On the wake of Microsoft rolling out it’s new Cybercrime Center, now would be a good time to discuss the necessity of such a center and why the internet’ s future looks bleak without it and other similar labs.
In a nutshell, the center is a multi-disciplinary task force assigned the unenviable task of providing high level policing of cybercrime or to nip in the bud criminal activity. Security engineers, digital forensics experts and lawyers are working together to stop alarming trends that include cyber-fraud, cyber-extortion and cyber-bullying.
Let’s take a look why this Center was put into place and the top reasons that if uncurbed, cybercrime could threaten the foundation of the internet and the wide-spread communication it has brought us.
1. Temptation. As years go by, more and more people are on the internet. It provides a form of communication that is swift and international. As more people see that they can “hide” behind their device, the more the temptation will be toward trying something criminal. It is very easy to lie to someone when you don’t see them. This is a recipe for disaster.
2. Trust. The more people that have been bamboozled via internet crime, the more likely the average person will begin to stay away. This is not what those who are developing viable, up and up technologies want to see. However, as is often the case, the few (but becoming more and more) ruin it for the many.
3. Hack-mania. The “hacking” culture has become a competitive nightmare. The so-called “clever ones” culture has become a race to be the cleverest. This doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Hacking, in many cases, is nothing more than a low-level curiosity.
4. Laws that can’t catch-up. The internet began some 30 years ago. It was the wild west. It is still the wild-west. Technology moved beyond the existing laws. Basically there were no laws for anything like the internet. Lawmakers have tried to address this but when you fall behind, it is very hard to catch-up, in this kind of game.
5. No deterent. For example – it may seem funny for some 12 year old boy fooling around with hacking bank information or stealing credit card money. He rides his bike home from school. Get’s on his laptop at home and does his thing. So he steals money from a retired grandmother of 6,who lives thousands of miles away and thinks secretly, “Wow, so easy and who is going to catch me?”, He is no worse for ware because he is not forced to confront the reality of his transgression because he lives in a virtual world. Until something is done to force a reentrance into a world of reality, it’s clear that this type of offence may become the norm rather than the exception. Not only have these people taken away the livelihoods of others, they’ve made a complete mess of one of the great discoveries on this planet.
The internet is a beautiful tool, when used properly. Hopefully the Cybercrime unit can go along way to curbing undesirable activity, and we will all have a safe internet experience for a long time to come.