WHAT IS CYBERCRIME?

     Cybercrime is simply defined as crimes that are directly related to computers and internet networks. Computers, codes and software are weapons of the cybercriminals. Cybercriminals often commit crimes by targetting networks or devices. You might wonder  why computers are used for cybercrime. If criminals are capable of writing codes, they can readily access your identity data. So, why do people commit cybercrime? There are three reasons which are linked to attackers.

          The first group commits cybercrimes to make money in illegal ways. They access people’s bank accounts or credit card information. Then, they steal their money without touching it. So these criminals are motivated by money. The second group is motivated by protest, opinion and laws. This group includes hactivists. Their purpose is basically making a protest. The third group might surprise you because you might have trusted your government but governments commit cybercrime against their own citizens. For instance, when the Arap spring occured in April 2011,the government of Egyp spied on their own citizens. The government of Egyp secretly took all of the communication of citizens.

          On the other hand, why can't we realize cybercrimes? Cybercrimes are committed at most in a few seconds in the background of your computer. You can't notice it/ what is going on. The cybercriminals are very professional and organized and it isn't difficult for them to access your identity data. You might think about how they can do it easily. For example, if you went to a porn site, you were probably hacked. To put it simply, you can get infected this way. Cybercriminals design trojans for accessing and stealing your data. They distribute these malicious codes. These malicious codes can be in a photo which looks innocent. Therefore, you can't realize them. There are many ways to hack people. Also, cybercriminals might send a fake virus. After that, they say “let me scan your computer and clean these viruses”. If you except it, they send real viruses with your permission. Furthermore, cybercriminals are fed by dating sites because they can access your identity data from there. They can access your location because the photos contain GPS coordinates where the photos are taken.

          To sum up, security breaches, identity theft, bullying and phishing scams are types of cybercrime. We have to protect against  them. We must use a full-service internet security suite and strong passwords. You mustn't use the same password everywhere. You must change it regularly. Also, you must manage your social media settings. You must keep your personal and private information locked down. You can be protected in these ways.

Gökhan DEMİRÇİN