Cybercriminals commit crimes via technology, usually but not always via the Internet.
Although some still think so, the Internet is no longer a lawless space.
There is plenty of legislation to cover most types of internet crimes.
Different countries have different legislations that sometimes overlap or even conflict.
So it isnt easy to establish precisely what the legal situation may be at all times.
That said, most cases of cybercrime are fairly obviously recognizable as such.
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Types of Cybercrime
Cybercriminals can earn that title in a variety of ways.
Popular email scams are also a form of cybercrime as they attempt to scam people out of their money.
Larger-scale crimes can include significantly more severe things.
A particularly dangerous example was reported in 2014 when a German steel mill was hacked.
The hack caused massive damage as a blast furnace was forced to perform an unscheduled shutdown.
The situation could easily have been life-threatening with a system dealing with tons of thousand-degree molten steel.
Hackers
There is an inevitable overlap between hackers and cybercriminals, but they are not synonymous.
Conversely, not all cybercriminals are necessarily hackers either.
There are types of cybercrime that dont require any hacking at all.
For example, stealing credit card information via a scam doesnt require hacking.
Neither does simply buying that stolen credit card data and using it yourself.
The motivations of cybercriminals are overwhelmingly motivated by personal gain or ideology.
Types of Cybercriminals
For more extensive criminal operations, often multiple different types of cybercriminals band together.
In this case, each person tends to bring unique skills that complement the talents of others.
This setup isnt too different from how, for example, organized crime and other criminal organizations operate.
The main difference is that cybercrime occurs via the tool of technology and, often, the Internet.
Usually, cybercriminals will be affiliated with existing criminal organizations or funded by them.
How Cybercriminals Choose Their Targets
Most cases of cybercrime arent targeted at specific individuals.
This is the case for things like malvertising, for example.
Cases of individual targets are almost always either about personal issues or affect public persons of interest.
Countering Cybercrime
In many cases, cybercriminals can get away with their crimes.
This is partly because it can be pretty hard to pin a cybercrime on a particular person reliably.
Another reason that cybercriminals often go unpunished is that cybercrime can be international.
Some considerable international efforts do take down large groups.
In many cases, the effort needed for international cooperation and investigation is not worth it.
Note:A perfect example of this is Russian hackers.
While this policy has been shown to have limits, it is long-standing.
This acceptance makes it impossible to arrest Russian hackers, even with slam-dunk evidence.
Many actual takedowns involve beating cybercriminals at their own game.
A considerable number of cybercriminals fell for it and used it.
This allowed the FBI to see all of their communications instantly.
Protecting Yourself from Cybercrime
A currently popular form of cybercrime is ransomware.
The best protection against this and other malware forms is to ensure that your software is up to date.
Running some form of antivirus software is also an excellent step.
It would be best to avoid pirated software, especially pirated antivirus software.
While some free cracked copies of software may be legitimate, many pirated software is quietly modified.
These modifications generally include some malware.
This is essentially always the case with pirated antivirus software.
If theres a single piece of software that you should never pirate, its your antivirus.
There are legitimate free options if you dont want to pay.
Its a good idea to find out what data was breached if your data is involved in a breach.
For example, if payment details were compromised, you may want to cancel your affected card.
Using an ad-blocker and sticking to trustworthy websites, mainly for downloads, is generally a good idea.
As mentioned previously, most cases are not targeted at individuals.
If youre famous in any way, you might draw some attention.
Conclusion
A cybercriminal is a criminal that commits crimes primarily using computer systems.
A cybercriminal doesnt necessarily need to have used the Internet, though.
For example, selling USB sticks with malware hidden on them could be a form of cybercrime.
Financial gain is a common goal, with concepts such as ransomware being very popular.
In some cases, cybercriminals are ideologically driven and may deface websites or disable systems that they object to.
Some traditional criminal enterprises also spread into the cybercrime world.
