What is cybercrime?

[Source: adapted from http://us.norton.com/cybercrime-definition; Handbook. The Language of Cybercrime.

EJTN, 2018]

In this text, some of the main terms have been replaced with a definition which is
numbered and highlighted in bold. Please provide the missing terms.

Cybercrime: The facts

• Cybercrime has now surpassed illegal (1) [two words] _________ _________ “a
global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and
sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws” … as a criminal
moneymaker.

• Somebody’s identity is stolen every 3 seconds as a result of cybercrime.

• Without a sophisticated security package, your unprotected (2) [one word]

__________________ “a general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities,
and original sale price make it useful for individuals, and is intended to be
operated directly by an end-user” … can become infected within four minutes of
connecting to the (3) [one word] __________________ “the global system of
interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite
(TCP/IP) to link billions of devices worldwide”.

Criminals committing cybercrime use a number of methods, depending on their skills and their
goal. Here are some of the different ways cybercrime can take shape:

• Theft of … (4) [two words] ___________ ____________ “data relating to a

living individual who is or can be identified either from the data or from the
data in conjunction with other information”.

• (5) [two words] __________ ___________ “the use of works protected by

copyright law without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted
to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or
perform the protected work, or to make derivative works”.

• (6) [one word] __________________ “deliberate deception to secure

unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right”.

• (7) [two words] ________ __________ “the visual representation of

minors under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity or the visual
 representation of minors engaging in lewd or erotic behavior designed to
arouse the viewer's sexual interest”.

• (8) [one word] __________________ “the use of the Internet or other

electronic means to harass an individual, a group, or an organization; it may
include false accusations, defamation, monitoring, identity theft, threats,
vandalism, solicitation for sex, or gathering information that may be used to
threaten”.

• (9) [one word] __________________ “the use of force, threat, or coercion

to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others; this behaviour is often
repeated and habitual”.

As you can see, cybercrime covers a wide range of different attacks, that all deserve their own
unique approach when it comes to improving our computer's safety and protecting ourselves. A
possible definition of Cybercrime is "any crime that is committed using a computer network or
hardware device".

The computer or device may be the agent of the crime, the facilitator of the crime, or the target of
the crime. The crime may take place on the computer alone or in addition to other locations. The
broad range of cybercrime can be better understood by dividing it into two overall categories:
Type I and Type II cybercrime. Let’s take a look at them both:

Type 1 cybercrime

Any cybercrime that relates to theft or manipulation of data or services via hacking or viruses,
identity theft, and bank or e-commerce fraud.

• Usually a single event from the perspective of the victim. An example would be where the
victim unknowingly downloads a (10) [two words] ________ __________ “any
malicious computer program which is used to hack into a computer by
misleading users of its true intent” … virus, which installs a (11) [two words]
________ __________ “a system for recording (logging) the keys struck on
a keyboard, typically covertly, so that the person using the keyboard is
unaware that their actions are being monitored”… on his or her machine. The (12)
_________ ___________ (same as 11 above) allows the (13) [one word]
_____________ “someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a
computer system or computer network”… to steal private data such as internet
banking and email passwords.
 • Another common form of Type 1 cybercrime is (14) [one word] _____________ “a
form of fraud in which the attacker tries to learn information such as login
credentials or account information by masquerading as a reputable entity or
person in email, IM or other communication channels”. This is where the victim
receives a supposedly legitimate email (quite often claiming to be a bank or credit card
company) with a link that leads to a hostile website. Once the link is clicked, the PC can
then be infected with a (15) [one word] _____________ “a malware that, when
executed, replicates by reproducing itself or infecting other programs by
modifying them”.

Hackers often carry out Type 1 cybercrime by taking advantage of flaws in a (16) [two words]
________ __________ “a software application used to locate, retrieve and
display content on the World Wide Web, including Web pages, images, video and
other files” to place a Trojan horse virus onto the unprotected victim’s computer

Type 2 cybercrime

Type 2 cybercrime tends to be much more serious and covers things such as cyberstalking and
harassment, (17) [two words] ________ __________ “obtaining or trying to obtain
sexual contact with a child in an abusive manner which is compared to the way some
animals hunt down their prey”, (18) [one word] ________ “the obtaining of
property from another person, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened
force, violence, or fear”, (19) [one word] ________ “a threat for the purposes of
compelling a person to do an act against his or her will, or for purposes of taking the
person's money or property”, stock market manipulation, (20) [two words] ________
__________ “attempting to obtain trade secrets for comercial purposes by
dishonest means, as by telephone, computer-tapping, or infiltration of a
competitor's workforce”, and planning or carrying out terrorist activities.

It is generally an on-going series of events, involving repeated interactions with the target. For
example, the target is contacted in a (21) [two words] ________ __________ “a virtual
room (actually a channel) where conversations take place” by someone who, over time,
attempts to establish a relationship. Eventually, the criminal exploits the relationship to commit
a crime. Or, members of a (22) [two words] ________ __________ “a reduced,
organised group of terrorists” or criminal organisation may use hidden messages to
communicate in a public forum to plan activities or discuss (23) [two words] ________
__________ “a financial transaction scheme that aims to conceal the identity,
source, and destination of illicitly-obtained money”… locations, for example.
More often than not, it is facilitated by programs that do not fit under the classification (24) [one
word] ________ “general term to refer to malicious software that is designed to
commit crimes on the Internet”. For example, conversations may take place using (25)
[two words] ________ __________ “a type of communications service that
enables you to create a kind of private chat room with another individual in order
to communicate in real time over the Internet using text-based, communication” …
clients or files may be transferred using (26) [three words] ________ __________
_____________ “protocols for exchanging files over the Internet”.
ANSWER KEY

What is cybercrime?

[Source: adapted from http://us.norton.com/cybercrime-definition]

In this text, some of the main terms have been replaced by a definition which is
numbered and highlighted in bold. Please provide the missing terms.

Cybercrime: The facts

• Cybercrime has now surpassed illegal (1) drug trafficking as a criminal moneymaker.

• Somebody’s identity is stolen every 3 seconds as a result of cybercrime.

• Without a sophisticated security package, your unprotected (2) PC can become infected
within four minutes of connecting to the (3) Internet.

Criminals committing cybercrime use a number of methods, depending on their skills and their
goal. Here are some of the different ways cybercrime can take shape:

• Theft of (4) personal data

• (5) Copyright infringement

• (6) Fraud

• (7) Child pornography

• (8) Cyberstalking

• (9) Bullying

As you can see, cybercrime covers a wide range of different attacks, that all deserve their own
unique approach when it comes to improving our computer's safety and protecting ourselves. A
possible definition of Cybercrime is "any crime that is committed using a computer network or
hardware device".

The computer or device may be the agent of the crime, the facilitator of the crime, or the target of
the crime. The crime may take place on the computer alone or in addition to other locations. The
broad range of cybercrime can be better understood by dividing it into two overall categories:
Type I and Type II cybercrime. Let’s take a look at them both:

Type 1 cybercrime
Any cybercrime that relates to theft or manipulation of data or services via hacking or viruses,
identity theft, and bank or e-commerce fraud.

• Usually a single event from the perspective of the victim. An example would be where the
victim unknowingly downloads a (10) Trojan horse virus, which installs a (11)
keystroke logger on his or her machine. The (12) keystroke logger allows the (13)
hacker to steal private data such as internet banking and email passwords.

• Another common form of Type 1 cybercrime is (14) phishing. This is where the victim
receives a supposedly legitimate email (quite often claiming to be a bank or credit card
company) with a link that leads to a hostile website. Once the link is clicked, the PC can
then be infected with a (15) virus.

Hackers often carry out Type 1 cybercrime by taking advantage of flaws in a (16) web browser
to place a Trojan horse virus onto the unprotected victim’s computer

Type 2 cybercrime

Type 2 cybercrime tends to be much more serious and covers things such as cyberstalking and
harassment, (17) child predation, (18) extortion, (19) blackmail, stock market
manipulation, (20) corporate espionage, and planning or carrying out terrorist activities.

It is generally an on-going series of events, involving repeated interactions with the target. For
example, the target is contacted in a (21) chat room by someone who, over time, attempts to
establish a relationship. Eventually, the criminal exploits the relationship to commit a crime. Or,
members of a (22) terrorist cell or criminal organisation may use hidden messages to
communicate in a public forum to plan activities or discuss (23) money laundering locations,
for example.

More often than not, it is facilitated by programs that do not fit under the classification (24)
‘crimeware’. For example, conversations may take place using (25) instant messaging (IM)
clients or files may be transferred using (26) file transfer protocols (FTPs).