Cybercrime and countermeasures

Cyber crime, or computer crime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers, more precisely, to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Issues surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, identity theft, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.

On the global level, both governments and non-state actors continue to grow in importance, with the ability to engage in such activities as espionage, and other cross-border attacks sometimes referred to as cyber warfare. The international legal system is attempting to hold actors accountable for their actions, with the International Criminal Court among the few addressing this threat.

A cyber countermeasure is defined as an action, process, technology, device, or system that serves to prevent or mitigate the effects of a cyber attack against a victim, computer, server, network or associated device. Recently there has been an increase in the number of international cyber attacks. In 2013 there was a 91% increase in targeted attack campaigns and a 62% increase in security breaches.

A number of countermeasures exist that can be effectively implemented in order to combat cyber-crime and increase security.

Malicious code is a broad category that encompasses a number of threats to cyber-security. In essence it is any “hardware, software, or firmware that is intentionally included or inserted in a system for a harmful purpose.” Commonly referred to as malware it includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, keyloggers, BOTs, Rootkits, and any software security exploits.

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Wikipedia