Module 3 Essay

Answer

• Exploring Cybercrime in the Age of COVID-19

  One of the most important aspects of global security is health security. From late 2019 when the novel COVID-19 emerged to date, the world has experienced periods of tension, lockdowns, travel restrictions and for millions too, work from home. With all the restrictions and bans imposed by various governments across the world, the virtual space has been burdened with unprecedented information, knowledge, skill sets and even financial resources. On the one hand, millions have had to rely on the online markets for buying and selling; on the other hand, companies and organizations have had to adapt and conduct business remotely while exchanging sensitive data in the process. In response, criminal minds keen on taking advantage of this window have continued to plan and execute cybercrimes. This paper looks at the nexus between COVID-19 and cybercrime, exposing how the novel virus has accelerated crime and emboldened criminals over the internet.

  Background Information

  With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the internet, mobile phones and computers have been the standard devices through which many transactions take place. Going “cashless” has been normalized in various financial contexts. For many businesses and organizations, it is the one medium that has ensured that they remain afloat and bid time as things slowly begin to pick up again. With no prior plans to secure and protect these online markets (Rennie, 2020), what this situation has done is to expose the vulnerabilities of online information and put the various entities at risk of the machinations of criminals who waste no time before they can scam people.

  As more people fall to the wiles of the masterminds of these online crimes, the need to secure and protect individuals, organizations, institutions, governments and online markets has grown more acute than ever. Across nations, authorities have to coordinate efforts to detect online crimes, stop criminals in their tracks and bring them to book (Accenture, 2019). However, prosecution is just one option. The real question is how these victims, some of whom have only elementary knowledge, can protect themselves from the wrath of these ruthless cybercriminals. It also about how governments and global institutions can protect masses from the hands of the same people.

  Loopholes created by COVID-19 for the world of Cybercrime

  With the onset of the virus, institutes of research and global healthcare bodies have been working hand in hand to ensure that the disease is tamed. Among the top global bodies that has been at the forefront by providing life-saving information and reporting on the latest trends of infection is the World Health Organization (WHO). The coordination between this global body and the various regional health institutes and research bodies has been phenomenal in the resolve to contain the pandemic. Sadly, cybercrime has targeted this body that has attempted to provide a remedy to this global health security problem. The criminals attempt to breach the WHO’s systems because they are well aware that the status quo is profitable to them (Rennie, 2020). They thus seek to distort information and mislead the public on the realities of the virus. it is also worth noting that not all criminals do this for financial reasons; some participate in illegal breaches for their own political stances, and they do everything they can to ensure that the narrative that reaches the public is a narrative that suits their political agenda.

  Closely related to this first opening for cybercriminals is the element of payment of ransomware (Accenture, 2019). In the digital world, payment of ransomware has been going on for a while, with cybercriminals taking advantage of compromising information they have on people, governments or institutions. Holding onto this information is nothing new. However, when they demand for some form of payment in exchange for failing to release this information, then this is a crime. In the context of the ongoing COVID-19, ransomware has been perfected to include the takeover of websites that actively promote research, stealing of information on potential vaccine development and treatment methods for the virus from various scientific and research institutes and keeping this information with the intention of extortion. In addition to just taking over these websites, several famous people whose presence in the social media has been heightened with the effects of the virus have reported the loss of accounts to criminals who take the accounts of these influencers while intending to fleece them. While the criminals may benefit by selling some of the information they hoard for extortion, their real earning is from the proceeds of these encounters because most people and companies cannot afford to have their reputation soiled when they can simply buy their way out of it (Crowther, 2017). This blackmail and underhand methods have been applied by cybercriminals in their bid to steal from the vulnerable public.

  Working from home has also exposes company data to potential illegal access when people have to work virtually (Crowther, 2017). Because employees have to meet, receive instructions and make decisions all virtually, it means that company information, sometimes sensitive, is exchanged over the internet. Some of these remote connections are not as well secured as the work at work. It therefore gives criminals the advantage of cracking into the systems with ease and picking up information some of which they may use to harm the reputation of the organization or government. This is true for governments too because several government employees also have to work from their homes for longer times in recent times.

  The pandemic has opened doors for the promotion of fake businesses that trick people into believing that they sell equipment meant to protect them from contracting the virus. COVID-19 has made it necessary that people wear face masks in public and continually sanitize to limit the potential of acquiring it. At some points in 2020, the supply of these essential equipment went down and almost ran out. The masses in many countries were desperate. It is at the moments of desperation that cybercriminals took advantage, faking supplies and creating ghost companies. With these structures in place, it was even easier to scam and con people into believing in the non-existent schemes.

  In addition, cybercriminals have also tended to target individual phone users in their bid to get ransom out of vulnerable people across the world. Through the apps that are installed in people’s personal mobile gadgets, the criminals lie that they are providing facts about the virus but instead ask for money from the victims. The novel virus has no established body of knowledge about it. There are instead speculations and untrue stories about it. The criminals have taken advantage of this gap in information to peddle rumours and unfounded propaganda while in the process, extorting money from the poor victims. The inability of many mobile phone users to discriminate between genuine and mere propaganda has made many fall into the traps of the cybercriminals.

  Solving Cybercrime abated by COVID-19

  The unique challenges in online crime presented by the emergence of COVID-19 as a global security problem are exacerbated by the fact that cybercrime can be committed from anywhere in the world and can target any system that is vulnerable enough. A person in the rural hills of South Korea can commit online crime in the middle of Los Angeles. Globalisation has made the mitigation of cybercrime a tall order for most governments and institutions. To effectively arrest this problem then, countries have to work in collaboration at the regional and global level through cybercrime divisions of bodies like Interpol to track the criminals, arrest and prosecute them. COVID-19 has killed thousands and left millions ill or orphaned in virtually every part of the world. Those who use the void and vulnerabilities it has created for selfish reasons have to be held accountable regardless of where they are. During this moment when health is a global security issue, there have to be remedies to the spiking cases of online crime.

  The first remedy would be the transformation of the home environment within which many people work into a safe environment for handling company and business information. This is especially true in the field of telework where employees have to make connections to the usual workplace or at least to the information and data from their systems. This data may also be the data of one’s everyday business. If the employee has to access company data for instance, it would be prudent that they only make use of equipment provided by the company (Mayer, 2016). Even then, these devices have to be protected too and secured from possible remote access. The employees themselves have to acquaint themselves with information on policies on the use of these devices to evade potential breaches. Protection would also involve the use of strong passwords and the installation of antiviruses. Making company data secure would also mean avoiding the use personal phone numbers, social media accounts and personal email addresses in transacting corporate business.

  It has been noted how the pandemic has led to the booming of online businesses and start-ups. Governments and global bodies concerned with fiscal policy and anti-cybercrime units have to work to strengthen online markets and make it harder for criminals to gain access. Because of the cross-boundary nature of cybercrime (Mayer, 2016)., the units created for the purpose of anti-cybercrime activities must have a level of coordination in their attempt to detect crime, locate the suspects and bring them to book. When they hold cybercriminals from one part of the world, it has the potential of stopping criminal activities perpetuated across the world.

  The increased tendency to work from home means that homes have to be made cyber safe. The home environment has computers, mobile phones and electronic devices that use internet connection and the virtual environment to operate. These devices have to be protected from illegal access by cybercriminals. To do this, the people concerned have to adopt the use of strong passwords, antiviruses and other forms of identification (Boss et al 2015). One of the means through which the internet is provided to homes is through the use of Wi-Fi. These must have their default passwords changed every often to ensure that no illegal access goes undetected. The use of social media also has to be reviewed in the sense that criminals have resorted to conmanship through gaining access to personal social media accounts and impersonating the people without their knowledge. This has to be stopped through consistent review and updating of privacy policies that guide the use of such accounts. Making the home safer in terms of technology also means preferring to make online payment through credit cards that have stronger security systems than transactions made through the phone for example.

  In attempting to protect people, citizens have to be sensitized about the potential of coming across fake news on the novel Coronavirus and the importance of only trusting official communication bodies for information on the same. Regional health bodies, national health departments and the global WHO are the authorities that can conclusively make declarations on the state of the virus. In addition, governments have to increase the capability of criminal and justice departments to detect and investigate online crimes (Jamil, 2012). Because of the technical nature of the crimes involved, these people have to be equipped with the latest knowledge and skills that can help them counter the threats posed by these digital criminals. For the people who have continued to rely on online businesses to buy and sell, they have to make a point of only dealing with retailers who have earned the trust of the public in the past. This is important because many cybercrimes lately involve the use of digital markets to commit fraud.

  In conclusion, COVID-19 has greatly transformed the nature of business, social interaction and even professional employment. Many people have resorted to work from home, often in remote places where the use of the digital space is not secure. Cybercriminals have in turn taken advantage of the opportunity created by the emergence of this global health security concern, using the many loopholes it affords to commit crime online and often go scot free. There has to be regional and global collaboration in order to deal with the criminals who have found a way of using this unfortunate pandemic for their selfish interests.