Cybercrime is exploiting confidential or personal data of an individual or an organization for the personal gains of cybercriminals using a computer and the internet.
Through the internet, cybercriminals use hacking tools to exploit vulnerable network chains to reach a computer network from where they steal confidential data for personal use or destroy the data.
Cybercrime is committed against any person, or organization through a computer, network, or the internet.
The theft, exploitation, or destruction of personal data and confidential information for personal gain or criminal intent may be committed against any entity.
Cybercriminals use various methods to steal information such as social networks, emails containing pirated links, pirated software that has ransomware, and websites that track and collect user data.
Once you upload or post some information on the Internet, it gets stored on the Internet forever because it is very difficult to delete it from the Internet permanently.
Be mindful of what you put on the Internet.
Provide the internet with only the necessary information or material and also ensure that it is a legitimate source that you are providing it.
What are the causes of cybercrime?
The reason why cybercrime occurs is that cybercriminals steal your financial details for their personal monetary gains. They try to steal your financial details like credit card details, Your financial transactions details where you have saved your cards for instant payments, etc.
They use this information to rob your money for their gains.
Other causes of the occurrence of cybercrime can be the intent to destroy or steal data from specific organizations to sell it on the Dark web where they can again gain monetary benefits from selling personal data of users which they steal from big corporations.
Who are The Victims Of Cyber Crime?
Anyone can become a victim of cybercrime if he owns or uses a computer or any electronic device that connects to the Internet or is part of another networking group.
In the age of digitization, people of all age groups are connected to the Internet in some way or the other for learning, getting material, working, or any other work.
Nowadays everyone has a smartphone and with connectivity, the risk of getting cyber attacks also increases, because people do not pay attention to the possibility of cyber security.
Even an email with a malicious link can compromise or steal data.
Be it, adults or children, we should always be aware of cyber threats and act on them before they knock on our door.
Types of Cybercrime?
Cybercrime can be committed in many different ways, using a variety of hacking techniques and tools to exploit user data.
- Phishing
- Identity Theft
- Social Engineering
- Cyber Bullying
- Job Frauds
- Banking Frauds
- DDoS Attacks
- Cyberstalking
- Software Piracy
- Theft and sale of corporate data.
- Ransomware attacks
- Attackers are discovering and developing new techniques to exploit user data.
What is the most common cybercrime?
According to Statista, Phishing is the most common cybercrime reported in 2021.
How Often does Cybercrime Occurs In India?
Cybercrime happens more than people think. It is going well, know by reading this sentence.
According to some reports, there is a cyber attack happening every 40 seconds, it is frequent.
Cyber crimes in India have increased by 76.96 percent from 12,317 in 2016 to 21,796 in 2017.
We have seen an annual increase of 25.01% in the number of cyber crimes in India to 27,248 during 2018 as compared to 2017.
The top 5 states/UTs with respect to cybercrimes during 2018 were Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh.
The number of cybercrimes in Uttar Pradesh during 2018 was 6,280 as against 26.33% during 2017 to 4,971.
Karnataka has witnessed an annual growth of 83.96 percent in cyber crimes from 3,174 in 2017 to 5,839 in 2018.
In 2017, the number of cyber crimes in Maharashtra was 3,604.
It has declined by -2.58% to 3,511 during 2018 over 2017.
Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra accounted for 23.05 percent, 21.43 percent, and 12.89 percent, respectively, of the total cyber crimes committed in India during 2018.
In 2018, Assam and Andhra Pradesh reported 2,022 and 1,207 cyber crimes, respectively.
Assam accounted for 7.42% and Andhra Pradesh for 4.43% of total cyber crimes in India during 2018.
Assam and Andhra Pradesh have found an annual increase of 80.54% and 29.65% in cyber crimes during 2018 over 2017 respectively.
These are the reports from 2017 to 2020.
Where To Report Cybercrime?
If you have been a victim of a cybercrime, you can report it on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
You can also report cybercrime on the helpline number 1930.
You can check your complaint status at the portal itself.
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