The third group is computer security occurrences that include spyware, adware, hacking, phishing, spoofing, pinging, port scanning, and theft of other information, regardless of whether the breach was successful. (Cybercrime, 2010).
The Computer Crime and Security Survey, issued by the Computer Security Institute (CSI) and the FBI, indicated that 85 percent of the 538 firms and governmental institutions surveyed found security breaches in 2000. Of these, 65 percent admitted that these breaches caused financial losses. Losses claimed from only 186 respondents totaled $378 million, which was a 42% increase from 1999 and at the time the highest amount recorded since the surveys began in 1995. Also, 70% cited their Internet connections were the source of the security problems. (CSI/FBI 2000 Computer Crime and Security Survey, 2000).
Distributed denial of service (DDS) attacks are some of the most reported cyber-crimes. They first appeared in mid-1999 and are among the easiest cyber-crimes to commit. Many tools require to commit DDS attacks are readily available online. DDS attacks often penetrate networks that consist of hundreds of systems. The attacker can start an attack sequence from one console and it can affect thousands of systems around the world. .
Viruses are programs or scripts that can negatively affect your computer. They can delete files, move files, create files, and cause your computer to not function properly. Some viruses can copy themselves and attach to a program or email or other transferrable document and infect thousands of computers. The Melissa Virus, for example, disturbed email service worldwide when it was posted to an internet newsgroup in 1999. It affected almost 100,000 users and 1/5 of all US businesses. A worm, a type of virus, can even travel through a computer or a network without user transmitting files. A Trojan horse lives up to its ancient Greek name by disguising as a harmless file but once activated it can steal login names and passwords.