Rising Cybercrime in Bangladesh   

The prevalence of Cybercrime of various types and nature is increasing in the country at an alarming pace. The widespread availability of the Internet is being misused by a section of criminals to steal personal data and spread objectionable video to extort money from the victims. A desktop computer or a smart phone is used as a tool to commit crimes ranging from blackmailing, swindling, extortion, trafficking, promoting pornography, hacking social media account, bank account, stealing personal data, spreading rumor, violating privacy and so on.

According to security experts, most Cybercrimes are carried out to get access to big amounts of money from sources like a commercial bank or an ATM. It is also done with the aim to damage or disable computers of victims or to spread malware, viruses, objectionable images or other materials. Cybercriminals usually target a person’s private information or corporate data with the sole intention of making financial gain.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) divides cybercrime into three categories:

Crimes in which the computing device is the target -- for example, to gain network access; Crimes in which the computer is used as a weapon - for example, to launch a denial-of-service(DoS) attack; and crimes in which the computer is used as an accessory to a crime -- for example, using a computer to store illegally obtained data.

The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime defines cybercrime as a wide range of malicious activities, including the illegal interception of data, system interferences that compromise network integrity and availability, and copyright infringements

Experts have classified types of Cybercrimes in the following order on the basis of research. Cyberextortion. A crime involving the demand for money to stop the attack.  Cryptojacking. Criminals use scripts to mine crypto-currencies within browsers without the user's consent. Identity theft. Attacking victim’s computer to extract personal information, which then is used to access their accounts and credit cards. Credit card fraud. Hackers get the credit card and banking information of victims. Cyberespionage. Cybercriminal hacks into systems to gain access to confidential information held by a government or other organization.  Software piracy.  This involves unlawful copying, distribution and use of software programs.

 It is said that new technologies create new opportunities for both good people and criminals, depending on how one wants to utilise the technology. While a smart phone can keep one connected with friends, relatives and business clients, it can also be used to spread threats or rumors for harmful purposes. According to experts, most cybercrime is recorded as an attack on information of individuals, corporations or governments. Criminals use the information they obtain to make big money or damage an opponent in politics or business. The attack takes place on the personal or corporate virtual body; because in the digital world we become a package of numbers and identities in multiple computers. It is therefore obvious that we are quite in the grip of networked computers, thus making us vulnerable to cybercrime.

 This may be said that the types of crimes mentioned earlier were there even before the advent of computers. The difference is now  Internet is being used as a tool of criminal activities that can be done even sitting in another country. There are examples of extortion being committed by underworld criminals staying in a foreign land. In such cases it becomes difficult to apprehend the criminals.     

Though, in Bangladesh, criminals are getting caught on a daily basis, new groups are coming up all the time with even more tricks up their sleeve. However, the anti-cybercrime units in our law enforcement departments, like the police and RAB, are ever vigilant against cyber criminals and they remain updated and stay close on the heels of the criminals to protect the citizens.

Women are often targeted by some criminals as they are considered soft targets. In response to the appeal of the citizens, the Police Cyber Support for Women – PCSW has been created by the Police Headquarters. It is an all women cyber support service which offers assistance in taking necessary legal action against Cybercrimes committed against women. It extends necessary technological support to women victims of Cybercrime.