TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTENT
2.1 CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIMES
2.2 COMPARISON OF CYBER CRIMES IN MALAYSIA AND USA
2.3 SUGGESTIONS
3. CONCLUSION
4. REFERENCES

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The last decade of the twentieth century was the decade of the internet and world-wideweb (web). The internet, which was primarily used by academic institutions and the military,
became vast accessible to the public with the invention of the world-wide-web (web). This
started a world-wide trend in developing web sites not only for personal and research
purposes, but for information dissemination by governments and as a tool for electronic
commerce by commercial organizations situated around the world. But the popularity and
ease of use of the internet technology also attracted criminals who rapidly adapted to the
technology, using its anonymity and global reach to commit crimes directed not only at
private citizens but also against governments and nations.
The growing danger from crimes committed against computers, or against information on
computers is beginning to claim attention nationwide. Cyber criminals have very rapidly
adapted to developments in technology, specifically internet technology, and use its
characteristics of transience, anonymity, speed and vast spread to commit various types of
crimes such as obtaining computer hardware and software illegally, computer hacking,
viruses, fraud and identity theft, music and movie piracy, and more.
Cyber crime is a concept that has different definitions. Based on Wikipedia (cybercrime,
2006), cyber crime is a term used broadly to describe criminal activity in which computers or
communication networks as the tools, targets or places of criminal activity. Meanwhile,
Oxford Reference Online defines the cyber crime as a crime committed over the internet. A.J
Surin (2009) writes that cyber crime also known as computer crime. The Encyclopedia
Brittanica defines computer crime as any crime that is committed by means of special
knowledge or expert use of computer technology.
Based on the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ), there are various types of cyber crimes
reported over the years such as obtaining computer hardware, peripherals and software
illegally, crimes that target a computer network or device directly such as computer hacking,
viruses, worms, malware and spyware, fraud and identity theft, cyber terrorism, child
pornography and other misuses of information technology.

2.0 CONTENT

2.1 CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIMES

In general, cyber crimes may be categorized under the following areas: a)
computers and networks as tools for criminal activity which includes spamming,
email bombing and defamation, hate speech and violation of copyright laws; b)
computers and networks as targets of criminal activity such as unauthorized access,
data theft, computer hacking, denial of service and attacks using malicious code; c)
computers and networks as place of criminal activity such as financial fraud; d)
computers and networks as new facilitators for older crimes such as online child
pornography, online gambling, phishing, espionage and terrorism. (Subramaniam &
Sedita, 2006, p.40)
In addition, Kerr (2003) categorizes computer crimes as: a) Traditional crimes
committed using computers such as Internet fraud schemes, Internet gambling,
online distribution of child pornography and cyberstalking; b) Crimes of computer
misuse such as computer hacking, distribution of worms and viruses and denial-ofservice attacks.
The cybercriminals use the computers and networks as tools for criminal
activity which includes spamming, email bombing and defamation, hate speech and
violation of copyright laws. Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to
send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. The most widely recognized of
spam is e-mail spam. Spamming remains economically viable because advertisers
have no operating costs beyond the management of their mailing lists, and it is
difficult to hold senders accountable for their mass mailing. Because the barrier to
entry is so low, spammers are numerous, and the volume of unsolicited mail has
become very high. In the year 2011, the estimated figure for spam messages is
around seven trillion. Like any other form of communication, email is also misused
by criminal elements. The ease, speed and relative anonymity of email has made it
a powerful tool for criminals. Some of the major email related crimes are email
spoofing, sending malicious codes through email, email bombing, sending
threatening emails, defamatory emails and emails frauds. All of these crime led
serious problem to persons who use email in their daily life, especially if they run
business online.
Computers and networks also has been as targets of criminal activity such as
unauthorized access, data theft, computer hacking, denial of service and attacks
using malicious code. Unauthorized access can be defined as viewing private
accounts, messages, files or resources when one has not been given permission
from the owner to do so. Viewing confidential without permission or qualifications
can result in legal action. The damage caused by data theft can be considerable
with todays ability to transmit very large files via email, web pages, USB devices,
DVD storage and other hand-held devices. This crime could contribute to the
downfall for a business. Computer hacking always involves some degree of
infringement on the privacy of others or damage to computer-based property such

as files, web pages or software. The impact of computer hacking varies from being
simply invasive and annoying to illegal.
Some cyber criminals use computers and networks as place of criminal
activity such as financial fraud. Financial fraud encompasses wide range of illegal
behavior, from mortgage scams to tax fraud. The examples of financial fraud are
bankruptcy fraud, computer-based fraud, mail fraud, medicare fraud, student loan
fraud, tax fraud and more. All of these crimes may results the lost of trust and
confident for users to use information technology in their daily life activities.
Computers and networks also become new facilitators for older crimes such as
online child pornography, online gambling, phishing, espionage and terrorism.
2.2 COMPARISON OF CYBER CRIMES IN MALAYSIA AND USA
In USA, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in collaboration with the
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), have published the report that shows cyber
crime continue to be on the increase. The most common victim complaints in 2010
were non-delivery of payment/merchandise, scams impersonating the FBI and
identity theft. Victims of these crimes reported losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cyberstalking impacts millions within the USA and a substantial number of
cyberstalking victims are victims of domestic abuse. The most frequent cyber
crimes reported in USA are spam, fraud, offensive content, harassment, drug
trafficking, cyber terrorism and cyber warfare. More than 20 cases are reported
each month just for cyber terrorism crime. The statistics Sofaer and Goodman
provide about the costs to governments and businesses alone make one gasp. The
CSI survey found that total financial losses from frauds, virus attacks, sabotage and
denial-of-service pranks rose from about $100 million in 1997 to $266 million in
2000. In August 2010, the international investigation Operation Delego, operating
under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security, shut down the
international pedophile ring Dreamboard. The website has approximately 600
members, and may have distributed up to 123 terabyte of child pornography.
In Malaysia, cyber crime had increased each day and becoming more serious
and intense crime lately. Recently, a group of hackers known as Anonymous had
attacked the government websites, mainly in the .gov.my domain. Calling it as
Operation Malaysia, Anonymous managed to attack fifty one websites and forty
one of the sites suffered various levels of disruption, in June 2011. The Star
newspaper reported that more than four thousand cyber crimes cases have been
lodged with Cybersecurity Malaysia in the past two years. The complaints are
mostly consisted of hack threats, fraud, denial-of-services and other computer
problems such as files lost or corrupted by viruses.
In USA, the state governments have the greatest influence over most
Americans daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution, government and
code of laws including cyber crime acts. There are sometimes great different in law

and procedure between each state, concerning issues such as property, health and
education. On the other hand, each state in Malaysia uses the same acts even for
cyber crimes act. The Malaysian cyber laws consist of Computer Crime Act 1997,
Digital Signature Act 1997, Telemedicine Act 1997, Communication and Multimedia
Act 1998 and Optical Disk Act 2000. These acts cover the misuse of computers and
complement the existing criminal legislation such as unauthorized access,
unauthorized access with intent to commit or facilitate other crimes and
unauthorized modification, gave an interpretation of computers, computers
networks, output, data, functions, programs and premises, wrongful communication,
abetment and attempts punishable as offences and presumptions.
2.3 SUGGESTIONS
For Malaysia to be a world leading country in ICT development and be a
global centre and hub for communication and multimedia information and content
services, a law needs to be formed to promote a high level of consumer confidence
and to protect the information security and network reliability and integrity.
Therefore, the first important step that should be taken by the government to
combat this new type of crime is by introducing a new legal framework to facilitate
the development of ICT systems. There are some suggestions and strategies to fight
cyber crimes. First, the national efforts and those of the international organizations
have to reinforce each other, achieving a nearly global attention to the problem of
cyber crime and terrorism and promoting international harmonization of legal
approaches. The governments should assure that the laws apply to cyber crimes. In
Malaysia, national government remains the dominant authority for regulating
criminal behavior. Current laws ought to be updated. Enactments of enforceable
computer crime laws that also respect the rights of individuals are an essential step
in the battle against this emerging threat. Cyberlaws extend to more than just
computers. It extends to any device that has a computing function, including mobile
phones. Extending the rule of law into cyberspace is a critical step to create a
trustworthy environment for people and businesses. Because that extension a work
in progress, organizations today must first and foremost defend their own systems
and information from attack, be it from outsiders or from within.
Second, the firms should secure their networked information. Laws to enforce
property rights work only when property owner take reasonable steps to protect
their property in the first place. Even where laws are adequate, firm dependent on
the network must make their own information and systems secure. And where
enforceable laws are months or years away, this responsibility is even more
significant. To provide this self-protection, organizations should focus on
implementing cyber security plans addressing people, process and technology
issues. Organizations need to commit the resources to educate employees on
security practices, develop thorough plans for the handling of sensitive data,
records and transactions, and incorporate robust security technology such as

firewall, anti-virus software, intrusion detection tools and authentication services

throughout the organizations computer systems.
Apart from that, we need to educate the cyber crime fighters. This strategy
requires that the government educate and train everyone who will be involved in
preventing, detecting, reporting or prosecuting cyber crime. The training necessary
for legislators to understand the laws they propose and vote on is different from
training needed for detectives to dig out digital evidence. We also need to establish
and train units or teams that specialize in computer-related crime. If every
legislative body had a committee of members who are trained in and focus on
technology issues and if every police department had a computer crime
investigation unit with special training and expertise, we could build an effective
and coordinated cyber crime fighting mechanism.
Information Technology professionals already understand computer security
and how it can be breached. The Information Technology professionals need to be
educated in some areas such as how laws are maid, how crimes are prosecutes and
also computer crime awareness. An understanding of what is and isnt against the
law, the different between criminal and civil law, penalty and enforcement issues
will help them to overcome the crime. The Information Technology professionals can
also get involved at the legislative level by testifying before committees, sharing
their expertise and making opinions known to members of their governing bodies.
They can also involve at the prosecution level as expert witness.
We can also use the technology to fight the cyber crime. One of the best
weapons against technology crimes is technology. The Information Technology
industry is hard at work, developing hardware and software to aid preventing and
detecting network intrusions. Monitoring and auditing packages allow Information
Technology professionals to collect detailed information to assist in detecting
suspicious activities.
Another way to fight cyber crime is by using peer pressure. One way to
reduce the incidence of internet crime is to encourage groups to apply peer
pressure to their members. If cybercriminals are shamed rather than admired, some
well be less likely to engage in the criminal conduct. Many teenage hackers commit
network break-ins in order to impress their friends. We need to make people
understand that respect for others property and territory in the virtual world is just
as important as in the physical world. Teachers can advise and educate their
students about the important of respecting the laws.
Last but not least, we need to educate and engaging the community. We
must educate the community at large, especially the subset that consists of the end
user of computer and network systems. There are the people who are frequently
direct victims of cybercrime and who are indirect victims in terms of the extra costs

they pay when companies they patronize are victimized and the extra taxpayer they
spend every year in response to computer-related crimes.
3.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, computer crimes are still on the rise. It is easy to commit a
crime whether we realize it or not. There are a lot of tools available on the internet
that can be used to commit all sorts of crimes such as fraud, identity theft, scams,
denial of service attack, hacking and breaking in and so forth. Cybercriminals take
advantage of the speed propagation, global reach, anonymity and transience of the
internet to commit crimes. Cyber crimes are currently an important global issue that
has the potential of adversely affecting international economics, commerce,
security and human rights. A lot of actions and approaches have been taken by the
government as well as private sectors to try to fight the computer crimes. In
Malaysia, the government has set up legal frameworks that are used to punish the
offenders such as the Cyber Laws of Malaysia apart from the technical approaches
taken by the individual organizations. Though there is no proof approach that can be
taken to stop computer crimes from occurring, but by having these approaches
applied efficiently and effectively, it is hope that it will put the problem under
control. The weak penalties in most updated criminal statutes provide limited
deterrence for crimes that can have large-scale economic and social effect. On the
other hand, the general weakness of statutes increases the importance of private
sector efforts to develop and adopt strong and efficient technical solutions and
management practices for information security. Whatever actions we take, public
awareness on cyber crime and how bad it will affect us in future is still plays an
important role.

4.0 REFERENCES
1. cybercrime (2006), Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.Retrieved 14:28, April 3,
2006 from http://en.wkipedia.org/w/index.php?title=cybercrime&oldid
2. Subramaniam, Are Cybercrime Laws Keeping Up With The Triple Convergence of
Information and Technology?, http://www.iima.org/ciima/7 ciima6-1 39=50
3. cybercrime, Oxford Reference, www.oxfordreference.com/views/entry.html?
ssid75131518entry
4. h.g laws, http://www.org.hg.org/computer-crime.html
5. article of cyber crimes: The Net is Not in a Legal Vacuum, New Sunday Times,
Sunday, 31 August 2008.
6. Johanna Granville, Dot.Con: The Dangers of Cyber Crime and a Call for Proactive
Solutions, Australian Journal of Politics and History, vol.49, no1 (winter
2003),pp.102-109