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compromised key information and information infrastructures. For national security the most important
problem is associated with obstruction of the performance of telecommunications, energy facilities, energy
pipelines, refineries, financial networks, health systems and other essential services.
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One of the factors for
successful hacker attacks is the weak protection of the servers on which the attacked websites are located.
Hackers who are well technically trained very easily succeed in developing new programs through which
they carried
out the attacks on the servers, while paying great attention to cover their tracks.
Viruses, worms and Trojans or Trojan horses
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that spread with great speed and destroy everything
ahead, represent the greatest threat for the Internet, which is also called the nervous system of a modern
society. As much as the information networks become more important for the human and the economy, thus
much the attacks from the so called cyber criminals become more professional. Computer attacks (spear
phishing) or insertion of viruses, worms, “Trojan horses” and other malware code into the computer
networks and systems are directed to the most frequently used programs like Adobe PDF Reader, Adobe
Flash, Quick Time and Microsoft Office, which represents a compromise or attack on the computers that
have Internet access. “The infected” computer of the selected victim continues to be used for compromising
or attack of other internal computers and servers, which are considered to be protected from unauthorized
attacks from outside.
The main difference between the hackers – individuals and the structures of organized crime is in
achieving the final goal. Namely, the activities of the criminal structures are directed more towards
exploitation, than towards disruption, attack in the computer systems and mutual competition, which is in the
focus of the hacker community. However, the structures of organized crime use hacker's services or so called
“insiders”, which are not their members, but for substantial remuneration put their knowledge in their
service. Those are competent persons from the communication and information technology area, employed
in public administration and large companies, or unsatisfied employees in these institutions that are not
enough motivated because of low income or other reasons. These engaged persons allow the criminal
structures an access in the computer systems of the governments and their ministries or companies, and with
that an access to the protected and confidential information they contain.
The structures of organized crime of traditional type, for their own protection, technically train part of
their members for committing criminal acts in a safer way. Unlike them, the loose networks of organized
crime, use services of cells that are technically specialized, and act within these networks for committing of
illegal money transfers or to use the information data bases for their needs, thus providing desirable access to
the personal, financial, commercial, security and in general to all for them interesting information in order
for their further abuse.
3.
FORMS OF CYBERCRIME
The forms of cybercrime are identified as:
Unauthorized access in the computer systems or networks with breach of the security measures, so
called “hacking”;
Damaging of computer data
or programs;
Computer sabotage;
Unauthorized interception of communication from and to computer networks and systems;
Computer espionage.
The most common crimes committed by cybercrime are computer forgery, computer theft, technical
manipulations with computers or their components, abuse of the charging system such as manipulation and
theft of electronic payment cards or usage of false codes in illegal financial activities. This includes crimes
for possession and distribution of illegal material, by using computer systems and networks in order to
achieve more efficient results, but also for more successful avoidance of criminal prosecution. Within this
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. White House,
Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure
(Washington DC: White House, 2009).
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The viruses represent part of the program code, which is able only to multiply by adding its content in other programs or parts of
the operating system, while infecting the user. The viruses delete the attacked files or bring the operating system in a phase where it
cannot function normally. The worms represent an independent program that spreads from one computer to another. The most
common modes of transmission of worms is through the use of e-mail. Trojans or Trojan horses are software that is presented as
beneficial programs and thus they entice users to accept them. They are mostly used for committing a theft of confidential documents
or information.
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type of crime are the various illegal and harmful content, piracy and infringements of copyright and related
rights, and sale of illegal and unauthorized goods (drugs, weapons, stolen goods) or providing of illicit
services (illegal gambling, betting, prostitution and etc.). Yet the greatest attention of the security and
judicial structures is caused by the most sensitive crimes of this group of crimes, the pedophilia and child
pornography on the Internet.
The cybercrime, labeled as political and security, is identified as: computer espionage and computer
sabotage, cyber terrorism or the so called “virtual war” where terrorists use the Internet as a weapon, attack
or "hacking" on the commercial or governmental information systems by insertion of viruses, worms, or the
so called “Trojans”, but also as a cyber war in the information space of the combatants in an armed conflict.
The climate for the development of so-called “cyber terrorism” today is very favorable for reasons that
anyone who owns a computer, a modem and a certain level of IT knowledge is able to penetrate and disable
the important institutions in one state, such as the government and its ministries, its banking system or
energy facilities without being detected. Cyber terrorism refers to the deliberate politically motivated attacks
on the computer systems and programs.
Individuals, groups, organizations, but also states cannot interfere in the information or web space of
states, in order to undermine their political, economic and social system, and to control and manipulate the
information in the information space of the attacked states. Accordingly, the most serious threat to peace and
security is the so called hostile usage of information and telecommunication technologies.
Computer sabotage and cyber terrorism carried out by terrorist organizations in order to perform
electronic attacks on the economic, financial or computer systems of the governments of the states, for
protection of their information and communication systems and networks are using sophisticated techniques
such as the use of encrypted files or frequent changing and setting new web pages. By using computers and
modern information technology terrorist organizations, various extremist groups and individuals can
uninterruptedly place information that justify, promote terrorism, separatism, extremism, and undermine the
security of states that are an object or target of the attack.
According to the latest information, the governmental agencies and security services in the USA
systematized the forms of computer crime as follows:
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violent or potentially violent cybercrime;
cyber terrorism - a
terrorist act, planned, coordinated and performed within the so called cyber space;
computer threat - threat sent by email;
computer espionage - type of computer threat, which has the goal of abduction or attack in
real life;
child pornography - realistically viewed as violent crime since the object of attack are children over
which a sexual abuse is performed, but also because those who buy this kind of pornography often
seek their fantasies to meet the reality;
non-violent cybercrime;
unauthorized access to computer networks and systems (in cases where the data is not misused or
destroyed);
computer thefts;
position abuse (employment fraud);
illegal gathering of information (different from fraud only by the fact that the offender is not given a
privileged opportunity for access to certain information);
industrial espionage;
plagiarism and piracy;
identity theft (providing identification data with the intent to commit a crime or to commit theft from
a foreign bank account);
DNS chance poisoning – manipulation of the contents of the servers and “redirection” on their own
servers;
computer fraud - false representation to obtain tangible benefit or confidential information
and data;
destructive acts, such as:
hacking of systems and destruction of data;
hacking of computer servers
and vandalization of web pages;
inserting of viruses and other malicious code into the computer networks and systems;
DOS attack (Denial of Service) - which prevents operation of servers
and computer systems;
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.Debra Littlejohn Shinder, Scene of the cybercrime – Computer
Forensics Handbook, Syngress Publishing, 2002