The term “cybercrime” firstly emerged in the American literature in the early 60s of the previous century. This kind of crime is a violation of someone’s rights and interests. Cybercrime is a crime where a computer is a tool or method of crime against a person, tangible property, intellectual property, public safety, or morality. According to UN statements, the negative profit of cybercrime can be compared with the money received from the illegal drug or weapon trade. Unlike traditional forms of crime, cybercrime is a relatively new phenomenon that emerged with the advent of the Internet. The nature of the World Wide Web is a quite favorable environment for crime commitment. Firstly, the Internet helps criminals to commit crimes on a global scale. Secondly, law enforcement officers often cannot identify those responsible for cybercrime due to anonymity.
Cybercrime is an illegal computer-mediated activity which can be conducted through the World Wide Web. The Internet makes it much easier for criminals to conduct their affairs across the globe. With time cyber-attacks become more regular, complex and sophisticated. In most cases, they are detected only after the commission. Cybercriminals attack both organizations and individuals by means of computer contaminant. The current monitoring systems and anti-virus programs do not provide the required level of protection since they quickly become obsolete.
Nowadays, the infrastructure of every country is closely related to modern computer technology. The Internet contains a number of hazards, such as the invasion of privacy, fraud, viral shedding, password hacking, credit card theft and illegal distribution of the information. A long list of e-crimes speaks for the urgent need for cybercrime investigation and presenting the measures of combating the virtual form of crime.
Cybercrime manifests itself in two forms: cyber theft and cybervandalism. Cyber theft is a crime committed in virtual reality. Persons who commit cyber crimes are called hackers. They often break into someone’s computers without authorization. Cyber thieves can steal data stored on the computer from anywhere on the globe. Only computer equipment and the speed of the Internet limit the quantity of private information that can be stolen. Credit card fraud is a vivid example of cyber theft. Hackers use sophisticated software to collect credit card number, username, password and other financial identification people provide when shopping online. The obtained information is used by cyber thieves to purchase goods and services or it is sold to other cybercriminals. Furthermore, the computer network also creates opportunities for employees to commit cyber theft. For instance, employees of an accounting department can transfer money among accounts with less risk than in transactions evidenced by paperwork.
Cybervandalism is the malicious cyber-attacks, aimed at destroying and disrupting computer technology. Some hackers are motivated not only by profit but also by malice. These cyber criminals cause destructions in order to achieve a malicious intent. Others, desire to demonstrate their technical superiority and forcefulness. In addition, there also those who are only interested in spying on other people’s private life. Viruses, Trojan horses and web defacement are the most prominent examples of cyber vandalism. A computer virus destroys programs and makes them perform the task for which it was devised. The virus is spread through emails, a network, or a disk from one computer to another. The Trojan horse resembles a benign application. However, it contains the illicit codes that damage systems operations. For the purpose of irony, some hackers pass off Trojan horse as an antivirus program. Web defacement is currently a widespread form of cyber vandalism. Cyber-criminals can alter Web page by inserting codes that expose visitors to provocative or misleading information.