- From the dawn of the computer age, tinkering scientists and programmers have worked to find vulnerabilities in software and hardware products. Enterprising criminals, helped by the explosive growth in computer ownership, use and dependence, learned to exploit vulnerabilities to commit cyber crime. The FBI's Computer Analysis and Response Team (CART) was the first federal network security organization that worked to counteract and respond to cyber threats and digital identity theft. In 2010, thousands of independent and governmental security teams investigated and sought to prevent cyber crime worldwide.
- Cyber crime takes many forms, from mundane email "spam" to threats of cyber war, which threatens the partial or total destruction of the Internet. Many forms of cyber crime are simple extensions of physical theft, such as stealing credit card numbers or bank account passwords.
Network security personnel focus on preventing and responding to cyber threats. Protecting data is a priority for teams, using tools such as firewalls and anti-spam filters. Threat response includes searching through log files and conducting forensic analyses to determine the cyber attack's impact. - Cyber crime has tremendous impact on the victims and on the criminal justice system. In 2009, 336,655 cyber crime complaints were submitted to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). "The vast majority of these cases contained elements of fraud and involved a financial loss by the complainant," according to the IC3 report for 2009. Despite network security programs and organizations working to counteract cyber threats, cyber crime trends continue to increase.
- Some view the Internet as a dangerous place to work, shop and play. Although the number of cyber crime incidents is on the rise, the majority of sites and programs are legitimate, and many cyber tools enhance lives in the 21st century. Training programs, sponsored by employers as part of a larger network security plan, drastically reduce a user's susceptibility to cyber crime. With prudence and education, users can remain safe online by avoiding risky files and websites.
- Under 18 U.S.C. Section 1030--the federal law that governs computer security--there are severe repercussions for computer crime. Illegal or unauthorized use of a computer system, theft of private data and digital fraud are considered felony crimes in the United States. Organizations without a viable network security program can be held responsible for negligence in the event of a cyber attack.
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