Cybercrime and Its Effects on American Society

Cybercrime and its Effects on American Society
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Cybercrime and its Effects on American Society
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Cybercrime: A Conceptual Introduction
The global economy is transforming rapidly due to technological advancements. Most established economies adopted digitalization and other electronic channels to conduct transactions or commercial activities regularly. However, the immense digitalized activities made cybersecurity vulnerable for the economies. Cybercrime is becoming a fundamental challenge for economies worldwide. The whole concept of cybercrime is an illegal activity that individuals or syndicates conduct through computers or the internet for financial gain (Deora & Chudasama, 2021). Cybercriminals are segregated into two categories. First, individuals commit cybercrime through the internet and other channels to gain financial benefit. Individuals mostly conduct cybercrime by targeting another individual or organization to perform an economic crime of a limited scope (Ming-Chao, 2020). Secondly, some organizations serve cybercrime as a faction to threaten individuals and state-owned entities for financial gains. Organized factions usually conduct cybercrime to facilitate other illegal activities, such as sponsored radicalism and related benefits (Jian et al., 2020). Cybercrime is rising rapidly through different segments due to technological complexities in the global economy.
Cybercrime has a few essential categories that individuals and businesses must acknowledge to protect from victimization. First, Malware is the most common cybercrime committed worldwide. Malware is the acronym for malicious software that hackers use to steal sensitive data and confidential information or destroy the computer systems of an organization or individual (Ritenour, 2020). Hackers would use viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, and other elements to perform Malware crimes on a system. Hackers initially designed the Malware to cause untraceable disruption on organizations’ computers, servers, or centralized networks. Hackers acquire unauthorized access to the central grid and interfere with the process quo using external software and viruses (Datta & Acton, 2022). Cybercriminals would use Malware as a standard tool to perform crimes on central systems of an organization or individuals.
Secondly, social engineering is a sophisticated approach to committing a cybercrime. Social engineering prevents the detection of cybercriminals during a crime. Cybercriminals would deceive individuals and organizations by revealing financial details that lead to fraudulent activities (Wang et al., 2020). Criminals would engage targets in psychological manipulations to perform actions that could make internal security vulnerable or leak sensitive data for further violations. Cybercriminals use social engineering as an advantage of human error to gain private access to financial and other valuable information. Criminals would use the tool to perform scams without exposing self-identities for further tracing (Salahdine & Kaabouch, 2019). Targeted individuals would give access through a misunderstanding or deception caused by cybercriminals during the intended crime.
Lastly, hacking is another famous approach in cybercrime that criminals adopt to gain an advantage over the targets. Hacking is a variety of attacks that compromise system gaps and create vulnerabilities in data protection. Hackers would use social engineering or Malware approaches to hack the systems. Hacking is referred to as blockchain-based activities in the digitalized era (Kennedy et al., 2019). Statistically, one-fifth of cybercrimes involve hacking. Hackers would penetrate the security systems and gain an advantage over unprotected protocols. Hackers would compromise grids and acquire the necessary information for personal benefit. Cybercriminals also perform hacking to disrupt systems and cause severe damage to future vulnerabilities (van de Wijer et al., 2018). Hacking is a traditional and most frequent approach to committing a cybercrime.
Cybercrime is rising rapidly in American society. Businesses and individuals are vulnerable to cybercrime since technological advancements. Cybercriminals would use personal information through digital media and financial data through FinTech platforms to gain an advantage over the targets. The American economy is becoming vulnerable due to cybercrime, and different effects are injected into society.
Effects of Cybercrime in American Society
Cybercrime is rising unprecedentedly in American society. Academic research revealed that cybercrime rose during the COVID-19 outbreak since individuals lacked stable employment to meet routine expenditures (Kemp et al., 2021). Cybercrime influences society from three parameters: businesses, individuals, and infrastructure. The American government and other cybersecurity companies emphasize that individuals and firms acquire cyber insurance to protect sensitive data. The regulatory is also investing in educating individuals and businesses to conduct training and spread awareness for self-protection. However, cybercrime cases are rising continuously in the United States of America (USA) due to technological complexities and minimal barriers to data accessibility (Abdulai, 2020). American society must identify and acknowledge the effects of cybercrime to combat it in the upcoming fiscal periods while protecting valuable data.
First, cybercrime influences individuals severely through different modes. Individual targets became victims of cyberbullying and threatened to commit further crimes on behalf of cybercriminals. The criminals would use the victim’s identity to commit other crimes or be forced to indulge in immoral activities. Victims lose financial information, lifetime savings, and other sensitive records related to healthcare and lifestyles (Al-Masalha et al., 2020). As a result, cybercriminals would threaten, bully, and take unwanted advantage of the victims for personal gain. Studies revealed that individuals being victims of cybercrimes in different countries experience psychological disorders. Most victims undergo anxiety, depression, and other stressors that alter their lifestyles. Some victims reportedly committed suicide due to cognitive pressure and threats posed by cybercriminals (Mauladi et al., 2022). American society is vulnerable to cybercrimes due to technological complexities, which keep young talents’ psychological and physical balances threatening society in the long run.
Secondly, cybercrimes influence the business viability in society. Organizations are using electronic mediums in the digital era. Most American firms integrated e-commerce and FinTech solutions in the business model to exploit emerging opportunities with technological advancements (Huang et al., 2022). However, cybercrimes are rising equally, causing businesses significant losses due to a breach of financial information and other sensitive customer data. Companies experience the vulnerability of trust from customers while offering features like digital wallets, online card payments, and interbank transfers to boost sales (Verma & Shri, 2022). Customers avoid engaging in such activities and are reluctant to perform online transactions, particularly during the pandemic, to mitigate cybercrime vulnerability. As a result, most businesses fail to accomplish potential success and growth during the economic crisis, leading to financial losses, unemployment, and other monetary damages (Najaf et al., 2021). Cybercrime is a fundamental source of rising financial crimes in American society.
Lastly, infrastructure damage is a significant effect of cybercrime on American society. Cybercrimes have given birth to cyberterrorism in most countries. Cyberterrorists would use the internet and other software solutions to penetrate the central grid of a privately-owned or state-owned organization to boost terror activities in stabilized economies (Giri, 2019). Cybercriminals would acquire sensitive information that could make the national branding of a country vulnerable in a global economy. Besides, some cybercriminals would penetrate healthcare databases to obtain patients’ private information and later use it for blackmailing and other purposes. The post-effects of cybercrimes on infrastructure development disturb the national activities, citizenship, and reputational sustainability of government, individuals, and businesses, respectively (Rachh, 2021). Cybercrimes are damaging the infrastructure development in American society, which is sensitive during the pandemic crisis.
American society must understand the rising vulnerability of cybercrimes on individuals, businesses, and infrastructure. Stakeholders should do training and learning accessible to receive protection from cybercrimes. Companies must stre...