hacked our computer system.
Government should take steps to educate the people about cybercrimes through organizing lectures and awareness campaigns. Sensitive data related to defense of country , trade secrets of an organization , bank accounts should be kept encrypted . An encrypted data is impossible to be read without a proper key . In encryption a large number of techniques like Digital Watermaking, Cryptography and Stentography are used to pass on sensitive information hidden in images, audio and visual files. Digital Watermarking is playing a very important role in copy right protection where by original owner’s information is stored invisibly in his documents and if a copyright violation occurs the offender can be easily caught and punished.
Cybercrime is a criminal activity performed with the help of computers and internet. Cases of cybercrime is growing day by day . It has no boundaries and can affect anybody ranging from an ordinary individual to government offices and multinational companies. The need of hour is to unite and fight these crimes with every nation playing its part and doing its bit to control this menace. We should try to develop better e – mail systems , superior antivirus software and clog the loop holes that exist in existing banking and other financial systems. Also the perpetrators of cybercrimes should be dealt strictly with and should not be let off easily . Government should also try and spread awareness about these crimes. At present internet penetration of our country is about seven percent and by 2020 India will be world’s largest internet market , so it is essential that we deal with this problem now and get rid of it because it can attain massive proportion in years to come when the computer users in our country will grow.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
An essay for a competition
The Menace of Terrorism
Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face.
JACQUES CHIRAC
Terrorism is use of illegal means and violence against innocent people to further the cause of particular ideology. This ideology may be motivated by the purpose of attainment of a particular goal which may be political or social. The persons using this illegal violence are known as a terrorist. The terrorists do not care if they have to take life of these innocent people to intimidate government and the people in power to submit to their demands. The history of acts of terrorism goes as far back as 14th century when the Tartars threw dead bodies over the walls of Kaffa hoping to start a plague. The word terrorism itself was invented in 1795 and used to refer French revolutionaries who executed their enemies and tried to suppress opposition to their ideology.
The exact definition of ‘Terrorism’ is still not formulated as what can appear as a terrorist act to one party or a nation can occur as an act of getting freedom to the people who are doing this act . Methods used by terrorists include kidnapping, hostage-taking, bombing, shooting and hijacking of aeroplanes and vehicles. Some terrorist attacks do not in any way endanger the actual person responsible for carrying out the attack , while at the other end are suicide bombers known as Fidayeen , who are prepared to die as a result of their own actions. Aside from politics as a motive for terrorism, there are other causes, including racism, and religious convictions. The religious zealots and fanatics brainwash people especially inexperienced youth and inspire them to fight in the name of God . These youth are motivated to fight a holy war for spreading their faith and destroy every country and individual who does not want to practice it . Terrorism is extremely difficult to control, given that it nearly always has the advantage of the 'surprise' element. Terrorist attacks, by their very nature, can rarely be predicted. Furthermore, most prominent terrorist groups are well-funded both within their countries and abroad. This funding provides weapons and security. Since there are so many different terrorist groups, each with its own agenda and demands , attempts to curb terrorism through international agreements are considerably difficult to yield any result .
Terrorist also fund their activities through illegal human trafficking, drug trafficking, intimidating business tycoons and film stars and match fixing. As human generation has evolved so has terrorism. Today there are different types of terrorism used by terrorists to spread agony and destruction. Terrorism is basically classified into six types so that we can understand it better and combat it with all our resources and military might.
State terrorism is when a particular state sponsors the terrorist organizations which spread terrorism in other states . Also when a state uses force to terrorize citizens of other countries without declaration of war in order to achieve particular goal, it is an instance of state terrorism.
Bioterrorism refers to intentional release of poisonous substances to harm and terrify human lives. Various toxic substances ranging from Anthrax , Botulism , Small Pox etc can be used in these kind of attacks. The use of biological agents in warfare isn't new. Pre-modern armies tried to use naturally occurring diseases to their advantage. In 1346, the Tartar (or Tatar) army tried to turn the Plague to their advantage in their siege of the port city of Kaffa, which was then a part of Genoa. Dying from plague themselves, army members attached bodies and heads of the deceased to slings and then landed them inside the walled city of their victims. A plague epidemic followed and the city surrendered to the Mongol forces.
Cyberterrorism came into prominence recently with the phenomenal growth of internet. In this form of terrorism the terrorist use information technology, such as computer systems or telecommunications, as a tool to coordinate a traditional attack. More often, cyberterrorism refers to an attack on information technology itself in a way that would drastically disrupt networked services. For example, cyberterrorists could disable networked emergency systems or hack into networks housing critical financial information. The hacking and mutilating of United Nations website is an example of this type of terrorism. In the present scenario terrorists are also using internet to get important and strategic information and then plan and coordinate their attack. Recently after Delhi bomb blasts terrorists hacked into an account of Mumbai based businessman to send email owning the responsibility for executing the bomb blasts.
Nuclear terrorism refers to number of different ways nuclear materials might be exploited as a terrorist tactic. These include attacking nuclear facilities, purchasing nuclear weapons, or building nuclear weapons or otherwise finding ways to disperse radioactive materials.
Ecoterrorism is a recently coined term describing violence in the interests of environmentalism. In general, environmental extremists sabotage property to inflict economic damage on industries or actors they see as harming animals or the natural environment. These have included fur companies, logging companies and animal research laboratories.
Narcoterrorism is using of force by drug peddlers to influence governments or prevent government efforts to stop the drug trade. In the last several years, narcoterrorism has been used to indicate situations in which terrorist groups use drug trafficking to fund their other operations.
The most horrifying terrorist strike occurred on September 9 2001 when two hijacked planes were flown into World Trade Centre in New York leading to death of 3000 people. On the same day another hijacked aeroplane flew into pentagon killing 189 people and another crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers on board it fought with the hijackers . Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaida was blamed for this attack and the fall out of this attack was United State going into war against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan which is still a battleground. India has also been battling terrorism since late 1970’s . In 1970 Punjab became prosperous due to effects of Green Revolution and this prosperity led to the movement of demand of Khalistan where Sikh community were demanding a new nation to be carved out of India. Led by Jarnail Singh Bhindarwale, they began using militancy to stress on their demands. Soon things turned bloody with India alleging that neighboring Pakistan supported these militants, who, by 1983-4, had begun to enjoy widespread support among Sikhs.
In 1984, Operation Blue Star was conducted by the Indian government to stem out the movement. It involved an assault on the Golden Temple complex. In 1985, Sikh terrorists bombed an Air India flight from Canada to India, killing all 329 people on board Air India Flight 182. It is the worst terrorist act in Canada's history. The terrorism in Punjab was finally quelled in 1993 .
The other states which is most tormented by terrorism includes J&K and the seven sisters in the north east India. National capital Delhi and commercial capital Mumbai also have had their share of terrorist attacks. Some of the most devastating attacks that took place were the Mumbai bombings that took place on March 12 , 1993. In these series of bombings 13 bombs ripped the city apart and claimed 257 lives. Mumbai also witnessed another series of blasts on 11 July 2006 when seven bombs exploded in space of eleven minutes in suburban trains. These claimed life of 209 victims. The national capital Delhi was left reeling when an attack on epicenter of our democracy occurred on 13 December 2001. In this attack none of the member of parliament was injured but 7 police officers had to sacrifice their lives. Delhi was again targeted on 29 October 2005 when 62 people were killed by three powerful blasts . Recently on 13 September 2008 five coordinated bomb blasts took place which left 30 people dead. These incidents have severely terrified the people of Delhi in particular who fear to tread out to crowded places after sunset.
The state of J&K has also been targeted from terrorist from across the border time and again. The most noteworthy attack was on October 1 2001 , when terrorists attacked the Jammu & Kashmir assembly complex killing 35 people. There has been a spate of bombings in year 2008 and the terrorist outfit responsible for it has been Indian Mujaheedin. In 2008 Delhi ,Ahemdabad , Bangalore , Guwahati has been targeted by militants belonging to different terrorist organizations.
There has been a considerable loss of life and money in all these attacks . The victims of these attacks have been innocent people some of which were sole bread winners for the family. These attacks happen and are soon forgotten except for the families who are affected by these attacks , the families who loose their loved ones in these gruesome incidents. For them the memories of these horrible episodes last a life time. The pain of loosing someone for no explicable reason cannot be explained . Some families are forced into poverty and their whole life style changes due to these attacks. People are always under constant fears of loosing their and their relatives life. The government and the police should crack down on the persons responsible for spreading this apathy so that people are not deprived of their basic right that is the right to live. No ideology and no goal can be accomplished by blatantly using force and killing innocent people the more sooner there propagators of terror realize it the better it would be. We can only hope that one day this never ending war will be over and human civilisation will live in peace and harmony .
Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face.
JACQUES CHIRAC
Terrorism is use of illegal means and violence against innocent people to further the cause of particular ideology. This ideology may be motivated by the purpose of attainment of a particular goal which may be political or social. The persons using this illegal violence are known as a terrorist. The terrorists do not care if they have to take life of these innocent people to intimidate government and the people in power to submit to their demands. The history of acts of terrorism goes as far back as 14th century when the Tartars threw dead bodies over the walls of Kaffa hoping to start a plague. The word terrorism itself was invented in 1795 and used to refer French revolutionaries who executed their enemies and tried to suppress opposition to their ideology.
The exact definition of ‘Terrorism’ is still not formulated as what can appear as a terrorist act to one party or a nation can occur as an act of getting freedom to the people who are doing this act . Methods used by terrorists include kidnapping, hostage-taking, bombing, shooting and hijacking of aeroplanes and vehicles. Some terrorist attacks do not in any way endanger the actual person responsible for carrying out the attack , while at the other end are suicide bombers known as Fidayeen , who are prepared to die as a result of their own actions. Aside from politics as a motive for terrorism, there are other causes, including racism, and religious convictions. The religious zealots and fanatics brainwash people especially inexperienced youth and inspire them to fight in the name of God . These youth are motivated to fight a holy war for spreading their faith and destroy every country and individual who does not want to practice it . Terrorism is extremely difficult to control, given that it nearly always has the advantage of the 'surprise' element. Terrorist attacks, by their very nature, can rarely be predicted. Furthermore, most prominent terrorist groups are well-funded both within their countries and abroad. This funding provides weapons and security. Since there are so many different terrorist groups, each with its own agenda and demands , attempts to curb terrorism through international agreements are considerably difficult to yield any result .
Terrorist also fund their activities through illegal human trafficking, drug trafficking, intimidating business tycoons and film stars and match fixing. As human generation has evolved so has terrorism. Today there are different types of terrorism used by terrorists to spread agony and destruction. Terrorism is basically classified into six types so that we can understand it better and combat it with all our resources and military might.
State terrorism is when a particular state sponsors the terrorist organizations which spread terrorism in other states . Also when a state uses force to terrorize citizens of other countries without declaration of war in order to achieve particular goal, it is an instance of state terrorism.
Bioterrorism refers to intentional release of poisonous substances to harm and terrify human lives. Various toxic substances ranging from Anthrax , Botulism , Small Pox etc can be used in these kind of attacks. The use of biological agents in warfare isn't new. Pre-modern armies tried to use naturally occurring diseases to their advantage. In 1346, the Tartar (or Tatar) army tried to turn the Plague to their advantage in their siege of the port city of Kaffa, which was then a part of Genoa. Dying from plague themselves, army members attached bodies and heads of the deceased to slings and then landed them inside the walled city of their victims. A plague epidemic followed and the city surrendered to the Mongol forces.
Cyberterrorism came into prominence recently with the phenomenal growth of internet. In this form of terrorism the terrorist use information technology, such as computer systems or telecommunications, as a tool to coordinate a traditional attack. More often, cyberterrorism refers to an attack on information technology itself in a way that would drastically disrupt networked services. For example, cyberterrorists could disable networked emergency systems or hack into networks housing critical financial information. The hacking and mutilating of United Nations website is an example of this type of terrorism. In the present scenario terrorists are also using internet to get important and strategic information and then plan and coordinate their attack. Recently after Delhi bomb blasts terrorists hacked into an account of Mumbai based businessman to send email owning the responsibility for executing the bomb blasts.
Nuclear terrorism refers to number of different ways nuclear materials might be exploited as a terrorist tactic. These include attacking nuclear facilities, purchasing nuclear weapons, or building nuclear weapons or otherwise finding ways to disperse radioactive materials.
Ecoterrorism is a recently coined term describing violence in the interests of environmentalism. In general, environmental extremists sabotage property to inflict economic damage on industries or actors they see as harming animals or the natural environment. These have included fur companies, logging companies and animal research laboratories.
Narcoterrorism is using of force by drug peddlers to influence governments or prevent government efforts to stop the drug trade. In the last several years, narcoterrorism has been used to indicate situations in which terrorist groups use drug trafficking to fund their other operations.
The most horrifying terrorist strike occurred on September 9 2001 when two hijacked planes were flown into World Trade Centre in New York leading to death of 3000 people. On the same day another hijacked aeroplane flew into pentagon killing 189 people and another crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers on board it fought with the hijackers . Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaida was blamed for this attack and the fall out of this attack was United State going into war against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan which is still a battleground. India has also been battling terrorism since late 1970’s . In 1970 Punjab became prosperous due to effects of Green Revolution and this prosperity led to the movement of demand of Khalistan where Sikh community were demanding a new nation to be carved out of India. Led by Jarnail Singh Bhindarwale, they began using militancy to stress on their demands. Soon things turned bloody with India alleging that neighboring Pakistan supported these militants, who, by 1983-4, had begun to enjoy widespread support among Sikhs.
In 1984, Operation Blue Star was conducted by the Indian government to stem out the movement. It involved an assault on the Golden Temple complex. In 1985, Sikh terrorists bombed an Air India flight from Canada to India, killing all 329 people on board Air India Flight 182. It is the worst terrorist act in Canada's history. The terrorism in Punjab was finally quelled in 1993 .
The other states which is most tormented by terrorism includes J&K and the seven sisters in the north east India. National capital Delhi and commercial capital Mumbai also have had their share of terrorist attacks. Some of the most devastating attacks that took place were the Mumbai bombings that took place on March 12 , 1993. In these series of bombings 13 bombs ripped the city apart and claimed 257 lives. Mumbai also witnessed another series of blasts on 11 July 2006 when seven bombs exploded in space of eleven minutes in suburban trains. These claimed life of 209 victims. The national capital Delhi was left reeling when an attack on epicenter of our democracy occurred on 13 December 2001. In this attack none of the member of parliament was injured but 7 police officers had to sacrifice their lives. Delhi was again targeted on 29 October 2005 when 62 people were killed by three powerful blasts . Recently on 13 September 2008 five coordinated bomb blasts took place which left 30 people dead. These incidents have severely terrified the people of Delhi in particular who fear to tread out to crowded places after sunset.
The state of J&K has also been targeted from terrorist from across the border time and again. The most noteworthy attack was on October 1 2001 , when terrorists attacked the Jammu & Kashmir assembly complex killing 35 people. There has been a spate of bombings in year 2008 and the terrorist outfit responsible for it has been Indian Mujaheedin. In 2008 Delhi ,Ahemdabad , Bangalore , Guwahati has been targeted by militants belonging to different terrorist organizations.
There has been a considerable loss of life and money in all these attacks . The victims of these attacks have been innocent people some of which were sole bread winners for the family. These attacks happen and are soon forgotten except for the families who are affected by these attacks , the families who loose their loved ones in these gruesome incidents. For them the memories of these horrible episodes last a life time. The pain of loosing someone for no explicable reason cannot be explained . Some families are forced into poverty and their whole life style changes due to these attacks. People are always under constant fears of loosing their and their relatives life. The government and the police should crack down on the persons responsible for spreading this apathy so that people are not deprived of their basic right that is the right to live. No ideology and no goal can be accomplished by blatantly using force and killing innocent people the more sooner there propagators of terror realize it the better it would be. We can only hope that one day this never ending war will be over and human civilisation will live in peace and harmony .
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Should Indian Elections be held online in addition to regular booths
Indian elections should also be held online like the United States said my father in one of the discussions i had with him during my recent visit home . At that time i was not in a mood to discuss it so i did not reply to this statement but today it stuck me again ... I did some googling and came up with some facts .... The voter turnout in 2004 lok sabha elections was around 56% . Approximately around 380 million people exercised their franchise .We can easily see that around 44 % of people did not vote . What was the reason behind it ...well there could be many ranging from fearing to go to voting booth , to not having enough time to stand at voting booth . In some cases it might be kilometeres away ... Only 56% of elligible voters of India decided that UPA should rule INDIA for next five years .Now let me tell you something about Internet .In 2004 there were 38.5 million users of internet . Now there are around 60 million net users . The figure has almost doubled it 5 years .The peneteration is about 5% . It is still low but given the sheer numbers of net users can't we also make voting online ?? Will not it make a differnece in improving the percentage of voters. The 5% voters which have net faciliy come basically form upper and middle class of indian society and it also includes youth of India which is one community shying away from voting . With this facility being offered won't t be convinient for people who are reluctant to go to voting booth be able to vote . More so we can vote from any location . Look at the future acooridng to Eric Schmdit founder of Google India will be world's largest internet market and having the maximum number of net users till 2020 . I think its time someone should take a cue from US and moot a proposal to make an onlne voting system . Ofcourse there will be problems like hacking to be dealt with but then there is booth capturing existing still . I believe we can get more worthy and qulaified people in the parliament if we have the facility of voting online in addition to the existing polling booth facility .There will be problems too as a person may cast his vite online as well as in the booth but then we can do a survey and ask the person concerned on how he would like to cast his vote . With the phenomenal growth of internet its a given that we have to have this system in place pretty soon ,and it can be one of the ways to get some responsible and deserving candidates in the parliament of world's largest democracy .
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