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Cybercrime is a term for any type of criminal activity committed using a computer. It can range from the relatively mundane (such as identity theft and hacking) to the more complex – such as computer intrusions to disrupt business operations or cause physical harm. It can even extend to cyberterrorism, which involves the use of the Internet for political or military purposes.

The Internet’s speed, convenience and anonymity make many of these crimes easier to commit. In addition, the lack of a physical presence eliminates some barriers to prosecution. These factors have made cybercrime more prevalent and more profitable than traditional crime.

Data breaches are a common form of cybercrime, and can lead to financial fraud. For example, criminals can collect personal information from multiple data breaches and combine them to commit identity theft. Similarly, they can take credit card details from one breach and purchase histories from another to create a full picture of your finances. Criminals can also stockpile this personal data over time, increasing their ability to steal from you.

Other types of cybercrime include extortion, phishing and distributed denial of service attacks. Criminals who launch a DDoS attack send overwhelming amounts of traffic to a system, which causes it to crash. These attacks can have a significant impact, especially if they target a critical service like a bank or a healthcare website.

In order to combat the growing threat of Cybercrime, businesses must invest in cybersecurity protections and regularly review their policies and practices to ensure that they are up to date. They must also prepare for the possibility of a costly data breach that could damage investor perception and limit their future potential to raise capital.