How to protect yourself from cybercrime?
Every day it is more common to hear about computer crimes; These are: discovery and disclosure of secrets, computer sabotage, possession and distribution of child pornography , etc. In the event of a judicial complaint, it is essential to be able to defend yourself against this type of accusation from the outset . You can expand the information in the following articles:
- Keys for the defense for a computer crime .
- Keys to defending the distribution of child pornography through peer-to-peer or P2P networks .
- Computer expert evidence of a party in a criminal proceeding: its assessment in sentence .
- Compliance and computerized expert opinion .
In this article I will deal with some computer crimes. After the list of types of crimes and their explanation, I will talk about the main malicious entities (viruses, Trojans, etc.) that can attack your computer system and how to protect yourself from them. It is very easy for these types of programs to access our system, so you have to know how to identify them perfectly and avoid exposure to them.
Most common types of cybercrime
According to the Central Brigade for Technological Research, which is the police unit whose mission is to respond to new forms of crime on the Internet, computer crimes are classified as:
- Attacks against the right to privacy: This type of computer crime is the discovery and disclosure of secrets through the seizure and dissemination of confidential data from private computer files.
- Infringements of Intellectual Property: It is about protecting Intellectual Property from any type of computer attack through copyright. Actions such as reproduction, distribution, plagiarism and other related practices in literary works or of any kind are punished without the authorization of the copyright holder.
- Falsehood : Possession or creation of programs to commit crimes of falsehood. It is the elaboration of false documents or means of payment. New technologies have led to more and more ways to commit crimes in this way.
- Computer sabotage : It involves destroying or making information disappear from databases, equipment, media, etc. with the purpose of suspending or paralyzing a work activity.
- Computer fraud: Committing fraud through the manipulation of data or programs for a profit. It can be done through hacking by accessing a computer with confidential information.
- Threats : They can be carried out from any means of communication. They can also be slander and insults as well as threats. Performing a slander is falsely accusing another person of having committed a crime. Injury supposes dishonor or discredit, using false arguments about another person.
- Child pornography: Any type of action that supports child pornography. Distribution, sale of possession, etc. of pornographic material in which minors or incapacitated persons appear.
- The induction of minors into prostitution.
Cybercrime: Security Issues
Today, comments such as “You need a good antivirus” or “It is essential to protect your computer” are common, but what do we have to protect ourselves from? Next, I explain the main security problems that can be a threat to your computer system:
- Trojan horse : This is a malicious program that is presented as something harmless to the user, but when it is run it damages the system. They create a back door that allows an unauthorized user to manage it remotely.
- Back door : They are sent in a hidden way through programs, usually in Trojan horses. They represent a breach in a security system.
- Logic bomb : It is an insertion of code into a computer program that only acts maliciously if a series of conditions are met.
- Stack and buffer overflow: It is a software error that occurs when an attacker sends more data than the program is expecting. It is used to illegally access a system.
- Viruses : They are an insertion of malicious code that can cause security problems. There are millions of different viruses and they can perform countless actions within the system.
- Worms : It is a process that a breeding system uses to negatively affect the performance of the system. The worm creates copies of itself with system resources to prevent other processes from operating. They are very dangerous since they can pass to another system and affect an entire network.
- Port scanning : More than an attack, it is a procedure to detect system vulnerabilities. It is usually carried out in an automated way.
- Denial of service : They are carried out through the network and what they mainly do is: Consume system resources so that it cannot be worked on or bring down the network
Computer crimes How to protect yourself from Trojan horses?
They are so called because they need your permission to run on your computer. That is why they are hidden in apparently legitimate programs, documents or images that you run on your system.
The best way to prevent this type of attack is not to open email attachments from whose sources we are not totally sure. People who send these types of files are committing cybercrime.
This measure may seem a bit drastic so other things you can do to stay protected are:
- Always have the software updated since attackers take advantage of the vulnerabilities of a system. Also download the security patches for software gaps from the manufacturer.
- Use firewall : It is used to keep the internet connection as secure as possible. It is a computer program that controls a computer’s access to the network and its dangerous elements.
- Install a quality antivirus. This will protect you from these types of malicious elements through constant system analysis. It is recommended that you choose a known antivirus since there are certain antivirus that are not really what they claim to be and could attack your computer.
Computer crimes How to protect a system?
To adequately protect a computer system from cybercrime, security measures must be adopted at four levels:
- Physical : Two types of measures are important in this area: detection mechanisms (heat sensors, smoke detectors, etc.) and detection systems (fingerprints, voice recognition, cards, etc.)
- Human : The authorization of the appropriate users to the system and access to it.
- Operating system : Self-protection against future dangers and computer security failures.
- Network
7 security tips to avoid cybercrime
We have talked about how to protect ourselves against the attack of Trojan horses, however, it is important to protect yourself from any type of virus or other malicious program. But how should we protect ourselves?
- Change passwords periodically and make them increasingly complicated: Having the same password for each subscription is a real danger because if they discover one they will have access to all. The less predictable it is, the more options you will have that it is not discovered. It is recommended to change them also every little time.
- Log out of all your accounts after you finish using them, especially if you share a computer with other people.
- Install an antivirus : Just like to prevent the attack of Trojans, the antivirus is an essential tool for your computer.
- Use a firewall or firewall to have secure access to the internet.
- Do not transact on public networks. For example, if you are going on a trip and you need to buy a ticket, do not do so on the hotel’s Wi-Fi network as they could try to enter your bank accounts. Use more secure private network or VPN servers or https pages.
- Make backup copies.
- Disconnect from the internet when you don’t need it.
And you, do you need a computer expert to defend yourself in a computer crime trial?
Eugenio Picón – IT expert has been dedicated to IT expertise since 2004. He advises individuals by solving and avoiding problems of this nature when they are charged. If you visit their website you will find information about their professional experience in this field. Among the services it offers, the advice to obtain acquittal in trials stands out. What are you waiting for to ask for advice and stay calm?
You can expand information in the following articles:
- The authentic computer judicial expert is the guarantee of success in a trial .
- The judicial computer expert that your law firm needs .
- Forensic computer expert in Barcelona .
- Computer expert services in Madrid .