Written by: Sauharda Bajracharya - 26010, Grade IX
Posted on: 18 November, 2022
Cybercrime refers to a criminal activity that involves a computer and a network. With the spread of the internet in the past few years, cybercrimes are increasing as well. Cybercrime can hurt one's security along with their financial health. As the technology used by criminals is constantly evolving, the efforts made by companies are often in vain. Technology has evolved to such an extent that human minds are using it to perform crimes without getting recognized. In a country like Nepal where the internet is reasonably new, the laws for cybercrimes are lenient. One can get a fine of two thousand rupees to five lakhs or imprisonment for 3 years depending on the crime. It is not that cybercrime is not prevalent in Nepal, it certainly is. In fact, there has been a measurable increase in cybercrimes in Nepal over the past few years.
Cybercrime not only includes hacking, but spamming, phishing, doxxing and much more. There are a number of hackers who offer their services and malicious software in the dark web. People can buy and use these services and malicious software from anywhere around the world with the help of VPN (Virtual Private Network). With this, one can hack another without getting their location revealed. VPNs are easily available on the internet for free and anyone can do such malicious activities. However, there are cyber bureaus that operate and punish such law breakers. Despite that, people can get away with doing cyber crimes by paying such a small amount of money. It is about someone’s life they have publicized. Leaking someone’s private information or taking away someone’s wealth should have much harsher punishments. If you look at the United States of America, they have much harsher punishments for cybercrimes. Anyone convicted of cybercrime may face up to five years to twenty years in prison depending on the crime. Our country should implement such punishments in order to prevent cybercrimes. Perpetrators of cybercrime usually target aged people as they have less knowledge about the internet and web. Hence, people should be made aware of such cybercrimes and how to be safe from them.
There are many cybercrimes circulating around the world, phishing, identity theft, fraud and DDoS attacks being the most popular. I too have been a victim of such attacks. A few months back, I was in a game and one of the players from the other team crashed the server with a DDoS attack. There was nothing any player in the lobby could do other than leave the game. Such malicious attacks are usually done to take revenge or blackmail. In order to protect ourselves from such attacks, we need to use VPN and we should not share our passwords with others. We should not click on malicious links or visit malicious websites or even a random link. If someone manages to hack or put malicious software in our computer, we should immediately report it to the cyber bureau. As more people are on the internet, there is a high risk of people being a victim of cybercrimes. In conclusion, our country must implement harsh punishments on the lawbreakers.
