Cyber Crime Increased by 127pc In 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 – Incidents of cyber crime in the country jumped by 127 per cent last year, or the equivalent of 8,090 cases compared to 3,564 cases in 2009, CyberSecurity Malaysia announced today.

Chief executive officer, Lt. Kol (Ret.) Husin Jazri said that of all the cases reported last year, the majority involved online fraud and deception, or the equivalent of 2,212 cases.

“In 2009, only 3,564 cases were recorded by Cyber999 but that number jumped to a much higher level last year,” he told reporters after the launch of the KL GreenHat 2011 challenge at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) here, today.

The two-day challenge was officiated by the dean of the Malaysia Institute of Information Technology (MIIT), Dr Roslan Ismail.

Husin said many cases revolved around personal attacks of a political nature, pornography, fraud and computer viruses.

“There were 419 cases of blackmail last year,” he added.

CyberSecurity Malaysia is the national cyber security specialist under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) that runs the Cyber999 Help Centre which is tasked with eradicating cyber crime.

Meanwhile, Roslan said ethical hacking represented one of the challenges at KL GreenHat 2011.

He said ethical hackers are not individuals who trespass and steal information but those who help strengthen existing systems from being hacked.

Moreover, the increase in ethical hackers allows for more far-reaching cyber security as well as a more thorough examination of computer systems, including the internet and computer applications.

Ethical hackers would be able to determine if any data was at risk of being compromised and suggest ways of overcoming such weaknesses, he added. – Bernama

Source:The Malaysian Insider,http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/cyber-crime-increased-by-127pc-in-2010/

Comment:

Refer to announcement made by CyberSecurity Malaysia (2010), the cybercrime cases was increased from 3,564 cases to 8,090 cases or 127% increased from year 2009 to 2010. We can see that the cybercrime cases were increasing in a rapid trend and I believe the figure will become larger when we take into consideration of some unrecorded cases. It’s good to see that a Cyber999 Help Centre was created by CyberSecurity Malaysia to prevent cybercrime acitivities. Sometime, people do not know what should they do when affected by cybercrime activities, so they will keep quiet and make the situation become worst. In my opinion, government can increase the public awareness of the internet security via creating some IT relevant activities like seminar, competition, briefing, and etc. For example, the challenges of KL GreenHat 2011 will be a very good opportunity to deliver the important of internet security message to public because people can get the chance to get an ideal of how the hacker conduct hacking activities and increase their awareness to prevent from hacked by someone else.

Cybercrimes continue to rise

KUALA LUMPUR: Cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide with more than a ­million people becoming victims every single day, according to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011. The victims of cybercrime also paid dearly with a total loss of US$388bil (RM1.21bil) to ­cybercriminals in 2010. Effendy Ibrahim, director of ­consumer business at Symantec Asia Pacific, said that cybercrimes don’t only cost victims financially but emotionally too. “On average, it takes 10 days for a victim to recover from a ­cybercrime and it can be emotional too ­considering the amount of data they lose,” he said at the launch of Norton 2012, Symantec’s latest cybersecurity solution. However, victims could have saved themselves money and regret as the type of cybercrimes they fell victim to were preventable. The report found that the most common type of cybercrimes are malware, scams and threats ­targeted at mobile devices. However many people tend to underestimate the dangers of online crime thinking that it will happen to everyone else but themselves. The survey found that seven out of 10 adults thought they would more likely be a victim of physical crime rather than an online crime. “This is a lingering attitude users have when they are offline and it gets replicated when they are online,” Effendy said. The report also found that men, particularly those in the generation Y demographic, are most likely to become victims of cybercrimes. “Men spend more time online and do more ‘dangerous’ activities,” Effendy said. The report stated that more men watch adult content, gamble and participate in online dating sites compared to women. “All these are social engineering techniques and it’s quite easy to fall victims to such tactics,” Effendy said.

Local threat landscape

Although Malaysia wasn’t in the list of countries studied in the ­report, national cyberspace police Cybersecurity Malaysia said the findings are representative of the Malaysian threat landscape. “It is the same environment, so whatever that is happening in the world will definitely affect us the same way,” said Cybersecurity Malaysia chief executive officer, Lt Col (Rtd) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri. He said the Malaysian ­cyberthreat landscape is no less alarming with over 10,000 cases reported every month up till August this year. Last year, Cybersecurity Malaysia received over 8,000 reports about cybercrime via its cyber999 hotline. Its Cyber Early Warning System has also detected over 5,000,000 ­security threats up until August. Given the increasing amount of cyberthreats, Husin said there is a need for more proactive ­measures to prevent more Internet users from becoming cybercrime victims and it will take more than reviewing or improving current cybersecurity laws. “Amending laws take time and it is slower than the prevailing problem. We need to intensify education and awareness efforts to educate users on Internet risks,” he said. Husin said Cybersecurity Malaysia is open to the idea of working with security solution providers like Symantec to come up with ­cybersecurity awareness ­programmes. Cybersecurity Malaysia already has a list of home-made ­security tools such as DontPhishMe, DNSwatch and MyPHPiPs that protects users from cybercriminals which can be downloaded for free. It is also working on ­establishing a Cyber Clinic which will offer an extensive list of cybersecurity ­services to computer users. The clinic is expected to be ready before the end of the year.

Source: APEC Digital Oppotunnity Center,http://www.apecdoc.org/site/malaysia/2011/09/26/cybercrimes-continue-to-rise/

Comment:

According to Norton Cybercrime Report 2011, there is around a million of people become victims of cybercrime. It’s a horrible figure and evidence to identify the serious negative impacts brings by the development of internet technology to our life. I do believe that the reason for cybercrime cases to happen is because people are too comfortable with the flexibility and convenience when using internet services. The unawareness of them about their own security when using internet was providing the chance to fraudster to commit illegal activities. Security was the major issue when using internet because most the cybercrime activities could happen within a second or committed when a simple “click” on any button.

The security software or programmes might able to protect internet user and prevent the cybercrime activities. However, I don’t think these security programmes could 100% make sure the security of their user in internet. Some of the user would like to reduce the sensitivity of the programme to low level in order to enjoy faster browsing speed when using internet because the higher level of filtering process will reduce the speed of browsing on website. Another difficulty when using some security programme is users need to manually manage the setting of the programme but most the of people didn’t have enough knowledge to do it.

A Hacker Is Indicted In Computer Fraud Case

Kevin D. Mitnick, the fugitive computer hacker who was captured by Federal authorities on Feb. 15, was indicted Thursday on 23 counts of fraud involving computer-access devices.

The indictments, filed in Federal District Court in Greenville, N.C., some 85 miles from here, charged Mr. Mitnick with one count of possessing device-making equipment, one count of possessing unauthorized access devices and 21 counts of using a counterfeited access device.

The indictment charges that Mr. Minick, 31, electronically broke into computer systems from Feb. 4, when he leased an apartment in Raleigh, until his arrest. "This just looks at several days before his arrest in Raleigh," John Bowler, an assistant United States attorney, said.

Mr. Bowler declined to discuss whether Mr. Mitnick could face additional charges, but said that an investigation was continuing.

Investigators say Mr. Mitnick possessed and used illegal equipment that allowed him to make a cellular telephone work as someone else's phone. Prosecutors said he commandeered a cellular-compatible modem to gain access to computer systems, where he stole information worth more than $1 million, including some 20,000 credit card numbers, although he apparently did not use the card numbers for financial gain.

Because he may face Federal charges elsewhere in the country, it is uncertain whether Mr. Mitnick will be tried in Raleigh, Mr. Bowler said. Mr. Mitnick is also wanted by state and Federal authorities for a parole violation in California and could face charges in other states.

He is being held in Federal custody in eastern North Carolina. Officials would not give the exact site, saying that disclosing it would jeopardize security.

His court-appointed lawyer, John A. Dusenbury, could not be reached for comment today.

Mr. Mitnick first became known for his computer skills as a teen-ager when he electronically broke into a computer of the North American Air Defense Command.

In 1989, he was convicted in Federal court of stealing software worth $1 million and doing damage estimated at $4 million to the Digital Equipment Corporation. He served one year in prison and was on probation when he disappeared in 1992, remaining on the run from Federal authorities until his arrest about a month ago.

Source:TheNewYorkTimes, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/11/business/a-hacker-is-indicted-in-computer-fraud-case.html

Comment:
In my opinion, Mr.Mitnick will be charged by Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 1986 under 18 U.S.C. S 1030(a)(2): Computer trespassing, and taking government, financial, or commerce info due to the stole of $1 million worth information and 20,000 credit card numbers. The problem is Mr.Mitnick face Federal charges elsewhere in the country. There is a possibility that Mr.Mitnick in various state courts but it’s very time consuming and costly. The development of technology is very fast and these legal protections as cyber law are inadequate and unable to compete with these growths which happened all over the world. The existence of hacker always challenging the security of internet and I believe that cyber law is not enough to prevent the cyber crime activities but it can become a tool to minimize cyber crime cases and protect internet user interests.

RM1mil Lost to Online Lover

KUALA LUMPUR: An insurance broker received a rude shock when she lost more than RM 1mil in an Internet scam.

The woman, identified only as Lim, 47, gave RM 1,021,000 in total to Kevin Axcel Brown @ Joe, whom she "met" in an online matchmaking site in September.

Joe claimed he was a 48-year-old Canadian chemical engineer with Petronas in Terengganu and had used different telephone numbers to communicate.

MCA's Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Micheal Chong said most cases of Internet fraud involved promises of joint business ventures and marriage.

"There have been 13 cases of Internet fraud this year and nine of the victims were female.

"None of them had seen their scammers' faces and yet could fall in love with them," Chong added.

Joe had asked Lim for a RM 1mil loan last October to settle his financial troubles and she deposited it intro three different bank accounts registered under the name of Zanariah.

He then said he was abroad, but asked her to meet him at KLIA on Dec 7.

She waited for four hours in vain.

She had also transferred an extra US$ 7,000 (RM 21,000) for Joe's travel expenses.

Besides her savings, Lim had also borrowed from friends, family and financial organizations to raise the RM 1mil.

Chong advised the public to be more careful as scammers had developed new tactics to con their victims.

"They show fake approval letters and even tap into an organization's phone number," he said, showing two "supportletters" Joe used to convince Lim.

The case comes after reports of a new telephone scam demanding victims to give "donations" allegedly for Barisan Nasional 's election fund.

The "Bukit Aman police scam" began three weeks ago with victims receiving phone calls from a number registered under the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters.

A "Datuk Halim" from the Commercial Crime desk would inform victims of a money laundering charge against them and ask them to deposit money in an account for the election fund.

Three near-victims approached Chong, who said there had been at least eight similar cases this year.

"They claimed to be acting on the Prime Minister's orders and asked between RM 3,000 and RM 5,000 from each victim," Chong said.

Telephone scam losses amounted to more than RM 1.5mil this year, while Internet fraud losses stand at RM 1.8mil.

Source: TheStar, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/10/nation/10070014&sec=nation

Comment:

This case raise people concern about the safety of using social network because it provides an alternative platform for fraudsters to conduct illegal activities by using fake identity or information. Refer to this case, fraudsters will seek for target victims via social network and they will try to find the chance to chat with those girls by showing their loves and cares. At the end, the fraudster will disappear once they get the money from victims. This is a serious issue because the victims consist of who are educated and having professional background, likes teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs and etc. It's showed that public awareness with the safety of using internet is still very low. I hope that this case could become a good reference and raising public concern with the safety of social network due to risk of cheat by fraudsters who using fake personality information.