PRACTICAL 1

AIM : Study practical on cyber crime and generation of hash values on file system.

THEORY :

1)Cyber Crime
Cybercrime, or computer-oriented crime, is a crime that involves a computer and a network.
Cybercrimes can be defined as: "Offences that are committed against individuals or groups of
individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause
physical or mental harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern
telecommunication networks such as Internet (networks including chat rooms, emails, notice
boards and groups) and mobile phones. Cybercrime may threaten a person or a nation's security
and financial health.Issues surrounding these types of crimes have become high-profile,
particularly those regarding hacking, copyright infringement, unwarranted mass-surveillance,
sextortion, child pornography, and child grooming.

Cybercrime is any criminal activity that involves a computer, networked device or a network.
While most cybercrimes are carried out in order to generate profit for the cybercriminals, some
cybercrimes are carried out against computers or devices directly to damage or disable them,
while others use computers or networks to spread malware, illegal information, images or other
materials. Some cybercrimes do both -- i.e., target computers to infect them with a computer
virus, which is then spread to other machines and, sometimes, entire networks.

A primary effect of cybercrime is financial; cybercrime can include many different types of
profit-driven criminal activity, including ransomware attacks, email and internet fraud, and
identity fraud, as well as attempts to steal financial account, credit card or other payment card
information. Cybercriminals may also target an individual's private information, as well as
corporate data for theft and resale.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) divides cybercrime into three categories:

1. crimes in which the computing device is the target -- for example, to gain network access;
2. crimes in which the computer is used as a weapon -- for example, to launch a denial-of-
service (DoS) attack and
3. crimes in which the computer is used as an accessory to a crime -- for example, using a
computer to store illegally obtained data.
2)Types of Cyber Crime
DDoS Attacks

These are used to make an online service unavailable and take the network down by
overwhelming the site with traffic from a variety of sources. Large networks of infected devices
known as Botnets are created by depositing malware on users’ computers. The hacker then hacks
into the system once the network is down.

Botnets

Botnets are networks from compromised computers that are controlled externally by remote
hackers. The remote hackers then send spam or attack other computers through these botnets.
Botnets can also be used to act as malware and perform malicious tasks.

Identity Theft

This cybercrime occurs when a criminal gains access to a user’s personal information to steal
funds, access confidential information, or participate in tax or health insurance fraud. They can
also open a phone/internet account in your name, use your name to plan a criminal activity and
claim government benefits in your name. They may do this by finding out user’s passwords
through hacking, retrieving personal information from social media, or sending phishing emails.

Cyber stalking

This kind of cybercrime involves online harassment where the user is subjected to a plethora of
online messages and emails. Typically cyberstalkers use social media, websites and search
engines to intimidate a user and instill fear. Usually, the cyberstalker knows their victim and
makes the person feel afraid or concerned for their safety.

Social Engineering

Social engineering involves criminals making direct contact with you usually by phone or email.
They want to gain your confidence and usually pose as a customer service agent so you’ll give
the necessary information needed. This is typically a password, the company you work for, or
bank information. Cybercriminals will find out what they can about you on the internet and then
attempt to add you as a friend on social accounts. Once they gain access to an account, they can
sell your information or secure accounts in your name.

PUPs

PUPS or Potentially Unwanted Programs are less threatening than other cybercrimes, but are a
type of malware. They uninstall necessary software in your system including search engines and
pre-downloaded apps. They can include spyware or adware, so it’s a good idea to install an
antivirus software to avoid the malicious download.

Phishing

This type of attack involves hackers sending malicious email attachments or URLs to users to
gain access to their accounts or computer. Cybercriminals are becoming more established and
many of these emails are not flagged as spam. Users are tricked into emails claiming they need to
change their password or update their billing information, giving criminals access.

Prohibited/Illegal Content

This cybercrime involves criminals sharing and distributing inappropriate content that can be
considered highly distressing and offensive. Offensive content can include, but is not limited to,
sexual activity between adults, videos with intense violent and videos of criminal activity. Illegal
content includes materials advocating terrorism-related acts and child exploitation material. This
type of content exists both on the everyday internet and on the dark web, an anonymous network.

Online Scams

These are usually in the form of ads or spam emails that include promises of rewards or offers of
unrealistic amounts of money. Online scams include enticing offers that are “too good to be true”
and when clicked on can cause malware to interfere and compromise information.

3)Cyber Forensics

Cyber forensics is an electronic discovery technique used to determine and reveal technical
criminal evidence. It often involves electronic data storage extraction for legal purposes.
Although still in its infancy, cyber forensics is gaining traction as a viable way of interpreting
evidence. Cyber forensics is also known as computer forensics.

Cybercrimes cover a broad spectrum, from email scams to downloading copyrighted works for
distribution, and are fueled by a desire to profit from another person's intellectual property or
private information. Cyber forensics can readily display a digital audit trail for analysis by
experts or law enforcement. Developers often build program applications to combat and capture
online criminals; these applications are the crux of cyber forensics.

Cyber forensic techniques include:

 Cross-driven analysis that correlates data from multiple hard drives

Each of the above techniques is applied to cyber forensic investigations.