Cybersecurity’s Dual Role: Stopping Cybercrime While Pursuing Criminals

As cloud computing, fog computing, and the Internet of Things put sensors and devices everywhere, cybercriminals exploit opportunities to steal personal information, wreak havoc on business operations, engage in hacking/phishing or malicious attacks, stalk people, or even engage in the abuse and sexual exploitation of children. An article in the May/June 2017 issue of IEEE Cloud Computing discusses how companies are fighting back. Dropbox has implemented child abuse material detection software similar to Microsoft’s PhotoDNA, which identifies exploitative pictures on their servers and cloud storage products. Other cybercrimes, like denial-of-service attacks—which Amazon experienced with its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service—are managed by DDoS protection systems. Nonetheless, researchers believe that fighting cybercrime is twofold: First, computer scientists can and should close loopholes that leave individuals, companies, and government agencies vulnerable to attack. Second, forensics experts must relentlessly pursue criminal investigations and collect evidence that will put cybercriminals away. Furthermore, they must do it while simultaneously protecting individual privacy. It’s a tall order. Read article

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About Lori Cameron Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.