Spyware Defined

What is Spyware?

Spyware is a classification of unlawful, illicit, and illegal methods of electronic criminal activity within the realm of the legal jurisdiction of Cyber Law. ‘Spyware’ is comprised of two words that have been joined into a single word:

‘Spy’ constitutes the clandestine nature and assumed unlawfulness undertaken by an individual gathering information unbeknownst the individual or group on whom are being observed

‘Ware’ is a colloquialism that entails the presence of software.

Spyware is primarily facilitated with regard to electronic identity theft in order to illegally obtain personal and private information; as a result, the term has been widely accepted in legal terminology. Spyware is classified as any illegal computer program that is transmitted – and subsequently implanted – within the personal computer terminal(s) or networking system(s) belonging to an individual or group.

Upon the presence of Spyware within a computational system, the owner of that specific Spyware program will be granted the unlawful access onto the digital system(s) – ranging from digital communication to virtual data – belonging to a private citizen or entity; as a result of this unlawful collection of data, the perpetrator of such Spyware will be privy to personal and private information to which they are unauthorized – this type of information can range from personal communication to financial information.

What is Electronic Identity Theft?

Electronic identity theft typically consists of the misleading of an individual in a purposeful, deliberate, and harmful fashion; electronic software may be a broad classification within electronic settings, which can be utilized in a wide variety of forums and settings in order to facilitate electronic identity theft.

Spyware is utilized in order to facilitate the purposeful defrauding, deceiving or the misrepresentation of a product or service has taken place. The anonymity of those who participate in electronic identity theft operations is highly-prevalent within these criminal operations, due to the fact that modern telecommunication and information technology systems allow for the virtual communication of a multitude of individuals without the need for direct, personal contact.

How Does Spyware Work?

In terms of identity theft enacted through Spyware classified as ‘Trojan’ takes place as the particular make of Spyware makes its way into the computer terminal belonging to the victim without consent or knowledge on the part of the victim in question. Akin to The Trojan horse - a ploy utilized to deliver the Greeks into Troy through a deceptive ruse utilizing a hollow horse containing Greek soldiers as a gesture of surrender on the part of the Greeks - Spyware invades the security perimeter employed by computer systems utilized by its victims.

The misrepresentation of the spyware as legitimate may prompt unsuspecting individuals to permit the program access to a computer. Once the Spyware is installed onto a victim’s computer network, the perpetrator of this criminal act will secretly collect personal, private, and financial information belonging to the victim; subsequent to the collection of the data, the misuse of that information may take place in the form of identity theft.

NEXT: 7 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft