Introduction

1. INTRODUCTION

Digital crimes or cybercrimes are no secret, particularly during the last ten years. People depend on computers or mobile devices to do their work every day, and they also use them in social networks to communicate with their friends and families. All these activities produce a massive amount of data and information on computers or mobile devices or pass through different kinds of computer networks. If this data and information does not have enough security and protection, it will be exposed to theft and destruction. Digital crime begins when there is illegal activity done to data or information on computers or networks. In the early days of cybercrimes, the crime was usually committed in the financial field, but cybercrime has now evolved to include other forms. For example, information systems can be stolen or damaged for one reason or another in companies. Additionally, computers or mobile devices can be used as a tool to commit a crime. In general, the rate of digital crime has clearly increased after the advent of the internet. Networks also play a significant role in increasing the rate of cybercrimes. The high cost of cybercrimes and the resulting damages prompted the international community and law specialists to enact cybercrime laws. Some countries have started to enact national cybercrime laws, while others have not yet enacted them.

1. INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL CRIMES

What Is Digital Crime?

Digital crime has many synonyms, for example: cybercrime, electronic crime, and computer crime are interchangeable terms. Initially, the term "computer crime" was used to denote any criminal activity committed against computers and networks or using computers as a tool. However, in recent years, these crimes have extended to encompass other digital devices, such as cell phones, so the term was extended to "digital crime." There is no one definition for digital crime, and it is difficult to form a standard one. However, what can be said is that digital crime is focused on offenses against computer data or systems, unauthorized access, modification, or impairment of a computer or digital system.

Characteristics of Digital Crime:

Unlike traditional crime, digital crime has unique characteristics. For example, it has no geographic boundaries, so digital crime can be committed in one country or region against another. Furthermore, in digital crimes, offenders usually don’t leave physical traces but leave digital traces instead.

Digital Crime Environment:

The environment of digital crime is usually described as a virtual environment because the crime is committed on computer data, digital systems, or networks.

Brief History of Digital Crimes:

Digital crimes have differed and varied since the 1960s (when telecommunications systems were affected by attacks) until now. In the early era of information systems, computer crimes were committed by employees, and physical attacks on computer systems were common between 1960 and 1980. In 1980, malicious software began to appear against personal computers.

In the 1990s, the internet became a significant factor in increasing digital crimes. Criminals accessed poorly protected systems in unauthorized ways, usually for financial gain, with credit card fraud growing rapidly in the mid-1990s. By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, credit card fraud evolved into a broader category called identity theft. Criminals stole other people's identities to commit illegal activities. By 2008, it had become the fastest-growing form of fraud.

In recent years, cell phone crimes have been increasing, and nowadays, new types of criminal activities are being committed on cloud computing.

Roles of Computers in Crimes:

According to Donn Parker, a computer crime researcher, computers have four different roles in crimes from an investigative point of view:
1. A computer as an object of a crime (e.g., the computer itself is stolen).
2. A computer as a subject of a crime (e.g., the computer is an environment for the crime).
3. A computer may be used as a tool for conducting a crime (e.g., to access another computer and commit a crime there).
4. Using the symbol of a computer for illegal activities.

Types of Digital Crimes:

Offenders commit different kinds of digital crimes or cybercrimes, such as:
- **Assault by Threat:** Threatening the lives of others or attempting to vilify other people using computers or networks.
- **Child Pornography:** Using computers, networks, and other digital devices in sexual exploitation of children.
- **Cyber laundering:** The electronic transfer of illegal money to hide its source.
- **Cyber theft:** Using a computer to steal, including activities like DNS cache poisoning, espionage, identity theft, fraud, malicious hacking, and plagiarism.

Digital Evidence:

There is no complete crime; offenders must leave traces behind them. Since these crimes are digital, the traces left behind are digital evidence. This evidence significantly helps in identifying the offender.

What is Digital Evidence?

Digital evidence is defined as any data stored or transmitted using a computer that supports or refutes a theory of how an offense occurred or addresses critical elements of the offense, such as intent or alibi. Data here refers to different types of information like text, numbers, audio, or video.

These different types of digital data are useful in the investigation process. Sources of digital data can be divided into three categories:
1. **Open computer systems:** These are computer systems known to most people, such as laptops, desktops, and servers. The increasing storage space in these systems guarantees that a large amount of digital evidence can be obtained (e.g., a single file could contain a significant amount of digital data).
2. **Communication systems:** Traditional and advanced telephone systems, wireless telecommunications systems (SMS/MMS messages), and the internet (email) are rich sources of digital evidence. The content of messages transferred through these systems is important in investigations.
3. **Embedded computer systems:** Many embedded systems, like mobile devices, navigation systems, and microwave ovens, can contain valuable digital evidence.

Challenging Aspects of Digital Evidence:

Like physical evidence, digital evidence presents several challenges:
- **Difficult to handle:** For example, a hard drive has many platters, each containing a large amount of messy and disorderly data, making it difficult to extract relevant information.
- **Abstraction:** Digital evidence is an abstraction of some digital object or event. Not all aspects of the tasks performed on a computer will remain, only a few give us a partial view of what happened.
- **Circumstantial:** Digital evidence is usually circumstantial. If a case relies on a single piece of digital evidence, it may be unacceptable unless additional information supports it.
- **Alteration:** Digital evidence can be altered, obscured, or deleted by offenders, or even unintentionally, during the investigation process.

Cyber threats during the COVID-19 pandemic:

The International Criminal Police Organisation launched an awareness campaign on cyber threats during the COVID-19 outbreak, from May 4 to May 31. This campaign, in coordination with law enforcement agencies worldwide, provided basic cyber hygiene advice to ensure that individuals and businesses are equipped with the knowledge to protect their systems and data.

Cybercriminals have capitalized on the anxiety caused by COVID-19, using tools like data-harvesting malware, ransomware, online scams, and phishing. The cyber security industry has seen a considerable increase in the number of targeted cyberattacks since the outbreak began. Agencies have also noticed a surge in large-scale password spraying campaigns against healthcare bodies and medical research organizations. Malicious web domains use terms like "COVID" and "corona."