COMPUTER CRIME AND ITS IMPACT ON SECURITY (Essay Sample)

Assignment Title: COMPUTER CRIME AND ITS IMPACT ON SECURITY Student’s Name Course Title Instructor’s Name Date Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc473135776 \h 2Computer crime and its impact on security PAGEREF _Toc473135777 \h 2References PAGEREF _Toc473135778 \h 6 Introduction With the invention of the computer, all of us thought that our problems in life were slowly coming to an end, didn’t we? Apparently, a computer remains a crucial tool to help us perform complex calculations, make work easier and avoid doing a task for an extended period. Take an example of the application of computers in the banking sectors. Without the utilization of computers, performing transactions could take a couple of days, delaying the provision of services. However, are our problems over yet? Not yet. The rise of computers has brought huge ethical issues, which have in turn led to more problems than previously thought. Computer crime and its impact on security One of the ethical issues is the cybercrime. Cyber-crime commonly termed as Cybercrime is a term used to depict a crime involving a computer which has a connection to other devices through the Internet. Since this device has a direct connection to their devices within the network, perpetrators use this link to perform a crime, usually aimed at a particular target (Jewkes, 2013). Despite the fact that the goal of most attackers remains unclear, experts argue that such actions get committed by an individual to harm the well-being of their victims. Such damage may include physical injury, psychological torture, emotional harm or simply to ruin the reputation of the target group. In the last two decades, most of the computer crimes constituted actions that threaten the wellbeing of the people. However, these crimes have evolved and constituted one of the greatest risks to national and international security. Activities under this classification include child pornography, copyright infringement, Cyberbullying, and hacking. Hacking is a matter of particular concern and remains an issue which security experts are yet to address adequately. Hacking occurs when an individual utilizes weaknesses in a system to gain access to it without the permission to do so. This act can compromise the security of any institution ranging from the hospital, schools, business and the safety of a country. This term can easily relate to cyber espionage which takes advantage of the unsecured network to spy on their victims hence ends up compromising the safety of the victims (Galicki, et al, 2014). Cyber espionage and hacking, if targeted towards a critical department of the government can result in the massive security threat to a country. Of late, there has been an increase in the number of state-sponsored espionage. Is there any reason why this trend should worry us? Yes, there is. State-sponsored espionage is the most complicated form of surveillance to eliminate. Evidently, nations invest a lot of money to sponsor such spying practices for economic and political reasons. For this reason, this form of intrusion has a substantial financial support as well as diplomatic protection. A principal aim of this espionage could include to get a competitive edge in manufacturing, to know the latest military technology utilized by a rival country or just for political reasons. These form of espionage are not the only worry we should worry. There are individual hackers whose principal aim is to exploit weaknesses in institutions such as financial institutions for personal benefits. Effects of different forms of hacking have been felt worldwide ranging to the attack on the Swift platform through the flaws in the security system of the central bank of Bangladesh. This attack enables the hackers to compromise the entire system and escape with $81 million. Other forms of attacks include one involving the department of homeland security and other companies such as Microsoft. Does all the attacker have an economic motive when launching these attacks? No really. Cyberbullying and theft of confidential information are other motives that compel individual to launch espionage attacks. Most of the cyber bullying perpetrators target women with the aim of harming them psychologically or emotionally. Under this attack, a person might expose private information about an individual to harm them or ruin their reputation. Experts have warned that this behavior is severe in the USA and other western countries and may rise if not controlled quickly. Breach of confidentiality and privacy constitute a grave crime in most countries throughout the world, but the mechanism to get the perpetrators are yet to get implemented well. The rise in the number of malicious software such as worms and Trojan horses have made it easier for attackers to gain access to a network with minimal efforts. While we may blame outside attacks for most of the attacks taking place in different companies or agencies, some...