CC Intro

Introduction

The rapid growth of the Internet, not just in terms of users, but also in terms of functionality has allowed entire industries to move their operations, and importantly their money, onto the Internet. This has lead naturally towards a prolific growth in criminal activity conducting solely through virtual means. Although cybercrime is not a new phenomenon, computers have always proved to be valuable targets, the essentialness of the Internet has necessitated a change in our understanding of security, risks and threats.

Cybercrime started as an insider job, grew into a threat that came from a determined outsider and has morphed again into an autonomous attack platform aimed at compromising any machine in order to leverage the might of the masses. The story of how targets, defenders, attackers, threats and vulnerabilities have changed is illustrative of the current state of cybercrime.

The present-day climate is a multi-faceted window into nefarious activities that scale from small-time pranksters to nationally funded spies, each with their own goals and targets. The entry of organized crime into the arena has raised concern amongst many, along with the exponential growth of botnets that have the power to inflict great damage against potential victims. Understanding and analyzing these various aspects will allow a better grasp at prevention and protection.

One area that many have proposed may be able to stem the tide of criminal activity are legal measures that can effectively deal with many of the situations that are novel and exist outside current legal definitions. But the threat of punishment is useless without the ability to capture and prosecute such criminals. Currently, it is difficult, if not impossible to track those who perpetrate crimes. Cyberforensics is a developing field which aims to solve these inherent flaws in the Internet and allow cybercriminals to face the same risk model that real-world criminals must contend with.

Work in cybersecurity is beginning to take off as more researchers and professionals realize the dire need for more effective systems. What direction will cybercrime turn to as the next generation of security measures are implemented and deployed? In turn, how will the good guys respond to novel threats? These are valid questions that need to be asked in order to plan for future growth and mitigate the potential for massive crises.