The Evolution of Cybercrime: An Easy Guide(2021)

Introduction

As soon as computers become an integral part of our lives, the possibility of leakage of information has also increased. Hackers often try to access sensitive information, so that their techniques and tactics are established.

In this article let us look at:

1. Evolution of cybercrime
2. From Landline Hacking to Cryptojacking
3. Phishing Makes A Splash
4. The Rise of Ransomware
5. Cryptojacking: the cutting edge?

1. Evolution of cybercrime

When did cybercrime start, Cybercrime’s history and the evolution of cybercrime are easy to trace and coincide with the evolution of the Internet itself. The first offenses were, of course, essential hacks from local networks to steak records, but when the Internet became more developed, so did the attacks.

• Although there was cyber-crime before that, during the late ’80s, the first big surge of cyber-crime came with email proliferation. It has made it easy to send a host of scams and/or viruses to your inbox.
• With advancements in web browsers, the next wave of the cybercrime history continuum came in the 90s. There were many users to pick from at the time, many more than now, and most were vulnerable to viruses. Any time dubious websites were accessed, viruses were distributed via Internet connections.
• In the early 2000s, as social media came to life, cybercrime finally started to take off. An influx of personal information and the emergence of ID fraud was generated by the influx of people throwing all the information they could into a profile folder. Thieves used the information to enter bank accounts, set up credit cards, or other financial fraud in various ways.
• The new wave is the emergence of an annual multinational crime enterprise totalling almost half a trillion dollars. Such criminals run in groups, use well-established tactics and target anyone and anybody with a web presence.

2. From Landline Hacking to Cryptojacking

We look back to understand how cybercrime will develop in the future to understand how it originated in the past. Cybercrime roots are rooted in telecommunications, with the culture of “hackers” as we know it today arising from “phone phreaking,” which peaked in the 1970s. Phreaking, mostly to receive free or subsidized telecommunications rates, was leveraging hardware and frequency flaws in a telephone network. 

3. Phishing Makes A Splash

Phishing is the method of tricking a user into offering account logins or other confidential data willingly. With downloadable files via email, such as the ILOVEYOU worm, this common attack style started but quickly became more sophisticated. Phishing emails frequently resemble a trustworthy source, such as a provider of internet or telephone services, and often include official images, email addresses, and dummy websites to trick the recipient. 

4. The Rise of Ransomware

Ransomware threats have been on the rise and getting increasingly extreme in recent years, with cybercriminals seeking to encrypt as much of a business network as possible to extort a bitcoin ransom in return for returning it. A single attack can lead to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars being earned by cybercriminals.

In some cases, hackers are pursuing threats to reveal information they have gained in the run-up to implement the ransomware attack if the victim does not pay, something that might intimidate potential victims and allow them to react more quickly to the demands of extortion.

5. Cryptojacking: the cutting edge?

Cryptojacking is malicious crypto-mining that happens on corporate and personal machines, printers, and handheld devices as cybercriminals compromise software installation. This app utilizes the power and energy of the machine to mine for cryptocurrency or steals wallets owned by unsuspected victims. The code is simple to deploy, runs in the background, and can be hard to detect.

Tools are used by hackers both to steal cryptocurrencies from other digital wallets and to allow hijacked computers to do the job so that valuable coins can be mined.

The main concept behind cryptojacking is that to do their mining work for them, and hackers use business and personal computer and system tools. Through using these stolen machines, cybercriminals siphon the currency that they either receive or steal into their own digital wallet. The slowing down of the CPU function and the use of more power for processing affects these hijacked machines.

Conclusion

Organizations around the world are trying to stop attacks of this nature somehow. Nevertheless, because of their dramatically increasing and revolutionizing methods, hackers are one step ahead. But, the future professional of infosec will protect and help us make the cyber world safer. It takes a few items from internet users to be prepared for this next wave of cybercrime. A good first move is keeping computers secure with antivirus software, but knowledge of current threat patterns is also helpful in preventing your data from being viewed by outside actors.

So, have you made up your mind to make a career in Cyber Security? Visit our Master Certificate in Cyber Security (Red Team) for further help. It is the first program in offensive technologies in India and allows learners to practice in a real-time simulated ecosystem, that will give you an edge in this competitive world.

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