Cyber Crimes

Cyber Crimes

Dr.V.MariappanDept of Banking Technology

Pondicherry University

April 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 1

Agenda for the session

Cyber crime definition

Cyber Crime Vs. Normal Crimes

Victims of Cyber Crimes

Classification of Cyber Crimes


Cyber Crimes Definition of Cyber Crime, computer crimes, cyber frauds, computer frauds etc.

Legal definition: I.T. Act – No Accepted definitions and usages

Illegal behavior that targets the security of computer

systems and/or the data accessed and processed by computer networks

An act where computer is an object or a subject of crime Any crime where an I.T. gadget is used in the act

Cyber Crimes are technological variants of normal crimes.The Act of committing, investigation, trial, evidence .. ALL

VARYTheft, forgery, fraud, blackmail, harassment, law of torts….


Cyber Crimes - definitionAll crimes performed or resorted to by abuse of

electronic media or otherwise, with the purpose of influencing the functioning of computer or computer system.

COMPUTER CRIME is any crime where – Computer is a target or a tool of crime or just incidental to crime.

A harmful acts committed from or against a computer or network. (McConnell International Report, 2000)


Cyber Crimes and Normal Crimes Scene of crime issues Investigation mechanism and process Process of trial E-evidence: Volatility, production of an e-evidence Acceptability, irretrievability, technological issues Jurisprudence and related issues Irrefutability and reliability of records and process “Justice should not only be done but should also

appear to have been done”


Victims of cyber crimes• Against persons:

• defamation, cyber stalking, phishing, id theft, email spoofing, online gambling, card frauds, virus, DoS, etc

• Against property: • larceny, data, information, software piracy, trade

marks, copyrights, IPR etc

• Against government: cyber terrorism

• Combination of one or more of the threeApril 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 6

Classification of Cyber Crimes

Computer as a target of crime

Computer as a tool in the commission of crime

Computer as incidental to crime


1.Computer as Target of CrimeSabotage of computer and computer systems

or computer networksTheft of data / informationTheft of intellectual property such as

computer softwareTheft of marketable informationBlackmails based on information gained from

computerized files such as medical information, personal history, sexual preferences, financial data etc.


2.Computer as a Tool in commission of crimeFraudulent use of ATM cards and accounts

Credit card frauds

Frauds involving NEFT

Frauds involving stock transfers

Frauds relating to e-commerce

Telecommunication frauds


3. Computers as incidental to crime

Internet crimes

Web Based crimes


A. Internet CrimesHacking

Theft of information

Theft of passwords

Theft of credit card numbers

Launch of malicious programmes

Espionage

Spamming


B. Web Based CrimesWeb based crimesCrimes through e-mailsUsenet related crimesInternet relay chat crimesOffences related to computerOffences against confidentiality, integrity and

availability of data and systemsOffences related to contentsOffences related to crime on web


B.1 Web site Related CrimesCheating and Frauds

Insurance frauds

Gambling

Distribution of pornography

Sale of pirated software April 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 13

B.2 Crimes Through e-mailsThreats

Extortion

E-mail bombing

Defamation

Launching of malicious programmes


B.3 Usenet Related CrimesDistribution / sale of pornography material

Distribution / sale of pirated software

Discussion on methods of jacking

Sale of stolen credit card numbers

Sale of stolen data April 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 15

B.4 Internet Relay Chat CrimeCyber stalking

Fraudsters use chat room for developing relations

with unsuspecting victims

Criminals use it for meeting conspirators

Hackers use it for discussing their expertise of

showing the techniques

Pedophiles use chat room to allure small children


B.5 Offences against confidentiality etc.,

Illegal access

Illegal interception

Data interference

System interference

Illegal devicesApril 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 17

B.6 Offence related to computers

Computer related forgery

Computer related fraud

Computer sabotage

Cyber stalking


B.7 Offences related to contents

Offences related to Child pornography

Offences related to infringements of

copyright and related rights


B.8 Offences related to crime on WebComputer network break-insIndustrial espionageSoftware piracyCyber pornographyMail bombsPassword sniffersSpoofingCredit card fraudsCyersquatting


Alternative Classification of Crime

Data crimes Software crimesOnline crimesIPR crimes Physical crimes


1.Data related computer crimes

• Unauthorized access • Data diddling (False data entry)• Data manipulation• Data spying• Scavenging• Data Leakage• Piggy backing and tailgating• Masquerading


Unauthorized Access

Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to a computer system or networks that is protected from unauthorized entry.


Data DiddlingOne of the most common forms of computer crime is

data diddling - illegal or unauthorized data alteration. These changes can occur before and during data input or before output.

Data diddling cases have affected banks, payrolls, inventory records, credit records, school transcripts and virtually all other forms of data processing known. Case: The New Delhi Municipal Corp Electricity Billing Fraud

Case that took place in 1996 is a typical example. Collection of money, computerized accounting, record maintenance and remittance in the bank were exclusively left to a private contractor who was a computer professional. He misappropriated huge amount of funds by manipulating data files to show less receipt and bank remittance.


Data Manipulation

A misuse of statistics occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood.

In some cases, the misuse may be accidental.

In others, it is purposeful and for the gain of the perpetrator and it attracts civil/ criminal liability.


Espionage / Data spying Espionage, commonly known as spying, is the practice of secretly

gathering information about a foreign government or a competing industry, with the purpose of placing one's own government or corporation at some strategic or financial advantage.

Access to the network is done from a remotely located computer; like a home PC using the legitimate password or breaking the password.

The data collected is either used or sold for money. It involve the analysis of diplomatic reports, publications, statistics,

and broadcasts, as well as spying, a clandestine activity carried out by an individual or individuals working under secret identity to gather classified information on behalf of another entity or nation.

In the United States, the organization that heads most activities dedicated to espionage is the CIA.


ScavengingScavenging is the obtaining of information

left around a computer system, in the computer room rubbish bins, etc. Bin diving (called 'Dumpster Diving' in the US) also involves obtaining sensitive information from an organisation's rubbish receptacles and bins.

This also refers to scavenging from areas of hard disks that are not in use by files but are currently 'file slack' or 'unallocated clusters'


Data LeakageData leakage is the removing of information

by smuggling it out as part of a printed document, encoding the information to look like something different, and removing it from the facility.

Many instances of employees of software companies involved in leaking of corporate information of customers.


Piggy backing and tailgatingPhysical access is one method used in

piggybacking/ impersonation.

Examples include following someone in through a door with a badge reader, electronically using another's user identification and password to gain computer access, and tapping into the terminal link of a user to cause the computer to believe that both terminals are the same person.


Masquerading IP masquerading is a form of network address translation

(NAT) which allows internal computers with no known address outside their network, to communicate to the outside. It allows one machine to act on behalf of other machines.

It's similar to someone buying stocks through a broker. The person buying stocks, tells the broker to buy the stocks, the broker gets the stocks and passes them to the person who made the purchase. The broker acts on behalf of the stock purchaser as though he was the one buying the stock.


2.Software related crimes• Virus related crimes:

• Malware, Spyware • Virus, Worm attacks

• Trojan Horses• Salami Techniques• Trapdoors• Logic Bombs and Time Bombs• Software Piracy• Program and source code manipulation• Hacking, phishing, vishing attacks


Software related crimes cont.., SteganographyCyber StalkingPornographyPedophiliasDoS and DDoSSpoofing: email, IP etcBotnetsCard Skimming


Software related issues cont…,

Spam mailsMarketing mailsCyber squattingCommunication interceptionInappropriate, inefficient codingSoftware errors Inefficient testing methodologies


Virus related crimes: Malware, is a malicious software designed to infiltrate a

computer system without the owner's informed consent. Software is considered to be malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses , spyware, crimeware etc.

Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers and collects bits of information at a time about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Spyware is secretly installed on the user's personal computer.

Sometimes, spywares such as keyloggers are installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer on purpose in order to secretly monitor other users.


Virus / Worm Attacks Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed

to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on the victims computer, even erase everything on the victims hard disk. (Brain)

Worms, unlike viruses do not need the host to attach themselves to. They merely make functional copies of themselves and do this repeatedly till they eat up all the available space on a computers memory. Case – 1: The VBS_LOVELETTER virus (better known as the Love Bug or the

ILOVEYOU virus) was reportedly written by a Filipino undergraduate. In May 2000, this deadly virus became the world’s most prevalent virus. Losses incurred during this virus attack were pegged at US $ 10 billion.

VBS_LOVELETTER utilized the addresses in Microsoft Outlook and e-mailed itself to those addresses. The e-mail, which was sent out, had ILOVEYOU in its subject line. The attachment file was named LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs.


Virus / Worms …, Case: 2 In 2002, the creator of the Melissa computer virus was

convicted. The virus had spread in 1999 and caused more than $80 million in damage by disrupting personal computers, business and government computer networks.

Case -3: The most famous worm was the Internet worm let loose on the Internet by Robert Morris sometime in 1988, then, still internet was developing years and this worm, which affected thousands of computers, almost brought its development to a complete halt. It took a team of experts almost three days to get rid of the worm and in the meantime many of the computers had to be disconnected from the network.


Trojan HorsesA Trojan, as this program is aptly called, is an

unauthorized program which functions from inside what seems to be an authorized program, thereby concealing what it is actually doing. Case- 1: A young lady reporter was working on an article about

online relationships. The article focused on how people can easily find friendship and even love on the Internet. During the course of her research she made a lot of online friends. One of these friends managed to infect her computer with a Trojan.

She stayed in a small one bedroom apartment and her computer was located in one corner of her bedroom. Unknown to her, the Trojan would activate her web camera and microphone even when the Internet was switched off. A year later she realized that hundreds of her pictures were posted on pornographic sites around the world!


Salami TechniquesThese attacks are used for committing financial crimes. The key

here is to make the alteration so insignificant that in a single case it would go completely unnoticed.

For instance, a bank employee inserts a program, into the bank’s servers, that deducts a small amount of money (say Rs. 2 a month) from the account of every customer. No account holder will probably notice this unauthorized debit, but the bank employee will make a sizeable amount of money every month. Case-1: In January 1997, Willis Robinson of Maryland USA, was

sentenced to 10 years in prison for having reprogrammed his Taco Bell drive-up-window cash register - causing it to ring up each $2.99 item internally as a 1-cent item, so that he could pocket $2.98 each time.

Case -2: Four executives of a rental-car franchise in Florida USA defrauded at least 47,000 customers using a salami technique. They modified a computer billing program to add five extra gallons to the actual gas tank capacity of their vehicles.


Key loggers Key loggers are regularly used were to log all

the strokes a victim makes on the keyboard generally installed on a computer used for online banking and other financial transactions. Key-loggers are most commonly found in public computers such as those in cyber cafes, hotels etc.


Internet Time Theft

The usage by an unauthorized person of the Internet hours paid for by another person.

Case- 1: In May 2000, the Delhi police arrested an engineer who had misused the login name and password of a customer whose Internet connection he had set up.

The case was filed under the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Telegraph Act.


Web Jacking Just as conventional hijacking of an airplane is done by

using force, similarly web jacking means forcefully taking over control of a website. The motive is usually the same as hijacking - ransom. The perpetrators have either a monetary or political purpose which they try to satiate by holding the owners of the website to ransom. Case-1: In an incident reported in the USA, the owner of a hobby

website for children received an e-mail informing her that a group of hackers had gained control over her website. They demanded a ransom of 1 million dollars and she ignored as fake. Three days later that she came to know that the hackers had web jacked her website. Subsequently, they had altered a portion of the website which was entitled -How to have fun with goldfish. They had replaced the word –goldfish- with the word “piranhas” a tiny but extremely dangerous flesh-eating fish. Many children had visited the popular website and had believed the contents and tried to play with piranhas, and were very seriously injured.


Trapdoors Trapdoor is a programme by which the security

protocols are bypassed to directly enter into a specific portion of the programme through a short-cut.

Used during the time of testing the programme to reach to the specific portion quickly using short-cut. In case, if the trapdoor are not deleted before the launch of the program by oversight, the person who have this knowledge misuses it through authorized entry.


Super Zapping A logic through which an intruder is able to

penetrate into the system areas and can even change the programmes.

The intruder can create an extra-system administrator level password for himself without the knowledge of the actual system administrator.

Can introduce any crime related logic programmes like Trapdoor, Salami logic and Virus etc.


Logic bombs and time bombs This is a event related programme where an

virus is activated when an appointed time / even occurs.

It explodes and become active only when a particular event happens till then they lie dormant.

Ex: Chernobyl virus. ( a Microsoft Windows computer virus written by Chen Ing Hau of Taiwan)


Program and source code manipulation

Changing / altering the programme or source code of the system with the help of malware, spyware with an intent to gain access and misuse.

To render useless of the system for the user.


Electronic eavesdroppingEavesdropping is the act of secretly listening to

the private conversation of others without their consent and later misuses those information for some benefit.

Eavesdropping can also be done over telephone lines (wiretapping), email, instant messaging and other methods of communication considered private

VoIP communications software is also vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping by via malware infections such as Trojan.


Hacking, Phishing & Vishing Hacking is unauthorized access to computers

/ networks with an intent to gain access to the computer / network and misuse for monetary or other gains.

Oldest and most dangerous cybercrimes.

No geographical boundaries and great challenge to the criminal justice system


SteganographySteganography is the art and science of writing hidden

messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message, a form of security through obscurity.

Steganography includes the concealment of information within computer files. In digital steganography, electronic communications may include steganographic coding inside of a transport layer, such as a document file, image file, program or protocol. Media files are ideal for steganographic transmission because of their large size.

While cryptography protects the contents of a message, steganography can be said to protect both messages and communicating parties.


Cyber / Child PornographyCyber pornography covers pornographic websites,

pornographic magazines produced using computers and Internet (to download and transmit pornographic pictures, photos, writings etc).

Images of children performing a variety of sexual acts on internet.

Pornography per se is not illegal in many countries, child pornography is strictly illegal in most countries.

Millions of pornographic websites flourish today. Case: The CEO of online auction website bazee.com (a part of the ebay

group) was arrested by the Delhi police for violating India’s strict laws on cyber pornography. An engineering student was using the bazee website to sell a video depicting two school students having sexual intercourse. Bazee.com was held liable for distributing porn and hence the CEO was arrested.


Cyber Stalking Cyber stalking refers to the use of the Internet, e-

mail, or other electronic communications devices to harass or threatening individual / family repeatedly such as following, appearing at a person's home or business –place, making harassing phone calls, or vandalizing a person's property.

Case: A student of University of San Diego in USA terrorized five female students over the Internet for more than a year through hundreds of violent and threatening e-mails, sometimes receiving four or five messages a day. The student, who pleaded guilty, told the police that he had committed the crimes because he thought the women were laughing at him and causing others to ridicule him. In reality, the victims had never met him.


DoS and DDoSDenial of Service attacks (DOS attacks) involve flooding a

computer with more requests than it can handle. This causes the computer (e.g. a web server) to crash and results in authorized users being unable to access the service offered by the computer.

Another variation to a typical denial of service attack is known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack wherein the

perpetrators are many and are geographically widespread. A series of distributed denial of service attacks in February 2000

crippled many popular websites including yahoo.com, amazon.com and cnn.com

A series of more than 125 separate but coordinated denial of service attacks hit the cyber infrastructure of Estonia in early 2007. The attacks were apparently connected with protests against the Estonian government's decision to remove a Soviet-era war memorial from the capital city. It is suspected that the attacks were carried out by Russian hackers.


Email bombing Email bombing refers to sending a large

number of emails to the victim resulting in the victim’s email account (in case of an individual) or mail servers (in case of a company or an email service provider) crashing. Email bombing is a type of denial-of-service attack. Case: In one case, a foreigner who had been residing in Simla, India

for almost 30 years wanted to avail of a scheme introduced by the Simla Housing Board to buy land at lower rates. When he made an application it was rejected on the grounds that the scheme was available only for citizens of India. He decided to take his revenge. Consequently, he sent thousands of mails to the Simla Housing Board and repeatedly kept sending e-mails till their servers crashed.


Spoofing – email / IPA spoofed email is one that appears to

originate from one source but actually has been sent from another source e.g Pooja has an e-mail address [email protected]. Her

ex-boyfriend, sham spoofs her e-mail and sends obscene messages to all her acquaintances to damage her image.

Case: In an American case, a teenager made millions of dollars by spreading false information about certain companies whose shares he had short sold, by sending spoofed emails, purportedly from news agencies like Reuters, to share brokers and investors who were informed that the companies were doing very badly, thousands of investors lost a lot of money.


Email Frauds Most of these scam emails promise the receiver millions (or

sometimes billions) of dollars. Most commonly the email says that some rich African bureaucrat or businessman or politician has died and left behind a lot of money.

These scams mails are commonly referred to as Nigerian 419 scams. These scam emails are believed to originate from Nigeria and section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code relates to cheating (like the famous section 420 of the Indian Penal Code).

In 2007, Asian School of Cyber Laws conducted a 3 month intensive investigation of hundreds of scam emails. The results were very surprising to say the least. Less than 10% of these emails had actually originated from Nigeria! A majority of these emails (more than 60%) have originated from Israel, followed by the Netherlands, UK and other European countries.


Email FraudsAsking for bank details for deposit of money Lottery scams – stating Microsoft / Yahoo etc

Employee of the Euro LotteryBritish National Lottery

Promise to transfer property to people who pray (wealth and prayer) Case -1: In 2005, an Indian businessman received an email from the

Vice President of a major African bank offering him a lucrative contract in return for a kickback of Rs 1 million. The businessman had many telephonic conversations with the sender of the email. He also verified the email address of the Vice President from the website of the bank and subsequently transferred the money to the bank account mentioned in the email. It later turned out that the email was a spoofed one and was actually sent by an Indian based in Nigeria.

A new type of scam e-mail threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.


BotnetsA group of computers infected with malicious kind of

robot software, then the computer becomes a zombie or drone , unable to resist the command of the bot commander.

Bot is a programme that operates an automatic task on the internet and executes repeatedly the task during the operation.

The owner of the computer do not know that his computer is infected with robot software and remotely controlled by another person.


Card Skimming Illegal copying of information from the

magnetic trip of the credit card / debit card either to produce a fake card for misuse or steel the information to access your account.

More direct version of phishing.


3. On line scamsBanking online account scams Chain letter and pyramid scamsHealth and medical scamsIdentity theft scams Investment scamsJob/ employment scamsLottery / competition scamMoney transfer scamSmall business scams


Banking & online account fraudsPhishing

Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money.

Phoney Fraud Alerts: Scammers pretend to be from your bank or

financial institution and tell you that there is a problem with your account. They ask for your account details to protect your money, but then use these details to steal your money


Banking & online account frauds cont..,Credit Card Scams

There are many types of scams that aim to steal your credit card details, either by taking the card itself or by tricking you into giving them the card’s details.

Credit card FraudsSteeling the card details from the online

databases and fraudulently take away the money from the bank accounts.


Spam mails Most spam is commercial advertising, often for

dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services.

There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on Internet users. Cancellable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups.

Email spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses.


4. IPR CrimesCyber squatting

Patent and copyright infringements

Software piracy

Industrial piracy

Corporate piracyApril 7, 2023 Cyber crimes 62

Cyberquatting Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), is

registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.

The cyber squatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Some cybersquatters put up derogatory remarks about the person or company the domain is meant to represent in an effort to encourage the subject to buy the domain from them


Patent and copyright infringement

One producer copies material or process from another for profit.


Software piracy Duplicating the original software without

notifying to the other and sell it for profit by an individual.

It is illegal as it violates the copyright law.

It amounts to civil liability .


Industrial PiracyA group of individuals attempt duplication and

distribution of copyright software’s for larger profits.

It is on the increase as the cost of the duplicator machines fallen in the recent years.

It is illegal as it violates the copyright law and amounts to civil liability.

Industrial piracy are more in developing nations.


Corporate PiracyInstalling one copy of the software

application on a LAN server, hundreds of employees gain unlicensed access to the software.

It is a common phenomenon in most of the organization.

It is illegal as it violates the copyright law and amounts to civil liability.


Other Crimes Cyber defamation

Cyberventing

Cyber Terrorism


Cyber defamationAn act, deed, word, gesture etc. in the

cyberspace designed to harm a persons, institutions, organizations, country’s reputation on the internet or even off-line.

This type of violation is similar to cyberventing.


CyberventingSetting up a website to anonymously air

grouses in the cyberspace.

Indulged by former employees, ex-boy/girl friends, anti-government groups etc.


Cyber TerrorismUse of cyber tools to shut down critical

national infrastructure such as energy, communication, transportation in order to coerce governments into submission.

Internet bomb threats, internet harassment and tech driven crimes such as focused virus strikes are the next wave of crime that the world has to encounter in the coming days.


Physical crimes

• Computer Larceny

• Sabotage

• Theft of storage devices: CDs, Pen-drives, hard-

disks


Computer Larceny

Theft and burglary of computer systems / computer parts or components / computer peripherals


Computer sabotageUse of the internet to hinder the normal

functioning of a computer system through the introduction of worms, viruses or logic bombs.

Some times used to gain economic advantage over a competitor, promote illegal activities of terrorists, or to steel data or programmes for extortion purposes.


Crimes where computer is used

• Most of the crimes nowadays will fall under this classification – Computer is used as a device for information exchange in most of the serious and major crimes

• Murders and kidnaps with computer data• Data theft, Id theft, 419 Nigerian frauds• Password theft, Phishing based crimes• Crimes where mobile is used to communicate• Offences where other electronic gadgets used


Thank you


Cyber Crimes

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