Discussion Post: Please describe an instance of which you are aware in which an act of internet crime took place. (250 words minimum with APA references)
Reply 1: Reply to the below post (100 words minimum) – Zhiwei Zhao
A very clear incident is the facebook data leak.
The US Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating social media giant Facebook, whose personal data of 50 million users was accused of being abused by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy.
The “Cambridge Analysis” company is facing the use of personal data to influence the US 2016 presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum survey.
What kind of company is “Cambridge Analysis”? The company’s website boasted that it has supported and conducted more than 100 events on five continents, covering much more than the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Cambridge Analytical” has suspended the position of CEO Alexander Nix. On Channel 4 of British TV on Monday (March 19), a video of a secret filming of a Knicks undercover interview was broadcast on the station. The Knicks exemplified how the company can influence elections by tricks, such as smearing candidates or applying traps or temptations.
The UK-based company denied any wrongdoing. “Cambridge Analysis” has a lot of activity records around the world, let’s take a look at what:
Knicks, CEO of “Cambridge Analysis”, was filmed by undercover reporter on Channel 4 TV
Europe
“Cambridge Analysis” company executives said in a video program broadcast on Channel 4 TV that “Cambridge Analysis” and its parent company “Strategic Communications Lab” have participated in more than 200 elections held around the world, including Czech Republic.
Company director Mark Turnbull said, “We just used an agency to operate a very, very successful project in Eastern European countries, and no one even knows they were there.”
The “Cambridge Analysis” website also stated that the company represented the “Revival Party that was successful in the 1980s” in the 2012 Italian political campaign.
“In the turbulent Italian political arena, the ‘Cambridge Analysis’ company’s reform proposals made the party’s performance exceed the original expectations.”
But the role of the “strategic communication lab” can be traced back further. It claimed to have helped Ukraine launch a color revolution in 2014, bringing pro-Western President Viktor Yushenchenko to power.
An old article published on the “Strategic Communications Lab” website said, “The ‘Strategic Communications Lab’ successfully maintained the cohesiveness of the alliance and ensured a hard-won victory.”
The “Strategic Communications Laboratory” recently stated that the Ukrainian government has hired it to provide “localized publicity campaigns” to help the Ukrainian side regain control of Donetsk in the eastern conflict.
The company said, “The final project report has been handed over to the President of Ukraine. This report will play a key role in future national decision-making.”
The “Strategic Communications Laboratory” stated that during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, it was employed to launch an “erosion and weaken” Donetsk anti-government organization.
Reply 2: Reply to the below post (100 words minimum) – Atilla Genc
With the dynamic nature of technology in the modern world, there seems to be a continuous rise in internet crimes. Internet crime basically refers to any crime in which illegal activity or crime is committed on the internet. (Chan, Ghose & Seamans, 2016). Internet criminals usually target a specific system in an organization information system to gain access to sensitive information or alter the working of that particular system to suit their ill motives. Internet crimes are conducted by a third party who is not legally allowed to access information or tamper with the information system of an organization or an individual. Organizations and individuals should therefore be aware of various ways through which their information systems may be prone to unauthorized access and influence.
Internet crime has been on the rise due to increasing computer literacy in most parts of the world. Though internet crime takes many shapes, the most common cases involve hacking, tracking, malware infection, and spying (Stalans, & Finn, 2016). In one of my previous place of work, we experienced a particular incidence of internet crime. The head of the IT department detected some changes made into a file containing some of the most sensitive information of our organization. The department head informed the management about the case, and investigations on what happened were launched. After the investigation, it was found that the criminal was a former IT head who had been fired before. It was due to the omission of the IT department and the management because they had forgotten to change passwords and lock employees account after termination. Had they practiced usual practice of locking employee accounts and changing systems passwords, this incidence could have been avoided.