Technology is an essential part of our lives today, but, unfortunately, so is cybercrime. While information and communication technology helps people deal with everyday problems like paying a bill or shopping online, cyber criminals use the very same technology to disrupt the lives of others. Some of these criminals might think that using the Internet’s perceived anonymity they can get away with any offences.
This is why it is the duty of every Australian citizen to report to the relevant authorities any cybercrime committed against them or, indeed, any criminal activity they discover online.
What is cybercrime?
If you’ve been on the Internet for a few years, you’ve probably received at least one email promising you a small fortune in return for helping a person to retrieve some financial assets from a certain country. Years ago, this practice was known as the ‘Nigerian scam’ because that’s what it was, a scam meant to make you send considerable sums of money to someone you didn’t know. Should such a thing happen to you in real life you’d quickly report the scammer to the police, and this is what you should if you fall for an online scam.
However, this is a type of cybercrime you can easily guard against and few people fall for such a scam these days. Other types of cyber crimes are more elaborate and involve a degree of specialization that, in many cases, you cannot detect them until it is too late.
Under Australian law, cybercrimes are:
# Crimes directed against computers or other means of communication, such as denial of service attacks, often meant to cripple the activity of a web-based business or institution
# Accessing a computer remotely to steal or destroy sensitive data
# Accessing a computer to steal the financial data of an individual
# Creating malicious software, like viruses or malware, and using them to access and destroy information on a computer. Software used to practically freeze a computer and then demand money to unlock it is known as ransomware.
As per the Australian Federal Police (AFP), all of the above items are against the law and if convicted, will certainly appear on the convicted person’s afp police check certificate.
How can you protect yourself from cybercrime
First of all you need to educate yourself on these matters as your computer is always at risk.
Using sophisticated security systems on your computer is essential, but remember that cyber criminals always come up with some new virus able to bypass normal security systems.
Unless you’re a coder yourself, it’s hard to manage on your own, which is why the Australian government offers various programs, like Stay Smart Online, to educate private citizens on the most recent online threats.
Online child abuse
Any citizen is encouraged to report immediately to their local police any sort of child abuse they come across on the Internet. Child pornography is huge online.
It is also illegal and carries lengthy prison sentences, but to put cyber criminals behind bars, citizens must do their bit. The same goes for other crimes, like bullying.
Maybe these crimes take place in what we like to call the virtual world, but all such offences can and will be tried in the real world and their convictions will go on their criminal record.
