THE young generation must be conscious about cyber crime. The use of cell phone, computer and the Internet in Bangladesh is growing rapidly. It has opened a new window in every segment of our life. The revolutionary changes in the information technology sector by the present government has accelerated significantly the efforts to digitalise Bangladesh. Today's young generation is known as facebook or blog generation.

The social networking websites like facebook, twitter and blog have become very popular in the last few years. We can collect a lot of information about blood donor clubs, crafts, visual arts, poetry, comics, recipes, restaurants, hotels, parenting, baby, mom, nutrition, medicine, journal, i-news, gardening, nature, TV, music, radio, shopping, culture, law, sports, cars, transportations, life science, technology, engineering and business from the Internet blog and also facebook.

But unlike a coin, it has two sides which are good and bad. One of the most worrisome disadvantages is cyber crime. In our country cyber crimes probably started with spam mails and Trojan attacks, but now it has extended to different issues. Now it has become quite easy for someone to access another's privacy and steal anything he wants.

Cyber crime is a form of crime where the Internet and computers are used as a medium to commit any unlawful work such as: (i) Hacking or unauthorised entry into information systems, (ii) Virus introduction, (iii) Publishing or distribution of obscene content in electronic form, (iv) Frauds using electronic content, (v) Violation of privacy rights, copyrights and patent designs, (vi) Defamation through email, (vii) Holding out threats through email, (viii) Illegal recognition of electronic transaction or signature.

By using the Internet one can steal information from another's computer which is much more valuable than money. Everyday, millions of users become helpless victims of cyber crime. It is not anything new as far as crimes are concerned; only the form of crime has changed. It can be said that, "The modern thief can steal more with a computer than with a gun. Tomorrow's terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb."

In the last few years, there have been major cases of cyber crimes in reputed organisations involved in the field of IT but remained hidden from the public eye to maintain positive image of the organisation; customers of the concerned institutions were also left in dark.

Some examples of cyber crime in Bangladesh are anonymous death threats to the prime minister through email, hacking website run by law enforcing agencies and defamation of private information of respected and popular individuals of the country in September, 2008. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) discovered that their website had been hacked! But RAB was successful in catching the hackers which proved that Bangladesh was not far behind in detecting and catching cyber criminals.

Some criminals take pictures or collect pictures from facebook of female students and then write blogs to publish or distribute the obscene content in facebook to embarrass them. According to the media, many victims keep quiet to avoid embarrassment and a few become mentally imbalanced.

This crime is often committed by amateurs, rather playfully; some are known to have been done out of rivalry or jealousy, and also for monetary benefits. Everyday cyber crime causes several billion dollars in economic damage. Renowned institutions often measure the global impact of cyber crime, and according to computer economics, the monetary damage internationally in 2006 alone has been 13.3 billion dollars. Considering the social frauds and associated damage, the loss is immense. Needless to say, only cases with considerable effect on the economy, financial transactions and politics have come under the limelight.

We should take precautions against cyber-crime. To make this a success the Ministry of Information Technology, along with the IT professionals and the media must work together. The young generation must be conscious about cyber crime. Apart from monitoring and controlling cyber crimes, Bangladesh Computer Security Incident Response Team should take punitive measures against the offenders, and in some cases BD-CSIRT should take action directly against those who engage in carrying out harmful activities or blog against female students, society, state, political and religious beliefs using phone, website and different social networking sites under the telecommunication act.

Information technology is a tool that we all must embrace; there is no scope of denying its presence or effect around us. Cyber crime or electronic blackmail cannot be controlled without proper steps, application of law, maximum monitoring and punitive steps.

The writer is Lecturer, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Jessore Science & Technology University.
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