5 TOP CYBER CRIMES
1.Phishing Scams
2.Website Spoofing
3.Ransomware
4.Malware
5.IOT Hacking
INTRODUCTION
As per data published by NCRB, 21796, 27248, and 44546 cybercrime cases have been registered during the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively. CyberCrime refers to a mechanism in which the computer is the body used to commit offenses (phishing, scamming, hacking) or it is used as a device to commit an offence pertaining to (women and children).
With the advances in information technology, criminals are using cyberspace to commit countless Cyber Crimes.
Cyber Infrastructure is highly vulnerable to encroachment and other risks.
PHISHING SCAMS
Phishing is a form of illusion in which an attacker attempts to fraudulently obtain sensitive information from a victim by portraying an honest institution. These Cyber-Crimes generally happen using spoofed email messages. These Phishing cyber-crimes add more than 91% of cyber-attacks and have shifted to the most used technique. It has been used to steal confidential information from users and organizations via email for instance they will ask about your phone numbers, credit card details, address, etc.
RANSOMWARE
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that affects a computer and restrain the user’s entry to it until a ransom is paid to unlock it. These cyber-attacks have serious financial consequences. According to a global survey by Cybersecurity from Sophos called “The state of Ransomware 2021, India is one of the top 30 most affected countries in terms of ransomware attacks. For instance, WannaCry marks computers that are moving old-fashioned versions of Microsoft windows.
WEBSITE SPOOFING
It involves the creation of a hoax website that looks identical to the original website. Website Spoofing cyber-crimes have been around since the rise of Internet search engines.
Researchers from US-based cybersecurity company Fire Eye have identified a new domain (csecurepay) on October 23, 2020, appears to be an online payment gateway but it was a phishing website that asked details from customers of 26 banks to enter their account number, mobile number along with One-time password, etc.
MALWARE
Malware is software deliberately designed to cause sizeable damage to a whole network of computers or servers. Example Trojan Viruses dupe users of its true targets.
IOT HACKING
IoT stands for The Internet of Things used to describe devices connected to the internet. Hackers have focused on the devices connected to IoT networks that are very easy to hack due to poor security practices. Examples Smart speakers Amazon Alexa or Apple Smartwatches.
MEASURES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO MITIGATE CYBERCRIME INCIDENTS
The Cyber crimes efforts by the hackers were successfully neutralized by the Government of India.
1.The Ministry of Home Affairs has operationalized the National Helpline (155260) reporting platform to report Financial Frauds on April 1, 2021, currently operational in 7 states and Union territories (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh).
2. Complainants can also reach out to the National Cyber Crime reporting portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to report complaints of all types of cybercrimes with the main focus on Child Pornography, Child Sexual Abuse Material, Rape/Gang Rape, or Sexually explicit content against women and children.
3. (NCIIPC) National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre was established to facilitate the protection of critical information infrastructure.
4.All organizations providing digital services have been directed to report cybersecurity incidents to CERT-In (India’s Computer Emergency Response Team) quickly. It’s everyone’s duty to create awareness against cyber crimes.
5.In 2015, the office of The National Cyber Security Coordinator was established to advise the Prime Minister on strategic Cybersecurity issues.
6.The Government of India has also launched M- Kavach the App which addresses the threats related to mobile phones from Malware attacks restricting entry to features like Mobile Data, Wi-Fi, etc. We need to guide others also to follow the guidelines given by Government to protect ourselves from cyber crimes.
CONCLUSION: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CYBER CRIMES
1.To combat the increased Cyber-Attacks these days, the users must be aware of this kind of attack. Awareness drives through social media, digital media, OTT platforms, print media can be a turning point.
2.Education can play a crucial role, by inserting lessons related to cyber-crimes in the curriculum of children, we can prevent them from spreading to a great extent.
3.Financial Fraud is also done by attackers via link. See below to understand this better and to protect yourself from these Financial Cyber-Attacks.
Attackers will share not only these types of links but also other links for instance (http://www.lottovips.in/#/register?regcode=77202) and (https://dd.pgdown158.com/topcheattto/)
with you to open and download the apps like TOP-CHEAT and LOTTO and these people will ask you to recharge constantly and in the end, you will lose everything. You are the only one who cannot protect yourself but everyone from these Financial Cyber-Frauds (Cyber crimes) .
