The internet has evolved into a platform where users connect, and businesses run to create value added services that aim at meeting customer needs. Valuable information and data are exchanged, processed or stored every single second on our networks and devices. There is a threat to the security and privacy of the volumes of important data out there. Measures have to be taken to ensure that this information does not end up in wrong hands through unauthorized access and breaching of privacy protocol. That is cybercrime. It describes unlawful access to information without the legal consent of the owner with a motive of committing fraud and malicious activities using the data and information obtained.
Countering cybercrime has been a growing need in the world of increasing internet speeds and usage over the last few months. The security of information systems is based on Information Assurance model that focusses on Availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and non-repudiation. Governments have undertaken the initiatives to pass cybercrimes legislations to ensure that the people found guilty of it can be prosecuted and convicted within the jurisdiction of the law. This is a very important move because previously laws were not there to convict those caught in the crimes, and so it has been a challenging job for law enforcers to charge those found guilty of such malpractices.
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The private sector has also invested into information security solutions. Companies are spending money on creating Information Technology policies that uphold the integrity and security of systems by adopting firewalls and authentication of users in their networks. Network device manufacturers are also integrating IT security solutions in the design and manufacture of their devices so that they can accommodate the security levels and data integrity policies enforced by client users. The use of SSL certificates in making financial transactions remains an important factor in ensuring that the information being passed is encrypted and secure from hackers.
In the past, businesses in the private sector have been allocating a lot of resources on prevention, detection and response in decreasing order of share. Trends have changed, and it is about time people and businesses put in the right amount of funds into equally supporting the three facets of countering cybercrime. Business intelligence and analytics solutions can be used to detect, and predict the likelihood of cybercrimes happening within a system. The information derived and deduced from the analytics engine is then utilized to secure the weak points and improving the robustness of the systems to withstand security attacks.
Training sessions on the importance of having strong, secure passwords that change and expire after a given period, has been adopted by companies to reduce chances of being hacked and cybercrimes. Using genuine software and visiting safe websites is one of the ways that users can prevent themselves from falling prey to cyber criminals who scavenge for potential victims online. Spam emails are also a source of malicious Trojans and false schemes aimed at defrauding victims through fake promotions and links that redirect to funny sites with bad and harmful content. It is important for network policies to prohibit new and unauthorized devices on the networks without early notification from the parties concerned.
New policies are coming up in the future, and it is important that firms and organizations align themselves to secure their networks and data by adopting technologies that secure their networks. The Bring Your Own Device policy is slowly coming to play in the current office scenarios. Network appliances and access points are now able to identify foreign devices in the network. With proper authentication of the devices by the users, the devices can be configured according to the user’s allocated rights regarding the information that can be accessed. The same applies to new users who are only allowed to use the internet only when visiting company premises. All these initiatives are taken to protect the security and integrity of data so that cybercrimes are minimized and avoided where necessary.
Finally, the ICT regulators and telecommunication infrastructure owners are responsible for some of the incidences that occur with fraud and hacking of computer systems being the main problem. ICT departments in government have set up Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRT) to counter, detect and respond to breaches and incidences involving a cybercrime. Creating awareness of users and the general public has also worked to reduce the level of cybercrimes in the recent past. This is a fight that can solely be won through the collaborative effort of the government, the private sector and important stakeholders in the call for a secure and safe use of transactions over communication networks.
- Krausz, M., & Walker, J. (2013). The true cost of information security breaches and cyber crime. Ely, Cambridgeshire, U.K: IT Governance Pub.
- Nemati, H. R. (2008). Information security and ethics : concepts, methodologies, tools and applications. Hershey PA: Information Science Reference.
- Santanam, R., Sethumadhavan, M., & Virendra, M. (2011). Cyber security, cyber crime and cyber forensics : applications and perspectives. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
- Wall, D. (2007). Cybercrime : the transformation of crime in the information age. Cambridge ; Malden, MA: Polity.
