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Week 6 [24.04-30.04.2017] Cybercrime. How to resist them?

The Age of high technology has, in addition to the positive aspects, a number of shortcomings such as crime hacking and cyber-attacks. We are living in an Information Age when computers and telecommunication systems cover all areas of human life; however, humanity can’t foresee all the opportunities for abuse which telecommunication systems and global computers create. Nowadays, not only the people, but also the whole countries could become the victims of criminal operations in the virtual space. In this case, the security of thousands users might depend on several criminals.
The internet is an important part of our lives. Many people use social networks, email, etc. This is a good opportunity for cybercriminals because they use their knowledge in order to cause damage to many internet users. Cybercriminals are very good organized. They use many tools for obtaining private data. We have to care about our personal data on the sites we are visiting and on the computers we are using for work. Internet is a black hole, so we have to gain knowledge about preventing ourselves from cyber crimes.

The information about daily cybercrimes and about ways to protect ourselves from them are included in TED presentation from James Lyne: 


Questions:
1)      What do you think about the threat of cybercrime? Have you ever been attacked by cybercriminals?
2)      Do you make any attempts to ensure your cyber security?
3)      What do you think about hiring cybercriminals for hacking enemies? Do you know about web services for hackers on which they can test their viruses?


Comments

Anonymous said…
To be honest I'm not interested about cybercrimes and security stuff. As far as I know I have never been a victim of a cybercrime, but who knows - sometimes victims may not be aware of it.
I use some antiviruses and I'm trying not to open unknown and suspect e-mails.
Hacking enemies may be a good idea. Many of crimes nowadays can be done just by using computer with an access to Internet.
Unknown said…
I'm not interested in cybercrimes and cyber security. I've never been a victim of cybercrime, but I know, that it may change easily.
I'm using antiviruses and I'm aware of phishing.
I'm not sure if it is legal, so I wouldn't like to speak out.
It's awesome that you know how to protect yourself.
I was really amazed that hacking enemies advertised as a normal service:)
Unknown said…
Cybercrime is very big problem for me. We will never eliminate it like with other crime. Of course we can limit it. Fact is that firms employ good hackers to fight with other hackers. My friend had problem becasue after she opened mail her computer was blocked and she saw information that it will be unblocked when she pays. Unfortunately she lost everything what she had on her computer.
Unknown said…
Cybercrime is very big problem for me. We will never eliminate it like with other crime. Of course we can limit it. Fact is that firms employ good hackers to fight with other hackers. My friend had problem becasue after she opened mail her computer was blocked and she saw information that it will be unblocked when she pays. Unfortunately she lost everything what she had on her computer.
Michał Pycek said…
I have experienced some attempts of a hacker trying to hack my website or account. I also use various programmes against it and I try to avoid all kinds of situations in which I could be exposed to cybercrime. Regarding what Jacek mentioned, I know a friend who also has had the same type of information and contacted an IT support company which has helped. We should all protect ourselves online, because nowadays we have way too much information online.
It's a really big problem, not only for you. Situation that happened with your friend is very sad, but there is some good news:)
There are solutions for such problems, without losing any data or money. And now, can find it even in Google.
Ihor Ahnianikov said…
Hopefully I'm not a victim of a cybercrime, although you can never know, there may be a keylogger installed on your device and you can find it when it's too late, for example when all your accounts are hacked or bank account balance changed. I experienced a hacking attempt a few days ago - it was a simple blank full-screen popup with a dialog window about installing a browser extension. If I understand correctly regular user just clicks "Ok", extension is installed and collects details like entered passwords, credit card number etc. from all pages you visit. I haven't seen this type of malware before, usually you have to install something on your device so malware can be executed.

I'm against hiring hackers for "evil" purposes, It's better to offer them rewards for reported vulnerabilities so they will not have to break the law and sell this information.
I'm not a victim of a cybercrime, but nowadays, that can easily change. I'm trying to secure myself with antivirus and of course I'm not believe in any emails from prince which left me huge inheritance ;) Also I don't use social media much often - people usually just overshare there.
On the other hand, I'm any specialist, so if some profesionalist wants to hack me, probably he could do it easily.
Unknown said…
I once was victim of phishing. Luckily for me, it was in free online game, so it wasn't that importany to me. Since then I try to ensure that my passwords match so called good patterns of creating passwords. I also try to not log in on untrusted computers and wifi networks. I am not suprised that brilliant hackers are hired by governments. Nowadays, network is new kind of battlefield and we have to acknowledge fact, that governments try to spy using it. It is not something that we can fight with. I just hope that i will never have to participate in cyber conflicts.
Unknown said…
To be honest, I'm very interested in security. Unfortunately, the more I know, the more scared I am. There are a lot of types of attacks and it's impossible to fully protect.
I have never been a victim, but as Jagoda said - it can easily change. What's more, there is possibility that I became a victim and even I don't know about it. Who knows?

To be more protected I keep some rules:
1. I don't use one password for more than one application.
2. I don't keep my passwords in any place that can be hacked or stolen.
3. I try to use only trusted sources.
4. I use software that helps be being safe (antiviruses etc.)
5. My passwords are always very strong.
6. I use only trusted devices (e.g. don't log in into a bank account at school)
7. For more important services I change passwords regurarly.
Threat of cybercrime is really huge, even when it doesn't concerns our computers, because someone can attack our bank or mail provider, so we are in danger all the time. I haven't been attacked by cybercriminals, I try to care about security, but it's really hard, because there are so many opportunities to attack our computers and we can't be fully protected. If someone wants to attack our computer, network with enough patience he will do it with full success.
I think that hiring hackers to fight with our competition is morally wrong and there is no excuse for doing it.
Unknown said…
Cyber-crimes is a very common thing nowadays, because everything around us use access to internet, which could be potentially hacked.
I have never been hacked. I am always careful while surfing internet. I use ad blocks, antiviruses and I usually enter rather safe sites.
The threat of cybercrime is real and it is still growing. In fact, it applies to every single Internet user. My personal devices and internet service accounts have never been attacked by cybercriminals. However, I have a few web servers to host my projects and each of them is attacked by some automatic hacking tools almost every day. Fortunately, it is not that hard to fight off attacks of this type. Even introducing some basic protection mechanisms can greatly reduce the risk of such accidents.
To ensure my cyber security I focus primarily on using my devices and the Internet wisely. First of all, you have to be aware of the potential threats to effectively protect yourself. Unfortunately, many people don't even realize that they are in danger of being hacked.
I strongly condemn the practice of hiring cybercriminals for hacking enemies or competitors.
I think that cybercrimes are one of the most serious ones.
I personally have never been hacked, but I know that it could easily be done by some hacking expert.
I use 2 factor verification wherever it’s possible, and I’m very skeptical about almost everything to not be phishing victim.
I think that hiring cybercriminals for hacking enemies is a brilliant idea. It would be probably the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to get rid of your opponents in for example business.
I often read the news about information security , I think now it is very important , since a lot of important and personal data stored on your PC or in the cloud which can be adjusted because I think some knowledge in information security is very necessary. Yes some accounts are social. networks have been compromised but in fact, there is no perfect nothing important and I quickly managed to regain control.

Yes, pay attention to it but let's say not in "paranoid mode".
1) What do you think about the threat of cybercrime? Have you ever been attacked by cybercriminals?
The threat will be higher year by year - currently we are using phones, computers for almost everything. There will always be a lot of people that will find a way to make money illegal way. Many users are not aware of many risks that may affect their lives. On one of my test system there was a cryptographic attack but had a snapshot so it was clean in few minutes.
2) Do you make any attempts to ensure your cyber security?
When you learn the way you can break into systems the more you are aware how to get more secure I think the only way is to educate in that matter.
3) What do you think about hiring cybercriminals for hacking enemies? Do you know about web services for hackers on which they can test their viruses?
Sometimes you can hire a hacker to test your system security, that is the only legal and good thing that can be done with it.
Magdalena Popek said…

Due to the growing popularity of the Internet cybercrimes are getting more and more common. There is a growing number of ways to steal data from users. It all changes so quickly normal people cannot keep up with safest ways of using the sites.
Personally I have never been attacked by a cybercriminal and I hope this will never happen. I am always trying to make sure my password is secure - not easy to break or guess.
Unfortunately I know barely anything about hacking and hackers, so I have never heard anything about web services for them to test viruses.
It's not possible to be 100% safe against cyber-crime, but there are definitely things that can help a lot, such as the plain old obvious thing of not using the same password in more than one place. You don't have to memorize 100+ passwords either, you can use something like Keepass2 (that I use myself) and remember one single password to your passwords container, and log in with a one-time password to every service you use.

That alone protects you from password leaks and security breaches in many third-party services, and that's definitely the biggest problem today, as you're never a target - some specific website is, which after getting hacked, makes you a victim. By using one-time password you're not exposing your details to any other service you use. In combination with one-time e-mail and not sharing your private details, this is already a very decent security in terms of private data, and it's barely 2 steps that nearly nobody does.
Maciej Główka said…
I think we are all vulnerable for any sort of cybercrime. Luckily I haven't been attacked yet. I know, that anything I post will never go offline, that's why I'm careful. I'm an IT guy, so I also know common attacks (fake emails etc), so it also helps me not to became a cyber victim.
In my opinion that hiring cybercriminals for hacking enemies is very common. I think Russia and China are in first place if we talk about hiring criminals. I hope that our country is not so weak and furthermore is able to protect us and more important our national secrets from stealing in cyber attacks.
Vyvyan said…
1) I haven't been personally attacked in that way, yet i consider cybercrime a serious threat.
2) Of course. Using firewall is just like using a condom. It's mandatory in modern times.
3) It's a grand mistake. Allowing such people to roam free and attack is one of the biggest failures. They are living thinking people. They are very cunning and one overlooked action may lead to a lot of trouble. And no i don't know any services and if i knew i wouldn't have told anyone (just to be safe)
Unknown said…
I have never been a victim of cyber-attack because I don't think it would not be so interesting for someone to hack my Facebook or instagram:)

Of course, I don't want some hackers to mess with my private life, but I have know idea how to protect myself. To tell the truth, I have never thought about it:) but the topic could be interesting for many people, i guess.
Unknown said…
The cost of cybercrime is unimaginable. There are whole groups of organizations who operate virtually and steal money and cheat users into their traps.
Never been attacted but I try to treat cyber-security very seriuosly. Virtual reality but the danger is real.
Unknown said…
First of all, why would I know about web services for hackers on which they can test their viruses?
Well I think that cybercrime is a real threat but I also know that if you are targeted specifically by hackers, you will be hacked, and as a regular person, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
( http://fusion.net/i-dared-two-expert-hackers-to-destroy-my-life-heres-wh-1793854995 )

But that's a bit different than accidentally stumbling on a virus while browsing the internet. Having a good (paid) anti virus helps a little, but so does common sense.
Unknown said…
Nowadays it's really big problem and many people become a victim of such crime.
All I've done is installing anti-spyware software and just using internet reasonably.

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