Research Paper on "Information Technology (IT) Risk Management Cyber Crime"

Research Paper 15 pages (4384 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

it Risk Management -- Cyber Crime

Over the last several years, the issue of cyber crime has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because it is seen as tool which can be used to conduct espionage, terrorism or criminal activities. The results are that the more rouge nation states and other organizations are taking an active part in these activities. According to the U.S. Internet Crime Complaint Center, they received a total of 336,665 reports of cyber related activities occurring last year. This is accounting for $559.77 million in losses. (Liu, 2013)

What makes these figures so troubling; is they are from just one organization which is monitoring the scope of cyber related crimes. When this is applied around the world, these statistics are easily crossing into the trillions of dollars in losses. This is problematic, in illustrating how these activities are not monitored or accurately reported. These challenges are highlighting, the issues impacting a number of different individuals and organizations. (Liu, 2013)

To make matters worse, many of them are becoming more common with larger amounts of people utilizing the Internet to conduct a host of activities (ranging from entertainment to financial transactions). According to Liu (2013), there are total of 2.95 billion people worldwide who are online every single day. This is creating a new platform which is providing hackers with a large number of potential targets. (Liu, 2013)

Recently, these problems have been compounded with an increase in the total amount of cyber related activities associated with espionage. In a 2012 report, the Pentagon found that the Chinese government was directly involved with these kinds of attacks against the U.S. government and American business interests. Their basic objectives were to use the information they obtained, in order to give them more of an advantage on the battlefield or in how they are competing against multinational firms. (Shakarian, 2013)

This is example, is illustrating the way the overall scope of cyber related criminal activities has been increasing. The primary reason is from the Internet being used as a place to store information and easily retrieve it. For cyber criminals, rouge states and terrorist organizations; this is an effective tool for achieving their objectives without having to go through the conventional means of stealing it. This is significant, in illustrating how cyber crimes have become more brazen. In the future, these activities will lead directly to similar incidents. That could have negative implications for various individuals, firms and organizations. (Shakarian, 2013)

To fully understand what is happening, requires looking at the way cyber crime is becoming more common and the lasting effects it is having. This will be accomplished by examining the different theories, tools / techniques, models and costs. Together, these elements will highlight the scope of the problem and the lasting effects it is having on a variety of organizations. It is at this point, when a risk assessment plan can be created to effectively mitigate these challenges over the long-term.

Theories

There are a number of theories that are used to highlight how cyber crime occurs and the overall scope of these activities. The most notable include: the classical, self-control and routine philosophies. These different ideas are illustrating why it is taking place and the views of perpetrators who are becoming involved.

The Classical Theory

The classical theory is based upon the belief that most people will not participate in any kind of illegal activities. This is because they realize that the consequences are severe if they are caught. These opinions will serve as deterrent in preventing them from taking part. According to Gryzbowski (2012), these ideas are supported based upon the views and the perceptions of someone being punished for their participation. (Gryzbowski, 2012)

Evidence of this can be seen with her saying, "The classical theorists think people will not participate in crime if they know what the punishment will be, that it will be delivered rapidly, and it is certain. This is because when it occurs the consequences from committing the crime outweigh the benefits an individual would have received from committing it. People rationally choose not to participate in criminal acts. In order to prevent them from occurring, they know that consequences will outweigh the benefits. This is when they will freely choose not to participate in this behavior." (Gryzbowski, 2012)

These ideas are illustrating how the classical theory of crime, is based upon a certain amount of deterrence from someone becoming caught and severely punished. It is at this point, when they will follow the various provisions of the law and avoid participating in these kinds of activities. In the case of cyber crime, there are no real penalties for someone who is involved or has the ability to effectively catch them. This is because, these actions are taking place across international borders and most people can hide their identities. To make matters worse, many different states have been known to be directly or indirectly supporting cyber crime. This is from it giving them the ability to severely weaken their adversaries and strengthen their capabilities. (Gryzbowski, 2012)

At the same time, the lack of regulations inside many countries is making the situation more severe. For instance, inside China an entire underground economy has been established that is focused on exclusively on cyber crime. A good example of this can be seen with observations from Jianwei (2012). He determined that this is contributing to an $852 million black market. What is making the problem so challenging, is there are no effective regulations to curtail these activities. (Jianwei, 2012)

Inside the U.S., these activities are becoming more brazen. This is taking place, because criminals do not feel that they will be caught. Instead, they believe that cyber crime is a good way to reap lucrative financial rewards from these activities. According to a study conducted by the Ponrmon Institute, they found that this are becoming more common with them saying, "Organizations need to be more vigilant in protecting their most sensitive and confidential information. Key takeaways from this research include:

Cyber crimes continue to be costly. We found that the average annualized cost of cyber crime for 56 organizations in our study is $8.9 million per year, with a range of $1.4 million to $46 million. In 2011, the average annualized cost was $8.4 million. This represents an increase in cost of 6% or $500,000 from the results of our cyber cost study published last year.

Cyber attacks have become common occurrences. The companies in our study experienced 102 successful attacks per week and 1.8 successful attacks per company per week. This represents an increase of 42% from last year's successful attack experience. Last year's study reported 72 successful attacks on average per week.

The most costly cyber crimes are those caused by denial of service, malicious insiders and web-based attacks. Mitigation of such attacks requires enabling technologies such as SIEM, intrusion prevention systems, application security testing and enterprise governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) solutions." (Shavers, 2012)

These findings are showing how cyber crime is becoming more common. This is because there is lack of penalties or the ability to be caught. Based upon the classical theory, these challenges are showing how more criminals are seeing the potential rewards they can make from these activities. This means that there are no deterrents and limited capabilities to prevent these incidents. When this happens, the overall scope of them will continue to increase. (Shavers, 2012)

The Self-Control Theory

The self-control theory, believes that these crimes will occur when someone has a lack of control over these issues. This encourages them to become involved in these activities based upon their inability to personally inhibit their actions. When this takes place, they will turn to this as a way to enhance their lifestyle. (Gryzbowski, 2012)

In the case of cyber crime, this theory is highlighting how these actions are creating a situation where more people an encouraged to participate. This is because they will have no self-control and will utilize this as a way to realize lucrative financial rewards. In many cases, organized crime elements have been participating and are realizing similar benefits from these opportunities. (Gryzbowski, 2012)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute which said, "Cybercrime has become a billion dollar industry -- therefore it is of no surprise that organized crime groups are increasingly seeking a share of the illicit profits. Attracted by the high rewards and low risk that many online criminal ventures provides, more and more organized criminal groups are focusing less on traditional criminal activities, and instead setting up online criminal networks. These groups plan, organize and commit all forms of online crime -- from fraud, theft and extortion, to the abuse of children. Unfortunately, the structure of such organizations makes them very difficult to be intercepted. Unlike traditional criminal groups, online groups generally operate on a 'stand alone' basis, with members rarely coming into direct physical contact with… READ MORE

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