Posted: May 2nd, 2022

Laws against Cyber Crimes

Laws against Cyber Crimes

For businesses and entrepreneurs, the digital economy offers exciting opportunities. It also facilitates criminal activity such as internet fraud, computer fraud, information fraud, and technology and communications fraud. Cybercrime poses global issues that necessitate coordinated and international solutions. Cybercrime laws are designed to establish penalties for cybercrimes directed at data or committed by people who use computers or ICT. Cybercrime can occur during credit card payments, for example. Cybercrime vulnerabilities result from a high reliance on cyberspace. Cybercrime occurs when people use commuters to commit illegal acts. The first cybercrime was reported in 1820, but rates have risen as e-commerce has grown exponentially. According to a 2015 CBS report, there are 4000 cyber-attacks per day. Businesses are being targeted at a rate of 170 attacks per hour.
Users are the primary cause of cybercrime because they fail to be cautious, allowing hackers to quickly access their information. Users who fail to keep security software up to date, log out after each session, and ignore security and privacy settings while sharing private information expose their data to hacking. The Information Technology Act governs cyber law (Jardine, 2015). The Act addresses the cyber field’s rules and provisions. The laws safeguard electronic commerce, which helps to manage the ever-changing dimensions of the criminal world. The Information Technology Act is used to penalize cybercrime and punish or imprison those who commit it. The city, federal, and state governments have all passed cybercrime legislation. For example, the Indian government passed the Information Technology Act in 2000. The policies were designed to guide people who might be vulnerable to cybercrime. The primary goal was to improve data transmission while ensuring safety.
Cybercrime law’s role is to define and enforce acceptable behavior in the world of communication technology. The law prevents harm and protects users in general while they use infrastructure services. People have the right in the field of technology, allowing for investigations and prosecutions when online crimes are committed. Furthermore, the laws make it easier to investigate cybercrime between countries. The laws define the cyberspace rules of conduct, behaviors, and procedures. However, some states have decided to amend their national legislation by including cybercrime codes. Instead of developing new laws to combat cybercrime, these countries amend their existing ones (Jardine, 2015). The amendments criminalize the illegal use of data and communication technology to commit a crime separately. As a result, if a hacker uses unauthorized access to commit fraud, such behavior will be prosecuted as two separate crimes.
Cybercrime necessitates coordinated responses; therefore, organizations and businesses must adhere to the regulatory requirements of cyber laws. Because becoming aware of cyber laws will have an impact on the market, entrepreneurs should attend cybercrime laws webinars and workshops. During cybercrime, businesses should be aware of the legal requirements and understand how they apply to them. The organization must be aware of the legal implications of cybercrime risks. Individuals accused of cybercrime can use legal advice to defend themselves. Legal advice allows the accused to understand their chances of conviction (Jardine, 2015). Additionally, businesses must update their information technology policies to ensure compliance with the most recent cybercrime legislation.
There are numerous ramifications for violating cyber laws. Companies can lose customers and revenue as a result of security breaches, resulting in lawsuits that tarnish their reputation. Companies are required by law to maintain various levels of cybersecurity. Failure to maintain these levels may result in fines and penalties, in addition to other consequences. Cybersecurity laws vary depending on the type of company and the data it handles. The Health Insurance and Accountability Act applies to all organizations that handle medical data (HIPAA). The Gramm Leach Bliley Act protects private financial information (GLBA). The laws specify how this data can be collected, stored, accessed, and shared. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act governs the information provided by technology companies (CISA). This law safeguards the shard data used to detect and respond to threats. The Homeland Security and Management Act safeguards government information (FISMA). Federal, health, and information technology information are all private and require extreme security (Pinguelo and Muller, 2011).
According to research, some states, such as California, require notification in the event of an organizational breach. The company is not required to follow any specific cybersecurity regulations. However, there will be consequences if the protection strategy is insufficient. States such as New York only apply security laws to financial institutions. Businesses are required to provide annual certificates that represent their baseline approach to cybersecurity under the laws. According to (Pinguelo and Muller, 2011), only a few states have adequate laws in place, so businesses should not assume complete compliance with these laws.
Hackers’ security breaches can disrupt online businesses and compromise political data. Many retail companies and political data have been breached by hackers, altering people’s lives. Because of the varying degrees of hacking’s prevalence in society, it is critical for organizations to implement cybersecurity laws. Fines and fees are imposed depending on the nature of the attack. The severity of the breach is determined by the amount of data compromised and exposed. Penalties are costly, and they cause disruptions in a company’s daily operations. Violations of HIPAA laws result in fines ranging from $50 to $50,000 per record. The penalties are calculated based on the number of medical records reported. Penalties can be assessed on a yearly basis. Organizations, on the other hand, may face a maximum fine and additional years in prison. The maximum annual fine is $1.5 million, and the prison term ranges from one to ten years. Violations of the GLBA law can result in a $10,000 fine for each person involved and a $100,000 fine for each violation. The individual could face up to 5 years in prison if convicted (Pinguelo and Muller, 2011). Hacking laws are another type of law that has penalties. When a person breaks into a computer system with malicious intent, this is referred to as hacking. However, because the hacker used legal authorization, ethical hacking is not considered a crime. When a person enters a system without permission or authority, it is considered a crime. The Computer Fraud Abuse Act (CFAA), which prohibits unauthorized access to another network, is one of the federal hacking laws. The law applies to any computer in the United States.
Hackers who violate the law in order to obtain national security information face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Hackers who gain access to a computer in order to commit fraud and obtain value face up to ten years in prison if convicted. Password trafficking and extortion are punishable by up to ten years in prison. Sending spam and causing computer data damage can result in a five-year prison sentence for the hacker. Furthermore, states have hacking laws that prevent computer crime. Computer trespass, unauthorized access, and the use of malware and viruses are all prohibited under state law. For example, nearly half of the states in the United States have DDoS amendments (Gupta and Mata, 2016). This type of offense is classified as a first-degree crime in states such as Florida. Furthermore, states such as California have laws that make ransomware a first-degree felony.
Cyber-attacks can be carried out for political or criminal reasons. Some hackers will hack a system just for the thrill of it. The motivation for cyber-attacks is determined. For instance, politically motivated cyber-attacks are instigated to jeopardize the image of a government to the public. Cyber-attacks towards the government is motivated towards leaking sensitive data that may tarnish the state. For example, in August 2019, Huawei technicians were accused of helping two government officials in African countries to access the encrypted communication of their political rivals (Jardine, 2015). Study shows that cyber-attacks can go further to theoretically create software that can get used to corrupt and destroy crucial infrastructure. Cyber-attacks happen when information is leaked online to cause financial fraud. The data breaches can be carried out on credit card details, customer names, and address and purchase histories. Such data can get used to carrying out identity theft. Study shows that fraudsters collect customer information for stockpile crime. Stockpile crime involves collecting an address from one contact, and credit card number form another to commit identity theft (Lewis and Baker,2013).
Vulnerabilities in a computer system is an opportunity for cyber attackers. Many cyber attackers explore such opportunities by finding the flaws in a code of a website and manipulation them, thus manipulating the authentication process. The most common Act of cyber-attack occurs when a hacker installs malware, thus damaging a system. Attackers can also apply phishing to gain access to a system. For example, in the 2016 U.S. elections, the top officials in the Democratic Party were attacked by phishing attempts that led to the release of 60,000 private emails (Gupta and Mata, 2016). On an individual level, cyber-attacks may have effects on an individual, especially if the attack is a cyber-warfare. The criminal offense can have a broader influence on society’s security.
Cybercrime occurs in three categories; crimes against people, against property, and the government. Crimes against people can affect the lives of people. The attacks can result in cyber harassment, distribution, stalking, and human trafficking: credit card fraud, spoofing, or online related slander activities. Crimes against property can occur on the computer servers. The attacker can hack the system, transmit the virus, and cause DDOS attacks and computer vandalism. Crimes against the government is conducted; it jeopardizes the sovereignty of the nation (Gupta and Mata, 2016). The cybercrime can occur by hacking the systems and accessing confidential information. DDoS attacks are used to crash the system because a system can handle one request at a time. For example, receiving too many phone calls because of DDoS attacks can cause the system to crash eventually. DDoS attacks cause vast amounts of traffic in the system, thus leading the system to crash. When the system crashes, the user can no longer access the services, thus leading to loss of revenue. For example, in 2016, a DDoS attack occurred in October 2016, therefore, causing Reddit, Twitter, and Spotify to crash, thus impacting the individuals involved.
A data breach directly affects individuals when their information gets used to carry out fraudulent activities. Preventing such attacks requires solutions like a two-step authentication process. Users can frequently change their passwords. Changing passwords can prevent hackers from gaining access and causing breaches (Jardine, 2015). Also, users must follow the best practices when sharing information online. Organizations must familiarize themselves with the phishing techniques to update their security systems. Organizations must strengthen the security controls perimeters to prevent intrusion and improve the detection systems. However, perimeter-based security controls are not enough to protect large scale structures. Large scale structures require multi-layer defense systems that can deflect threats as soon as they are detected. An example of a multi-layer defense architecture is the Akamai Cloud Security solutions. The system can detect and deflect threats ate a massive scale (Jardine, 2015).
Data breaches such as hacking is increasingly becoming a common occurrence. Security breaches can affect data in the economic field and the political arena, thus affecting the immediate society. However, cyber laws are enforced to ensure safety in the online world. The laws outline legal protections for people who use the internet for their daily activities. Understanding these laws is imperative to provide adequate protection of data. Also, following the legislation ensures that the cybercrime is dealt with very seriously if damages occur in a business or property (Jardine, 2015). The law presents various punishments depending on the rules. The penalties amendments have reduced the rates of cybercrime because the criminals become aware of the penalties, thus avoiding crimes. However, the penalties vary depending on the country’s or state’s legislation in place.

References
Jardine, E. (2015). Global cyberspace is safer than you think: real trends in cybercrime. Global Commission on Internet Governance Paper Series, (16).
Lewis, J., & Baker, S. (2013). The economic impact of cybercrime and cyber espionage. McAfee.
Gupta, P., & Mata-Toledo, R. A. (2016). CYBERCRIME: IN DISGUISE CRIMES. Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management, 10(1).
Pinguelo, F. M., & Muller, B. W. (2011). Virtual crimes, real damages: a primer on cybercrimes in the united states and efforts to combat cybercriminals. Va. JL & Tech., 16, 116.

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