How Was Cybercrime Handled in the Past?
Cybercrime is a crime that involves any computer or network. It is an umbrella term to describe many forms of illegal activity involving computers, phone systems, and networks. Every digital device connected to the internet is part of a vast worldwide ecosystem. These devices are susceptible to attack by cybercriminals who can make money from hacking into people's computers and phones without them knowing about it.
There are two ways that attackers carry out their crimes: either they hack into computer systems remotely or infect them with malicious software such as viruses and spying programs. Cybercriminals use social engineering techniques like phishing –a method tricks you into doing something on your computer, leaving you open to having your passwords stolen or other information taken from you.
Professor Jason Healey, a cyberwar expert at the Atlantic Council think tank says, "Everyone is connected today. Cybersecurity needs to be everyone's business". Malware can cause financial and reputational damage or disrupt critical infrastructures such as energy grids and railway networks. The malware attack on UK hospitals shows how quickly it can spread –it took just 15 minutes before doctors started noticing something was wrong.
Online crime has grown rapidly in recent years as technology has advanced, and more people are online than ever before — nearly 4 billion worldwide. Criminals have taken advantage of the anonymity offered by the internet and turned to online scams as a way of selling counterfeit goods or extorting money.
Cybercrime - In the past
In the past, cybercrime was handled with a reactive approach. The focus was on how to respond after an attack had already occurred. However, this is changing as we move into the future of cybersecurity, and it's time we take notice. A proactive approach to cyber security will be more effective than ever because organizations have finally been able to understand their risks and how they can proactively address them. Companies must be prepared for any threat that could come their way if they want to keep up with the latest trends in cyber security technology.
Cybercrimes can occur when someone illegally gains access to someone else's computer, phone, or other electronic devices without the owner's knowledge according to RemoteDBA.com.
What strategies were used to handle cybercrimes in the past?
In ancient times, it was extremely difficult to track perpetrators of cybercrimes. People could barely recognize what happened as a criminal act, so little effort was made, but even if attacks were caught, there wasn't much that could be done about it. Later on, punishments were given only if a victim recognized and reported who had hacked into their account or device. Those affected most likely did not see any repercussions since those responsible went unidentified and unreported after they completed their crimes due to lack of evidence left behind.
Obtaining prosecution of cybercriminals was almost impossible before the age of computers.
In the early 1990s, it became very easy to find loopholes in computer systems. The earliest known unauthorized access is believed to have occurred on 27th September 1940 by a 12-year old boy and a 15-year old girl who broke into teleprinter machines at Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio (Hafner & Markoff, 2005). In the 1960s through to 1980s, home computers were expensive and limited in their abilities and application. Simple games could be played online instead of going out to buy or rent them, so many people preferred this option because they didn't need as much money as regular arcade games did.
As programmers became more creative, they invented new software and devices with the intent of preventing someone from hacking into their system to access information in it. Examples include passwords, firewalls, anti-virus/malware software, etc. However, these were not effective because programmers could find ways around them and didn't have much motivation to make them stronger since no one was after them.
Some systems allowed people who created programs to 'credit' themselves for creating such programs by writing their name or username somewhere in the program so if someone hacked into it, they would know who did it. This led small groups of young people in remote areas to use this as a challenge: Can you hack into our stuff? If they succeeded, then they were able to take credit for it and brag about their accomplishments.
In 1988, a group of young programmers called L0pht informed the US Senate subcommittee on terrorism that they could disable federal emergency 911 systems by hacking into them (Hafner & Markoff, 2005). After this incident was made public, people realized the severity of such crimes and started paying more attention to security measures.
The first law passed in America against cybercrime was in 1986, which said: Whoever knowingly conceals, alters, destroys, covers up,mutilates, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record with the aim to impede or obstruct the investigation shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both (Library of Congress). This was the first time cybercrimes were mentioned in the law, and since then, cybercrime laws have become stricter.
IC3 has various resources available for use by law enforcement personnel, including training materials on various financial fraud topics. They also offer continuing education credits to law enforcement officers who attend IC3 training and educational programs or use these tools to help educate their local communities about internet safety issues.
Wrapping up
The FBI was not created until 1908. -In 1917, President Wilson signed into law a bill to create the first federal agency for battling crime on American soil: the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The United States Secret Service and the Bureau of Investigation were in charge of investigating cybercrime. This was when they began taking ownership over cybercriminal investigations as well.
In 1924, Congress passed legislation that gave them jurisdiction over all criminal offenses involving interstate or foreign commerce-effectively establishing them as an international police force. -The National Security Act established NSA in 1952 with three missions: Signals intelligence through eavesdropping, protecting U.S information systems from attack by maintaining security clearance standards, and producing signals intelligence research results quickly for the U.S. Intelligence Community.