Since the beginning of time crime and criminals have always been an issue to the public. Criminals tend to change over time as the world changes and improves so does criminals and their way of proceeding with committing crimes. In this essay, I’m going to show you four different ways criminals have used technology to help them in committing crimes. The for topics I’m going to be going over are Identity theft, Ransomware, pirating movies and music, and criminals buying drugs over the internet.
Identity theft is when someone uses your personal information like your social security number, credit card information, and your name and date of birth without your permission. Back then when a criminal wanted to steal your identity they had to steal your wallet or purse with your private information in it to get access to it. Nowadays they can steal your information from 15 to 20 feet away from you while you are enjoying a cup of coffee at your local café. Identity thieves are willing to go through your garbage to get access to your old bills, bank statements, check and tax information to get access to your private information. It's best to shred or completely destroy these old documents because they can drag you into a game of cat and mouse with someone who stole your identity.
Ransomware is when a criminal encrypts your computer's hard drive and asks for a sum of money usually in Bitcoin and in return, they will give you the key to decrypt your hard drive. Bitcoins are a cryptocurrency that can’t be traced by governments so that's why criminals are attracted to it. In recent years Ransomware attacks are a hot thing that's been growing in popularity. Every other month we hear in the news that there's been a new ransomware attack. Some of the biggest ransomware attacks that have caused millions if not billions of dollars in damage include the Wanna Cry Virus, CryptoLocker, Crysis, Hydra Crypt the list goes on. The most important thing I can say about preventing getting infected with ransomware is to be safe on the internet. Don’t go to any sketchy websites don’t download any unusual documents that you don’t know where they are coming from. To decrease the occurrence of ransomware attacks I would say to not pay the ransom because if hackers know that people are willing to pay the ransom for the key then they know that ransomware is a great way to make a quick buck. You should always have a backup of your information that's not connected to any network like an external hard drive or thumb stick so in case if you do get attacked with ransomware it doesn't matter because you have your documents safe.
Whenever you watch a movie have you ever wondered what that FBI warning was about? Well that FBI warning is about pirating movies and music. Yes, downloading movies and music without paying for it is illegal and you can spend some serious jail time for it. You can be charged with illegally downloading and pirating movies and music. You can be sent to jail for up to 5 years and or get a $250,000 fine. People illegally download movies and music to sell to other people for the fraction of the price if you were to go to a store and buy it legally. If you know you are buying illegal movies and music you can be charged too with the same sentence.
The internet that we all know as a place where we send emails, watch videos, play some video games and the occasional google search for funny cat videos. What if I told you that that's only 15% of the internet? There's a whole different side of the internet that not many know that's there that's called the deep web. The deep web is full of web pages that modern search engines such as Google or Yahoo cannot find because these web pages were made to be hidden and away from the public's eyes. In the deep web people can buy or sell drugs to people and it would be very difficult to be caught. If someone was going to sell drugs over the surface web it would be very easy for governments to find out about it but in the deep web, it's a lot harder to find people identity.
Thus, even though criminals use technology to do bad things allot of great can come from technology and the internet if it is used correctly in the right hands. I hope that you now realize that the internet can be a very helpful place but also a very dangerous place. Remember that if you ever end up getting into one of these criminal activities think of the ever lasting effects that it can bring upon you. Please use common sense when using the internet and follow the law it’s there for a reason.