Social Impacts of Cyber Crime.

Cyber criminals take full advantage of the anonymity, secrecy, and interconnectedness provided by the Internet, therefore attacking the very foundations of the modern information society. Cyber crime can involve botnets, computer viruses, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cyberterrorism, cyberpornography, Denial of Service attacks, hacktivism, identity theft, malware, and spam. Law enforcement officials have struggled to keep pace with cyber criminals, who cost the global economy billions annually. Police are attempting to use the same tools cyber criminals use to perpetrate crimes to prevent those crimes and bring the guilty parties to justice. This essay begins by defining cyber crime and then moves to a discussion of its economic and social impacts. It continues with detailed excursions into cyberbullying and cyberpornography, two especially representative examples of cyber crime, and concludes with a discussion of ways to curtail the spread of cyber crime.