CYBERCRIME A SHORT HISTORY, CONTEMPORARY FACES AND AN UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the phenomenon of new and rapidly growing cross-border crime: cybercrime, i.e. crimes committed with the use of computers and those aimed at computers. The role of this article is also to draw attention to the scale of the cybercrime phenomenon, to recall the types of cybercrime and to present the available tools and strategies for protecting against it. The study deals with the history and development of computer crime and related threats. The issue is discussed in the context of the key phenomena of the modern world, which are cyberspace and the information society. Based on the available literature on the subject, the author discusses the types of cybercrimes in the context of four areas: social behavior and the legal order, technology and economy. The article describes the most popular tools and methods used by cybercriminals, incl. phishing, malware, hacking, cyberterrorism, and cyberstalking. The study proves that cybercrime covers a wide range of offenses, ranging from typical crimes that are committed using IT networks (for example, hacking into bank accounts or identity theft), to crimes againstinformation protection (for example computer sabotage) , to multi-faceted crepes, sucha as, above all, complex economic crimes.