Cybercrime and Digital Forensics Surveillance †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Cybercrime and Digital Forensics Surveillance. Answer: Introduction: After reviewing the Symantec Cybercrime Report, I was shocked to find out that Australia is present in the list of top ten countries that are severely affected by cyber-attacks. After researching a bit further, I realized that the number of cyber-attacks in Australia has doubled since last year. In 2016, more than 60% of the businesses in Australia has faced a cyber-vulnerability on a monthly basis (Holt, Bossler Seigfried-Spellar, 2015). I already had a vague idea about cybercrime that it was usually conducted through computers for illicit purposes such as child pornography, trafficking, stealing of intellectual property and banking fraud. To understand about the cybercrimes, I had to understand why the attacks were so prevalent nowadays. The first reason I found out was that the increasing complexity of the computer systems was the main reason for the increasing vulnerability. Recently, researchers found a vulnerability which utilized a complex system of processors named speculative execution to extract user data. The second reason was related to higher consumer expectations. Next, I studied some research articles to understand the types of exploits. A code which is programmable and forces a computer to behave in an unexpected way is known as Virus. A Worm is a malicious program that attaches itself in a computers memory to duplicate itself. A Trojan horse is a hidden malicious code inside a harmless program that activates itself during a specific event. DDoS attacks causes a computer or a server to flood the targeted system with continuous requests for data and tasks (Yar, 2013). Other lesser known cyber threats are spams, rootkits and phishing. One particular threat called botnets caught my attention. Botnets are used to control a number of computers by the attacker from a remote location without the knowledge of the user. The affected computers are used to distribute malicious codes. Due to these wide number of threats, the Spam Act was passed by the ACMA or Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2003 which prevented users from sending unauthorized electronic messages (Loader Thomas, 2013). Mobile text messages, instant messaging as well as emails were included in the Act and those who went against the Act were penalized heavily. The classification of perpetrators and their motives also interested me. I was only aware of hackers and cyber terrorists but the other classifications such as crackers, malicious insiders, industrial spies and hacktivists forced me to understand the motive behind their attacks in details (Kirwan Power, 2013). Next, I studied some real life cybercrime attacks and assessed their mitigation strategies. Establishing a security policy is mandatory for every organization. According to me, the main areas of concern should be email attachment and wireless devices I found out that a basic corporate firewall will definitely limit network access in an organization preventing users from downloading an exploit accidentally (Yar, 2013). Intrusion detection system or IDS will help the administrator to monitor the system activities and notify him or her when a network traffic attempts to get around the security measures. For a normal citizen like me, a basic antivirus or basic safeguard (like deleting login passwords after the work is done) can prevent these cyber threats from implementing malicious codes in the system. The AFP (Australian Federal Police) should check whether these policies and strategies are followed by every organization in the state. Computer forensics need to be properly developed so that perpetrators can be punished in the court of law. References Holt, T. J., Bossler, A. M., Seigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2015).Cybercrime and digital forensics: An introduction. Routledge. Kirwan, G., Power, A. (2013).Cybercrime: The psychology of online offenders. Cambridge University Press. Loader, B. D., Thomas, D. (Eds.). (2013).Cybercrime: Security and surveillance in the information age. Routledge. Yar, M. (2013).Cybercrime and society. Sage.