Criminal activity has dated back to the origin of the world but it became more visible when a definition is attached to it using the concept of offense against humans and the state of a nation. Crime is relative, which means it is highly dependent on a declaration. It can be a constitutional declaration or declaration based on human instinct.
What is Crime? Crime is an act of disobedience against the constitutional authority of a state or treaty, which is punishable by the law. Most forms of crime are territorial dependent and this means that the act of crime was committed within a territory governed by the law of a state. S because the crime was committed within the sovereign authority of a state, the act will be tried under the law that governs the state. However, there are new forms of crime that facilitate crime using cyberspace.
According to Wikipedia, “Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread, interconnected digital technology. “The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world “apart,” as distinct from everyday reality.”
Cyberspace is a physical imaginary world of interconnected electronic device that facilitates communication, interaction, or expression of humans and technologies. Some consider It is to be a virtual world, but a virtual world has a more specific objective which is facilitated by cyberspace. Cyberspace comprises all the laptops, mobile devices, computers, servers, communication systems, applications, communication technologies, internet of things devices, networks, industrial control systems that are interconnected.
The invention of cyberspace has brought a new reality to the world. A reality that has the possibility of causing damage to the physical world we live in. This has given birth to a cyber-related crime known as cybercrime. The cybercrime of today is different from the cybercrime of yesterday. The cybercrime of yesterday focuses more on human losses and the cybercrime of today duel on physical damage directly from cyberspace and caused by cybercriminals.
Cybercrime is a form of criminal activity that is committed using a computer or electronic device. It originates and takes place in cyberspace, both the criminal and the victim are operating from the jurisdiction of cyberspace. However, there are cases where cybercrime act will transcend to the physical world or physical domain.
The growth in cyber-related crime in the 21st century does not only affect us as human, but it also has the tendency of causing our harm to our physical domain.
While there are different forms and techniques of cybercrime, the motive has a major influence on the type of technique that a cybercriminal will deployment during a cybercrime activity.
Most persons have generalized hacking to be the only form of cybercrime, but it goes beyond just hacking as the techniques and tactics used by cybercriminals continue to metamorphous into something more dangerous and alarming that world leaders currently do not have a solution to.
We have other forms of cybercrime that we must prepare and avoid while surfing or exploring cyberspace.
An example of such avoidable and preventable cybercrime is identity theft. Becoming a victim of identity theft does not only make you a victim, but it also makes others victim to your identity. Because the criminal will only steal your identity which is the crime, and use your identity to carry out another crime. It is just like an armed robber stealing a car and using the stolen car to carry out a robbery may be in a bank. So both the car owner and bank become victims of the criminal.
Sadly, most of our identity doesn’t need to be stolen because they are available almost everywhere in the cyberspace. Without a social media presence in the times and days, it’s like one is out of date to new styles, prospects, or even business. So, what we do is to make ourselves and our business visible online for others. Unfortunately, others in the context would mean both positive and negative minded individuals which include the cybercriminals. These cybercriminals know the exact place to go to for identity.
In some cases, a victim of identity theft may not be the one that revealed the identity in cyberspace. It may be a family member, close friend, or relatives who feel that the best place to appreciate someone is in cyberspace.
Then there is the issue of digital propaganda, which some have tagged to be fake news, but it goes beyond fake news. Digital propaganda is the abnormal use of the internet to influence people towards an activity. Many have fallen victim to propaganda and many more will fall victim to this form of crime. Regrettably, even the government of nations that are supposed to be true and transparent utilize these forms of crime to carry out deceit against their people.
Cyberspace has grown without control, it has brought globalization, ease of doing business, and learning new things, but it also came with a new concept of crime called cybercrime. What should the government of nations do to fight the crime in cyberspace?
Hanniel H. Jafaru is a Technology Consultant & Cyber Security Expert and the Founder of Ham Tech Career (HTC) Academy; an Instructor-Led Cyber Security Training Academy. He can be reached on @hannielhj, www.linkedin.com/in/hannielhj
