Familiarity is the enemy on the war on hackers and cyber crime

The revelation that a friend or local business has been hacked is old news nowadays.

A few years ago, the idea that unknown assailants might have successfully penetrated your social media account or compromised files in an office or hospital would have prompted gasps of trepidation and disquiet - not anymore.

Cybercrime is everywhere in 2019, and growing into an ever larger threat with each passing month. It is estimated that online criminal activity will cost the world €6 trillion annually by 2021, up from €3 trillion in 2015.

Are you victim of cybercrime? Do not hesitate to report to Dubai Police

Dubai: Dubai Police have reminded residents to report online fruad using the hassle free e-Crime platform without the need to visit a police station.

“This Self-Service (e-crime portal) allows the public to record a complaint regarding cybercrimes. To facilitate the procedures, please fill out the form and ensure that you have as much information as possible, so that we can help you as quickly and as best as possible. Note: This service is specific to crimes happened within the geographical scope of Dubai city,” Dubai Police tweeted.

An ‘Old-School Hacker’ Fights Cybercrime

You probably know better than to plug a USB flash drive from an unknown source into your computer. It could infect your machine with malicious code. But would you think twice about a cord? You should.

Kevin Mitnick hands me an iPhone charging cable. Like a magician, he asks me to inspect it. It looks kosher. He plugs it into a laptop. Then he picks up a different computer and commandeers the laptop, including its web camera.

Unlike a magician, he shows me how he did it. The USB end of the cable has been retrofitted with a tiny hardware implant. With a Bluetooth transmitter in his hand, he injected keystrokes into the “victim’s” computer, which downloaded and installed malware from the internet.

Cyber crime risk in free public WiFi

Cyber experts fear that the free Wi-Fi in public places could act as an invitation to cyber criminals who hide beneath the veil of the Internet's anonymity and therefore, identifying the culprit will prove difficult for investigators.

While announcing the go-ahead for the free Wi-Fi scheme on Thursday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that with 11,000 hotspots, the project will be the biggest initiative of its kind not just in India but the world.

Once rolled out, the facility will allow smartphone and PC users to avail free Internet services within a 50-metre radius at parks, mohalla clinics and markets.

Don't be the next cybercrime victim in UAE

Despite heightened awareness drives, several people - young and old - still fall victim to cybercrimes, according to the Sharjah Police. Worse, many of them are reluctant to report incidents because they are too 'ashamed' of having been duped.

In 2018, more than 90 cases of cybercrime have been logged, but the police said there could possibly be more since many incidents remained unreported.

A victim who lost Dh2 million, for example, didn't approach the police.

Expert tips on how to keep online identity in Windsor safe after increase in fraud Social Sharing

Statistics Canada's release of 2018 police-reported crime statistics showed a 45 per cent increase in fraud in Windsor.

There were 160 incidents of cyber crime reported to police locally — roughly anything that uses a computer or data to commit crime. 

• Cybercrime is going up across Canada and most cases remain unsolved
• With ransomware on the rise, RCMP urging victims to 'be patient with police'

Alleged Silk Road Drug Dealer Arrested in the United States

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman announced the arrest of alleged dark web drug dealer Hugh Brian Haney in a press release published on July 18.

Per the release, Haney has been charged with money laundering. He allegedly used cryptocurrency to launder more than $19 million of profits earned selling illegal drugs on the now-defunct darknet market Silk Road. Berman commented to the development: