Internet and liIe are two things that cannot be separated in the world oI science and

technology nowadays. Without the internet in our lives, a time seems to stop. Moreover, the
Internet is very important and used in a variety oI everyday business world is currently
moving towards a borderless communications. Man does not have to move here and there to
deal with each other. They only need a computer and telephone line to communicate and
deal. With one click a person in Malaysia can deal with another person who is in the USA Ior
example in less than 5 minutes. Saving time and costs so much has been practiced with the
Internet at present. However, in the technology, there are also disadvantages. II the real liIe
situation, we shadowed and haunted by criminals and bandits in the outside world, but in
cyberspace, crime is much better and advanced as the technology used. ThereIore, users oI
the Internet and these technologies should be more careIul in carrying out their daily business
so as not to be deceived by this trickery cybercriminals.
What is crime? Crime is a social economic phenomenon and is as old as the human
society. Crime is a legal concept and has the sanction oI the law. Crime or an oIIence is a
legal wrong that can be Iollowed by criminal proceedings which may result into punishment.
While, cybercrime is reIer to the latest and perhaps the most complicated problem in the
cyber world. Cybercrime may be said to be those species oI which genus is the conventional
crime and where either the computer is an object or subject oI the conduct constituting crime.
Any criminal activity that uses a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means Ior
perpetuating Iurther crimes comes within the ambit oI cybercrime. In this topic, we are going
to talk about how serious is cybercrime in our liIe. All the hackers out there always try to
hack us through 3 ways. They are against individuals, against organizations and against
society at large.
The Iirst way that I choose is against individuals. Based on my reading, in the spring
oI 2000, the attention oI the media, the government and the public was captured by reports
that DoubleClick, an online advertising Iirm, was engaged in an eIIort to collect and compile
large amounts oI personal consumer inIormation. DoubleClick has achieve success by
establishing a system oI over 11,000 websites that carry advertising that, when clicked,
enable users to visit product sites. The system also records the responses, known as
clickstream, within its own databases. Clickstream inIormation is then available to Iorm a
user proIiles, allowing the transmission oI individually targeted advertising. Users are not
required to give their active consent to this collection. At that time, DoubleClick had
reportedly accumulated 100 000 online proIiles. That is to say here is not the problem the
company, but the crime problem will arise when data and inIormation accessible to people so
easily Iooled by the tactics just because oI the company. That's what cybercrime. The secret
behind the secret. Thus, to the consumers out there, do not be Iooled by the sale oI on-line to
ask us to sign up to see their sales oI goods, as not all the companies registered and honest
with their customers.
Another example are interruption oI e-mail and SMS received again and again stated
that we are the winner oI a lots oI money because the people are lucky or winning the lottery
prize is sometimes heard that the sum rate too much. Posted events happen to myselI, which
was many times I receive e-mail stating that I am a Lottery winner, sometimes the amount oI
money oIIered too many and in U.S. Dollar denominated. Not only that, but SMS is also
oIten received also told the same thing. But I think twice to accept all the messages. At last I
just ignored all the messages because when it`s all too oIten I received those messages and
SMS, there must be something wrong somewhere. But, iI the receiver is too greedy about
money, maybe something bad will happened. This is because, all the messages just want us to
give the details about our account number.When we just simply give our account number Ior
the details, it will be easier Ior the criminals invading our bank account and stole all the
money without Ieeling guilty. ThereIore, we should be more careIul so that is no regret in the
Iuture.
The other example Ior against individuals is cyber stalking. ReIer to oxIord
dictionary, they deIine stalking as pursuing stealthily. Cyber stalking involves Iollowing a
person's movement across the internet by posting messages (sometimes threatening) on the
bulletin boards Irequented by the victim, entering the chat-rooms Irequented victim,
constantly bombarding the victim with e-mail and so on.
The next ways oI cybercrimes is against the organization. This is usually done by a
clever hacker who was trying to enter the website oI the organization and change any
important data or not with the intention to damage the image oI the organization. For
example, new-brew, the FAM website has been violated and there has been little change in
the data, however, it can be done on the expertise we have.

In addition, network sabotage can also be deIined in cybercrimes against the
organization. In a group oI inIormation or data oI an organization, there may be interested to
IalsiIy data oI a person. For example, IalsiIication oI identity cards, credit cards and money.
All this can be done with the assistance Irom the systems used in computers.

The last ways oI cybercrimes is against society at large. For example is deIamation. It
is an act oI imputing any person with intent to lower the person in the estimation oI the right
thinking members oI society generally or to cause him to be shunned or avoided or to expose
him to hatred, contempt ridicule. Cyber deIamation is not diIIerent Irom conventional
deIamation except the involvement oI a virtual medium. For example the e-mail account oI
Salina was hacked and some mails were sent Irom her account to some oI her batch mates
regarding her aIIairs with a boy with intent to deIame her.
In addition, the distribution oI pirated soItware is also one type oI cybercrimes against
society at large. Sales oI pirated soItware are rampant and openly in our country wide open.
Buy and sell is proIitable but is not aware they have contributed to the rate percent oI
cybercrime in Malaysia.
One more is on-line marketing. Based on my reading, in the spring oI 2000, the
attention oI the media, the government and the public was captured by reports that
DoubleClick, an online advertising Iirm, was engaged in an eIIort to collect and compile
large amounts oI personal consumer inIormation. DoubleClick has achieve success by
establishing a system oI over 11,000 websites that carry advertising that, when clicked,
enable users to visit product sites. The system also records the responses, known as
clickstream, within its own databases. Clickstream inIormation is then available to Iorm a
user proIiles, allowing the transmission oI individually targeted advertising. Users are not
required to give their active consent to this collection. At that time, DoubleClick had
reportedly accumulated 100 000 online proIiles. That is to say here is not the problem the
company, but the crime problem will arise when data and inIormation accessible to people so
easily Iooled by the tactics just because oI the company. That's what cybercrime. The secret
behind the secret. Thus, to the consumers out there, do not be Iooled by the sale oI on-line to
ask us to sign up to see their sales oI goods, as not all the companies registered and honest
with their customers.
. There are too many reasons why it's happened, but I just picked out only the most
one. In my opinion, cybercrime happened because oI the weaknesses oI security oI system
data. When a person enters into a security system to access any website Ior a variety oI
business, he must ensure that the selected security Iorce that cannot be guessed by someone
who is bad intentions against us. Sometimes we take things Ior granted preoccupied with
matters relating to the password. LiIe in cyberspace is now need oI username and password.
II these two things we have Iorgotten and sometimes arbitrarily up to the person we know it
or not, then our lives would be calamity. When a person is not responsible discover our
password, they can easily do as what they want whether they Iound the password is your
bank account or e-mail account. People in this age there are various types and rarely trusted.
Furthermore, loss oI evidence is a very common and obvious problem as all the data
are routinely destroyed. Further collection oI data outside the territorial extent also paralyses
this system oI crime investigation. Capacity to store data in comparatively small space also
one oI the problem why cybercrime happened. The computer has unique characteristic oI
storing data in a very small space. These eIIorts to remove or derive inIormation either
through physical or virtual medium makes it much easier.
Now let us look at the comparison oI crime in Malaysia and the USA too. Based on
my search on the internet, I Iound an article that can be used as a reIerence Ior this task. It can
be seen in the table below.

Countries with Updated Laws
Country
Data Crimes
Network
Crimes
Access
Crimes
Related Crimes
D
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n
t
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r
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t
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D
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M
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t
i
o
n

D
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a

T
h
e
I
t

N
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t
w
o
r
k

I
n
t
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r
I
e
r
e
n
c
e

N
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t
w
o
r
k

S
a
b
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t
a
g
e

U
n
a
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t
h
o
r
i
z
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d

A
c
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s
s

V
i
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u
s

D
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m
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A
i
d
i
n
g

a
n
d

A
b
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t
t
i
n
g

C
y
b
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C
r
i
m
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s

C
o
m
p
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R
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l
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I
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C
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R
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F
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Malaysia
\ \ \ \
United
States
, , , , , , , , ,
Figure 1 : Comparison cybercrimes between Malaysia and USA
(adapt Irom McConnell International website, www.mcconellinternational.com )

ey For Figure 1
Data Interception: Interception oI data in transmission.
Data ModiIication: Alteration, destruction, or erasing oI data.
Data TheIt: Taking or copying data, regardless oI whether it is protected by other laws, e.g.
copyright, privacy, etc.
Network InterIerence: Impeding or preventing access Ior others. The most common example
oI this action is instigating a distributed denial oI service (DDOS) attack. Flooding Websites
or Internet Service Providers. DDOS attacks are oIten launched Irom numerous computers
that have been hacked to obey commands oI the perpetrator.
Network Sabotage: ModiIication or destruction oI a network or system.
Unauthorized Access: Hacking or cracking to gain access to a systems or data.
Virus Dissemination: Introduction oI soItware damaging to systems or data.
Aiding and Abetting: Enabling the commission oI a cybercrime.
Computer Related Forgery: Alteration oI data with intent to represent as authentic.
Computer Related Fraud: Alteration oI data with intent to derive economic beneIit Irom its
misrepresentation.

Based on the Iigure 1 above, it is observed that cybercrime in Malaysia is not as great
as in the United States oI America (USA). Compared with the USA, the country lags in the
development oI this technology. However, our country has become increasingly developed
with the advent oI many scholars. It is acknowledged that the USA is among the world's most
advanced countries the crime rate is among the highest iI compared to Malaysia. Based on the
inIormation, cybercrime is divided into Iour parts, Data Crimes, Crimes Network, Access
Crimes and Related Crimes.
As an example I am discussing earlier, cybercrime against individuals, it is included
in the access crime. Compared to Malaysia and the USA, cannot deny that they have more
expertise in accessing inIormation and spreading the virus.
The second one is cybercrimes against organizations. In my opinion, this area
accounted Ior the Iield oI Network Data Crimes and Crimes. Cannot be denied that Malaysia
is still new in this Iield, table shows that Malaysia is involved in the ModiIication oI data
only Irom the USA in which all parts, data interception, data ModiIication, theIt data,
network interIerence and sabotage network are all there. It can be concluded that the
Malaysian expertise in the areas oI crime are still at levels that do not worry. But we cannot
just sitting down without any action iI the occurrence oI cybercrime in our place.
Next is the cybercrime against society at large. For this one, it can be concluded that
everything on the table is involved because the society at large is covering both the
individuals and organizations. Malaysia and the USA are as great as the two countries have
the same Ieatures on Related Crimes. Aiding and abetting cybercrimes and Computer -
related Iraud are two oI the same crimes committed by both these countries. This is because
the same technology to grow rapidly in our country and the USA lead to two similar
situations occurs.
Prevention is better than cure. That proverb oIten used in an attempt to overcome. In
my opinion, the crime has stemmed Irom our own negligence. Sometimes we do not alert
with what we see on the website. We just click on what we consider attractive without
considering the consequences in the near Iuture. To overcome this problem not only because
we are in Malaysia, even in other countries, we should be more careIul in using any
technology around us. While using the website Ior example, as individuals, we must
understand exactly what we are chosen and read. We should make sure that the websites we
select is registered. To ensure that the website is registered, we must learn and ask plenty oI
Iriends who are more knowledgeable about it. In addition, iI we use the banks on-line, make
sure we are not Iooled by Iake websites similar to the bank's website that we use.
As parents, we oIten Iorget to monitor the activities oI our children on the Internet.
Sometimes they are also among the contributors to this cybercrime. So, among the measures
to prevent this problem, the parties to create a site shall establish parental control to child so
that their activities can be monitored. In response to research, reports oI abuses and lobbying
Ior parents and other advocate, Congress passed the Children's Online Protection Act
(COPPA). This statute requires that Web sites and other online media that knowingly collect
inIormation Irom children 12 years oI age under provide to notice to parents, obtain veriIiable
parental consent prior to the collection, use, or disclosure oI most inIormation, allow parents
to view and correct this inIormation, enable parents to prevent Iurther use collection oI data,
limit personal inIormation collection Ior a child's participation inn games, prize oIIer, or
related activities, and established procedures that protect the "conIidentiality, security and
integrity oI the personal inIormation collected". In Malaysia we also can do this as protection
to our internet security.
The problem oI privacy within electronic mail remains an unsettled aspect oI online
interaction. Under U.S. law, users who operate e-mail accounts on private services are
generally assured oI their legal privacy through service agreements with their Internet
Security Protection (ISP).In addition, the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA) has
been held to address the privacy oI ISP clients, with certain exceptions, including situation in
which e-mails is inadvertently discovered through system maintenance. The opposite
condition applies to employees who use the organizations' computers or networks to
communicate. Here the current law generally extends no expectation oI privacy to workers,
particular those employed by nongovernmental entities. Many companies emphasize this
status in memoranda oI policy, but even when such notices are absent, the employee's wisest
course oI action is to assume that all material that passes through workplace Iacilities is
monitored. Ethical questions remain as to whether strict surveillance policies adequately
reIlect values oI personal autonomy and integrity. Those Iacts that other property such as
employer-owned phone systems or dressing rooms cannot be subjected to unlimited
monitoring suggest that as computer-based communication develops, pressure will be applied
to re-evaluate worker`s electronic privacy in light oI social practises. This solution is also can
be applied in Malaysia to prevent all the cybercrimes problems.
The other way to prevention oI cybercrime is always use latest and update antivirus
soItware to guard against virus attacks. The next ways is always avoid sending any
photograph online particularly to stranger and chat Iriends as there have been incidents oI
misuse oI the photographs and never send your credit card number to any site that have no
secured to guard against Iraud. There are so many ways to prevents and reduce the
cybercrimes out there. As long as we always be careIul and think beIore we doing something
it will help us to reduce this crime rate.

Conclusion.
Capacity oI human mind is unIathomable. It is not possible to eliminate cybercrime
Irom the cyber space. It is quite possible to check them. History is the witness that no
legislation has succeeded in totally eliminating crime Irom the globe. The only possible step
is to make people aware oI their rights and duties to report crime as a collective duty towards
the society. Undoubtedly the Act is a historical step in the cyber world. Further I all together
do not deny that there is a need to bring changes in the InIormation Technology Act to make
it more eIIective to combat cybercrime. I would conclude with a word oI caution Ior the pro-
legislation school that it should be kept in mind that the provisions oI the cyber law are not
made so stringent that it may retard the growth oI the industry and prove to be counter-
productive.




















BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Judy Strauss, Adel El-Ansary, Raymond Frost,(2003). E-Marketing. Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Educational International.
2. Hinde, S. (2003) . %e Law Cyber Crime , Risk Assesment And Cyber Protection,
Computer And Security, 22(2) 90-95
3. Cybercrime and punishment. (Dec.2003), www.mcconnellinternational.com