The Internet and Cybercrime

1789 Words4 Pages

The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
For years, cyber criminals have been using bank statements, discarded credit cards, tax invoices and other bills (normally found in trash) to gain access to personal information and assume false iden...

... middle of paper ...

...the Internet benefits everyone as a whole, there are some unscrupulous individuals who will always seek means of making money through illicit activities, and these are hackers. Hacking has affected every sector of the Internet, and also contributed to offline crimes.

References
Carr, N. (2010). The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember .
Interpol. (2013). The Changing Nature of Cyber Crime . Washington .
Kelly, H. (2012). Police Embrace Social Media as a Fighting Tool.
Lexis, N. (2011). Cyber Crime Among Us . II, 12-15.
Wee, H. (2014). How The Threat of Cyber Crime is Heightened for Mainstreet . CNBC .
Rowland, M. (2012). The Changed Face of Crime .
Kelly, H. (n.d.). Police Embrace Social Media as a Fighting Tool. Retrieved April 2014, from CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/30/tech/social-media/fighting-crime-social-media/

Open Document