12 types of cyber crime

The word "cybercrime" originates from the most recent developments in the field of computers and networks.

Cybercrimes are seen as a serious danger because they may result in catastrophic outcomes, including financial losses, system breakdowns, the theft of personal data, and harm to a company's reputation.

in this article you will know 12 types of cyber crime, and what cybercrime is? who is a cybercriminal? and how the cybercrimes are performed? then will discuss on the base of real life incident of cybercrimes.

What is a cyberattack?

Cyberattacks are attempts to gain unauthorised access to a computer network or system by hackers, cybercriminals, and other online adversaries, typically with the intention of modifying, stealing, destroying, or leaking data.

Cyberattacks could target anyone, from individuals and businesses to entire countries. Hackers frequently target companies or other organisations in an attempt to obtain sensitive and important company data, such as payment details, customer information, or intellectual property (IP).

Describe the definition of cybercrime.

The use of a communication device to carry out or assist in carrying out unlawful actions without permission is known as cybercrime.

The word "cybercrime" describes any unlawful activity that intentionally damages a computer or its network.

Computers and computer networks are employed in cybercrimes. They may target governments, corporations, or even regular people.

There are various common methods for examining equipment that could be used or the target of a cybercrime.

Who Are the Cybercriminals?

Cybercriminals are people who use their technical expertise to carry out risky and unlawful acts, including cybercrimes.

The cybercriminals are mostly active and available in "Dark Web". because they provides their illegal services on "Dark Web".

Hacking is not unlawful in and of itself, and not all hackers are cybercriminals. This is to allow white hat hackers to detect, classify, and locate vulnerabilities through hacking.

A hacker who purposefully does harm through their hacking is known as a "black hat hacker" or cyber-criminal.

Since hacking is not a component of all cybercrimes, cybercriminals do not necessarily need to be skilled in this area.

Cybercriminals might include people who engage in illicit online content, or even drug dealers. Here are a few instances of cybercriminals:

• Cyberstalkers
• cyberterrorists
• scammers
• black hat hackers

It is more appropriate to refer to cybercriminals who carry out targeted attacks as Threat Actors.

How do cybercrimes occur?

To gain access to the targeted environment, cybercriminals exploit security flaws and vulnerabilities in systems.

Security flaws can result from the use of weak passwords and authentication techniques, as well as from lax security models and regulations.

Why are cybercrimes on the rise?

Technology is a major part of the modern world since new technologies are always being developed. Smart devices are mostly connected to the internet. It Benefits and downsides are both present.

The sharp rise in cybercrimes is one of the risks security operations and measures are insufficient to secure these technologies.

Users can instantaneously go to any connected location in the world using computer networks.

The laws and regulations pertaining to cybercrimes may vary from one country to another. It should be highlighted that it is much easier to hide evidence when committing cyber crimes unlike real crimes.

The following is a list of several factors contributing to the significant rise in cybercrimes:

• Devices that are vulnerable: As said earlier, the lack of efficient security solutions and procedures leads to a significant number of vulnerable devices that are easy targets for hackers.
• Personal motive: Cybercriminals may commit cybercrimes in order to exact revenge on someone they dislike or disagree with.
• Financial motive: Nowadays, money is the main motivator for hackers and cybercriminals, and most attacks are conducted with this objective in mind.

Cybercrime can be classified into two types: targeting computers and Utilizing computers.

• Targeting computers: All potential means of causing damage to computer devices, such as malware or denial of service assaults, are included in this category of cybercrimes.
• Utilizing computers: The use of computers for all types of computer crimes falls under this category.

Categories of Cybercrime

Four types of cybercrimes can be distinguished in general:

1. Individual Cybercrimes: These crimes are directed at specific people. Among other things, it addresses phishing, spam, spoofing, and cyberstalking.
2. Cybercrimes against Organizations: In this category, an organization is the primary victim. Collectives of criminals typically perpetrate this kind of crime, which includes denial-of-service assaults and malware.
3. Property-related cybercrimes: These crimes focus on assets such as credit cards or even intellectual property rights.
4. Social cybercrimes: This category of cybercrime, which includes cyberterrorism, is the most deadly.

12 types of cyber crime

Now, let's know what cybercrimes are? also know the 12 types of cyber crime.

1. An attack using ransomware

The most common type of cybercrime includes ransomware attak . Malware of this kind may encrypt users' private data and then demand payment to unlock it, preventing them from accessing all of their data on the computer.

2. Computer networks being hacked or misused

This phrase describes the illegal act of gaining unauthorized access to private computers or networks and abusing them by destroying them, altering the data they contain, or by other unlawful methods.

3. Phishing and Scam

Phishing is a form of social engineering assault in which a user is tricked by sending phony emails and messages to obtain private information about them or by attempting to download malicious software from the target device and exploit it.

4. Theft of Identity

Identity theft happens when a cybercriminal utilizes someone else's personal information, such as credit card numbers or photos, without that person's consent in order to perpetrate fraud or a crime.

5. Piracy Software

The unlawful use or duplication of commercial software in violation of copyrights or license limitations is known as software piracy.

Downloading a new, unactivated copy of Windows and using "cracks" to get a legitimate license for Windows activation is an example of software piracy. It's seen as software piracy.

Music, movies, and images can all be pirated, in addition to software.

6. Fraud in Online Recruiting

Fake job openings posted by phony companies with the intention of defrauding applicants of their money or even using their personal information are among the less frequent cybercrimes that are also becoming more widespread.

7. Drug Trafficking Online

The rapid development of cryptocurrency technology made it simple to conduct drug trades covertly and send money in a secure manner without attracting the notice of law authorities. As a result, drug marketing on the internet increased.

The "Dark Web" is a popular online marketplace for the sale and trafficking of illegal narcotics like cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.

8. Money Laundering using Electronic Means

Another name for this is transaction laundering. It is predicated on unidentified businesses or internet enterprises that conduct credit card transactions and accept acceptable payment methods, but use inconsistent or insufficient payment information to purchase unidentified goods.

It is unquestionably one of the most popular and simple ways to launder money.

9. Bullying online

Another name for it is cyber bullying. It involves distributing or disseminating degrading and damaging content about another person, which is embarrassing and may contribute to psychological issues. Lately, it has become increasingly prevalent, particularly among teenagers.

10. The Practice of Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is when someone targets other people online with repeated, unwelcome content, such as unsolicited calls and messages, with the intention of scaring and manipulating them.

11. Cyber-extortion

Demanding money from hackers to return stolen data or cease destructive operations like denial-of-service attacks is known as cyber extortion.

12. Fraud on the Internet

One kind of cybercrime that involves the usage of the internet is internet fraud, which is a general word that encompasses all online crimes such as spam, financial fraud, theft of service, and so on.

Examples of Cybercrimes

The RockYou data breach

Lance Tokuda and Jia Shen founded the game industry company RockYou in 2005. The company was doing well until December 2009, when what is known as "the biggest data breach of all time" happened.

More than 32 million user account credentials from the RockYou database were made public as a result of the data leak.

The hacker was able to obtain all of the passwords more easily since the company kept them in unencrypted plain text. The hacker obtained all of the database's data by exploiting a well-known and outdated SQL vulnerability.

The complete password list that was made public after this big hack has been a very helpful tool for penetration testing since hackers use it to evaluate the security and strength of passwords for accounts and goods.

REvil and Kaseya Ransomware

REvil is a collective of Russian-speaking hackers that offers ransomware as a service. The event at Kaseya took place in July 2021.

The issue occurred when one of Kaseya's products installed the well-known SODINOKIBI REvil ransomware on endpoints within the company's client network, which included more than 1000 Kaseya customers globally.

A few hours later, REvil claimed responsibility for the attack on their Happy Blog dark web website and demanded a $70 million ransom to produce a public decryptor that they said could unlock all of the compromised devices.

The US government announced $10 million in incentives to anyone who could provide information that would result in the arrest of REvil members because of the consequences of the attack.

A 22-year-old Ukrainian named Yaroslav Vasinskyi was accused with carrying out the assault and releasing the ransomware on Kaseya and other businesses.

The Stuxnet

One well-known event that occurred in 2010 was the Stuxnet incident. A computer worm (a form of malware) known as Stuxnet targets SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems.

Iran's nuclear program suffered significant harm from the Stuxnet malware. USB sticks were the main way it spread, mostly affecting Microsoft Windows operating systems.

In order to update its code, the malware used the attackers' internet connection to look for computers that were functioning as PLCs (programmable logic controllers).

The Marriott Hotels

More than 500 million customers were impacted by the Marriott Hotels Group's huge data breach in November 2018.

The identity of the person who compromised the guest reservation database is unknown. Payment details, passport numbers, mailing addresses, and customer phone numbers were among the disclosed data.

In addition to setting up a website and a phone center, Marriott Group has promptly launched incident investigations with a team of security specialists.

The impacted clients were also emailed and provided with free access to monitoring tools that keep an eye on the internet and notify users if they discover any indications of revealing personal information.and provided them with free access to internet monitoring tools that will notify them if they discover any indications of sharing personal information.

if you want to read more articles related to cybersecurity and cybercrimes click here.

Ways to Stop Cybercrimes?

To safeguard your surroundings and yourself from the dangers of cybercrimes, there are numerous rules and recommendations, including:

1. Verify that you have the most recent versions of your firewall and antivirus software.
2. Make sure your environment has the finest security configurations and settings feasible.
3. Avoid visiting websites you don't trust, exercise caution when downloading items you don't know how to use, and exercise caution when opening email attachments.
4. Make use of robust authentication techniques and maintain the strongest passwords available. This post offers advice on how to secure your password.
5. Avoid disclosing private information on social media or online.
6. Discuss the dangers of internet use with your kids and continue to keep an eye on their actions.
7. Always be prepared to call the police right away if you become a victim of cybercrime.