Nowadays, computers and the internet are being used everywhere with the increasing convenience of technology.
Nowadays most of our work is done through the internet. These jobs may be of any government organization or private organization.
Money transactions are also done through the Internet, that is, almost all types of data exchange are done through the Internet in one way or another.
And in this day and age, user devices such as computers, laptops, and smartphones are connected to the Internet. As a result, crime has also started on the Internet.
Every day many people are stealing other people’s content. Someone is hacking someone else’s computer.
Someone is destroying the data of another computer through viruses. And this is how cyber crime is constantly increasing and so are cybercriminals.
Today my tune is about cyber criminals. Let’s learn it slowly.
A person’s data or information or institutional important information is accessed by hackers without permission using various electronic tools.
Then the information is stolen, destroyed, or simply known. Then ask for money from the user. These are cyber crimes.
Cybercriminals commit crimes in various ways. Today I will discuss some of the methods by which most cybercriminals commit crimes.
One thing we can see from the various types of cybercrime is that cybercriminals are looking for opportunities to build close relationships with networks.
They want to compromise the network. So, since we are all internet users, it could be me or you who is the next cybercrime victim.
That is why we have to take measures not to fall victim to them or to protect ourselves.
So, if we don’t know how they work or how they attack, how can we protect ourselves?
Cybercrime, cybercriminals, and cybercriminals‘ working methods must first be understood. Only then can you take steps against them or create a protective shield for yourself.
The more knowledge you gain about them, the stronger your protection will be. That is, we have to convert our knowledge into power.
Cyber security must take high steps to curb cybercrime.
Who are cybercriminals?
If a person commits a crime using the internet, then that crime is a cyber crime and the person who commits the crime is called a cyber-criminal.
Cybercriminals can be any person or any group of persons who use computers and the internet illegally i.e. use the cyber world to harm others or do harmful things.
Cybercrime is also primarily for financial gain. They steal, destroy, alter or infect others’ data for their benefit. They commit such crimes for self-development.
They know human behavior very well and also have computer skills.
And they know techniques like cross-site scripting (a type of attack that injects Java code into the victim’s web browser) that help them gain access to the victim’s computer network system.
Thus they enter the network system and attack.
Cybercriminals often work very slowly. That is, they don’t pick anyone as a victim out of the blue.
They don’t have any specific prey in this case. We often click on various unknown links, enter various unlicensed websites and sometimes download malware files from these sites.
As a result, our important sensitive information goes to cyber criminals. This is how gradually a lot of our information goes to them and we become their target or prey.
But this is not always the case. In some cases, any of us can be specific targets or victims of cyber criminals.
In this case, the attacker will only collect information about you and steal your information anyway. And the consequences of these attacks are very terrible.
They don’t just stop with money after these attacks.
Usually, such attacks are done for gratification or revenge or to leak your sensitive information on the web.
In the case of girls, releasing their pornographic images online is much like that. Leaving girls’ numbers on social media due to personal grudges is also a form of cybercrime.
For these crimes, laws have been made in the constitution of every country. These crimes can be punishable as punishment for the actual crime. For example, fine, jail, or even hanging.
6 Types of Cyber Criminals and How They Work
Cyber crimes are constantly taking place in the internet world. And different types of cybercriminals work differently.
There is also diversity in their work. Due to the diversity of their activities, cybercriminals can also be divided into several types.
And each of them has its unique working style. To protect ourselves from them i.e. cyber criminals, we must be able to identify their modus operandi.
Modus operandi is the practice or manner of work presented in a business or crime investigation.
There are 6 types of common cybercriminals that I will discuss today. For example-
- Hacktivists
- Script Kiddies
- State Actors
- Insider Threats
- Scammers
- Cybercrime Groups
The modus operandi of cybercriminals is unique. So we will know about cyber criminals one by one for protection. Let’s take a closer look at cybercriminals.
1. Hacktivists
Some cybercriminals form a group known as hacktivists.
They come together to attack network systems based on an ideology (an ideal opinion based on a few important opinions that are very close to the truth or opinions that are true) or ideology.
These opinions may be political, social, or religious. In some cases, it may be a personal opinion.
A combination of proactive attacks and hacking is what hacktivists do.
Generally, most hacktivists don’t like to reveal their group name i.e. they stay anonymous. They do not give the name of their group.
But some hacktivists do. They are infamous in the world. Among these notorious hacktivists are DkD[|, Cult of the Dead Cow, Syrian Electronic Army, Anonymous, WikiLeaks, LulzSec, etc.
Their cyber attacks are so terrible that you cannot even imagine.
They work in various government agencies. They also attack various multinational companies. They can even victimize influential people of the country.
In other words, they do not hesitate to do injustice to anyone.
Hacktivists use a variety of tools to leak, steal, or destroy an organization’s information.
They send their messages to the victim and attract the attention of the organization or organization thereby serving the interests they are attacking.
2. Script Kiddies
Another type of cyber cricybercriminalbercriminals is Script Kiddies. They are also sometimes called Skiddies and Skids.
Usually, people with less experience belong to their group. They use software and scripts to carry out cyber attacks.
A script is a list of active commands that can be used to easily manage a computer or network system.
Criminals in this group usually operate using useful software and programs developed by other skilled hackers. They do not know about developing or updating their software.
They don’t even know how to create or modify a program. So imagine how little experience these people have.
Script kiddies always find or love to find easy ways to hack any software, computer, or network system. Its complex does not like to find other ways or spend intellectual energy to find new ways.
It is relatively easy to take cyber security measures against them.
Such cyber criminals do not do these things for financial gain. They commit these crimes to have fun with their friends or to show their little hacking knowledge to their friends.
They are mainly juvenile cybercriminals. Their main targets are admins of insecure websites. In many cases, they attack school or gaming network systems.
Because there is a little hobby of gaming in teenagers. And some people hack the school network system to know the exam question.
3. State Actors
State actors are also a group of cybercriminals who are associated with the state or government. They work with the help or orders of the government.
Behind them are the orders of big leaders. Due to the force of the leaders, these criminals target other governments, individuals, or institutions.
Since they operate under government orders, they do not need to pay an apology to access any network system.
Because they are already authorized to enter the network system. That is, the license to illegally gain, create, steal or destroy any network system data is already taken.
A country is run by the government of that country. And for the security of the country, the most skilled military intelligence forces and hackers are appointed by the leaders of the state.
These military forces work according to the instructions of the government. That is, the government has a highly skilled military that can hack into any network system.
And many government leaders also commit crimes using these officials which remain invisible to us.
Since these criminals have government support, they have no fear of being arrested, so they roam the network system without fear.
Governments use illegal data held by State Actors. Because running a country requires many things. Be it legally or illegally, it is necessary.
These illegal data are needed to turn the country’s economy from unfavorable to favorable or to maintain a favorable economy.
State Actors Cybercriminals are needed for the country. Because the economy of the country should be kept favorable.
4. Insider Threats
Some cybercriminals threaten victims secretly. These groups of cybercriminals are called Insider Threats in English.
Attacking the security system of an organization and threatening the victim is such a crime.
These criminals are usually ex-employees of an organization. In the case of businessmen, this person may be a former business associate.
These are the people who have the necessary data to access the network system i.e. login. However, these crimes may not always be committed by ex-employees.
That is, in some cases the current employee may also misuse his login access.
These cyber-attacks are much more dangerous than in real life. Its damage can lead to a huge loss of money. Just as domestic enemies are more dangerous than external enemies, they are also more dangerous than external enemies.
Insider Threats are of 3 types:
- The malicious insider: These are the employees currently working in the company who attack voluntarily.
- The negligent insider: A negligent employee who is the victim of negligence and who inadvertently discloses sensitive information due to human error.
- Third-party or mole: This can be an ex-employee who can access the network system and cause harm to the organization.
5. Scammers
Scammers are also one of the cyber criminals among cyber criminals. Scammers are a bit more familiar to us than other cyber criminals.
They use a special type of fraudulent scheme, making it easy to get money or valuables from the victim.
They target less experienced people as their victims i.e. people who are not skilled in modern technology, especially computers.
Because they cannot recognize the real and fake schemes of the internet world. As a result, he stepped into the trap.
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All these cyber criminals scam through text messages, phone calls, and emails.
Many times they pretend to be representatives of big companies and make money by selling fake visas, fake lotteries, or anything else fake.
They don’t send the product most of the time and sometimes they send something in reverse.
Such cybercriminals go to dating apps and do scams there too. People who are looking for real romantic partners present themselves as romantic people and then cheat them and run away with the money.
So we must be careful of Scammers.
6. Cybercrime Groups
This group of criminals is also known as a hacker group. The members of this group are also not keen to mention their names i.e. they also prefer to remain anonymous.
They often work with hackers and develop the tools, software, access, information, and scripts required for hacking.
Many times they create tutorials for people who are interested in hacking and build a huge community with them.
Many of us develop a hobby of hacking and take advantage of this behavior.
If an organization wants to check the cyber security of their network system i.e. to find out which vulnerabilities a hacker wants to hack or how to hack, then they hire Cybercrime Groups.
These criminals are members of anonymous groups and are not present on the standard web.
They always use the dark web to operate their operations. One of the advantages of the dark web is that you can use the internet incognito.
And this method is called onion routing.
How to protect your network from cybercriminals
When we come to know about the horrors of cybercrime, we think that we have to quit using the internet to survive.
We think this may be the only way. But it shouldn’t. There are several ways to protect yourself from cyber-attacks.
That is, if you adopt some practical ways while using the web, you can keep yourself away from cyber attacks. I will briefly discuss these here today, inshallah.
1. Learn more about cyber security
To protect ourselves from cyber attacks, we need to know more about cyber security.
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. So to avoid cyber threats one must know about cyber security.
Besides this tune of mine, many other websites have written about cyber security. You can make yourself more aware by reading them.
Hopefully, you will be more aware by knowing properly about cyber security.
2. Children and adults should be educated
If you have acquired knowledge about cyber security, cyber crime, cyber criminal, etc, teach kids and adults too.
Because not only do you roam your network system but many times children or elderly people also use the internet.
Moreover, cybercriminals choose to target the elderly and children because they have less experience with them.
Of course, they should be warned to protect Social Security numbers, credit information, and other sensitive information.
If they face threats online, you have to stand by them and explain to them if you don’t understand something online. In the online world, the weaknesses of the elderly and children must be overcome.
3. Strong passwords must be used
To avoid getting hacked, always use strong and unique passwords. Different passwords should be used for different websites.
All websites share the same risk if they use the same password.
Strong passwords should be created by mixing different letters, numbers, and symbols. A combination of uppercase and lowercase letters makes passwords stronger.
4. Software must be updated
Network system vulnerabilities are removed by updating the software.
Since operating system vulnerabilities and software bugs are the main avenues for hackers to hack systems, software updates are essential.
Hackers are always looking for software vulnerabilities. And developers fix its vulnerabilities. After the fix, the software update file comes to our system.
It should be downloaded and installed immediately.
So, to ensure the security of your system, keep software updated and avoid downloading software from unknown websites.
5. Additional measures must be taken
You can never be completely safe on the Internet. Because cybercriminals are coming up with new techniques day by day through which you can easily become a victim.
So don’t pick up anonymous text messages, phone calls, and emails.
And always beware of them. Anyone can launch a cyber attack or make a cyber threat.
You can further secure your network roaming in the online world by using a trusted VPN. If you are using any public Wi-Fi then it is better to use VPN.
Click links carefully to protect yourself from phishing. No need to click unless it is very necessary.
Beware of cyber threats
You cannot even imagine how terrible cyber attacks are. It can bring a lot of sadness to your life. So you need to focus on cyber security.
How your cyber security measures are in place will determine how much damage you will suffer, or if you will suffer any damage at all.
How a cyber attack affects you will depend on your cyber security measures.
If you are proactive in cyber security and are proactive, you are less likely to be a victim of a cyber attack. Because your network system already has security measures installed.
But if you are careless about cyber security measures i.e. if you don’t have a security shield in place, you can be a victim of a cyber attack anytime.
So, instead of waiting for an attack, secure your network system quickly.
So friends this was today’s tune. If you like, encourage me with joss. If you have any comments, please let me know. See you in the next tune.
Until then stay well, stay healthy. Allah is Hafez.