BotNet News

Cyber crime occurs when criminals use computers and the Internet to commit illegal activities such as stealing data, trafficking child pornography and intellectual property, and violating privacy. Cyber crime can result in financial losses for individuals and companies, reputational damage, operational disruptions and more.

Cyber criminals are increasingly agile and organized, treating cyber crime like a business, and forming global criminal communities. They are also finding new ways to break the law – such as hacking into computers to steal identities or using malware to infect devices. This dynamic nature of technology and new types of cyberthreats creates a growing threat for all of us, including government agencies, businesses, and the private citizen.

The most common cyberthreats are phishing, ransomware and data breaches. But they are only the tip of the iceberg.

Because of the nonlocal character of the cyberspace, crimes committed in one jurisdiction can often be traced to another. This is a major challenge for law enforcement, since it makes the prosecution of cybercriminals much more difficult. For instance, when a criminal in one country accesses child pornography in another nation that does not ban it, are they really committing a crime in that other country?

The best way to protect yourself and your organization from cyber threats is to take preventive measures, such as only visiting trusted websites, never downloading or opening attachments from suspicious emails and always using strong authentication methods and passwords. Small business owners should consider training and cybercrime insurance coverage as a part of their overall business security strategy.