Computer Crime And Its Effect On Society

As technology changes every day, you can always expect many more new offenders, offenses, and victims simply based on the caliber of knowledge someone possesses, and by the role of the technology they are able to access. Computers can be used in the different ways to perpetrate these offenses. For instance, hackers use computers to infect the functions of a computer or a computer system by putting viruses into te network.. The cyber-criminal’s activities play an intricate role in economics, largely in the physical aspect, software costs are involved because of needed improvement constantly needed to combat new threats.

The internet has brought upon a new revolution of global interconnection where contacting someone on the other side of the world is just a click away, but with this international phenomenon comes an increased susceptibility with unfamiliar technology. Internet crime is compiled of all non-physical crime with the aid of a computer. Although broad in definition internet crimes are largely composed of acts such as cyber fraud, ‘phishing’ (username and password hacking), cyber stalking and hacking. Internet crime does not pose an overwhelming issue in society in terms of its

The internet has aided to criminal activity by providing an increased amount of anonymity for the criminal. They are able to commit crimes from long distances even from other countries. Most people feel protected because they are not physically near the person they are committing the crime against. Computer related crimes have become prevalent in recent years as many aspects of human life are consumed by

Based on Dauphin County First Assistant District Attorney Fran Chardo, “We become a very electronic-oriented society.” (Marc Goodman). With this increase usage of electronic, we see a new set of criminals and crimes. With the cellular telephone, criminals use it, not only to communicate with one another, but also to target people and as a triggering device. For example, if the criminals are searching for someone they can text each other with the description of a person and then upon verification proceed with an order, possible death. With this same cellular telephone technology, law enforcement can use someone’s cellular telephone to track their movements or identify their location to help with investigations. The new set of crimes is cybercrimes. A cybercrime is any crime that involves the use of computer or the manipulation of digital data. Zackary J. Miller, section Chief of the FBI’s Cyber Criminal Division stated, “I think there is a growing cybercrime problem that we are continuing to chase a bit behind the curve… bank robbery and fraud are all facilitated by the internet.” (Bernice Young, 2011). There are five types of computer crimes: (1). internal computer crimes, such as viruses; (2). internet and telecommunication, which is hacking; (3). criminal enterprises, databases supporting drug distribution; (4). computer manipulation, embezzlement; and (5). hardware, software, and information theft. (Schmalleger,

The creation go of the Internet has helped spawn new forms of criminals and crimes, and has always helped make older criminal schemes easier to execute, identity theft, child pornography, copyright violations, hacking and you could go on and on. In a 2003 survey conducted by the CSI with the participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Computer Intrusion Squad, of the 530 respondents made up of U.S. corporations, government agencies, financial institutions, medical institutions and universities, 56% reported unauthorized use of their computer systems (2003 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey).

At the beginning of the second millennium, an era of information society, based on the increasing use of computers, computer technology, information technology, making available "everything to everyone, everywhere and always" very urgent problem of improving the legislation in the fight against various kinds of offenses in this area, and first of all crimes. Currently, computer crime, has acquired an international dimension, is already receiving an adequate assessment of the international community, in particular, is reflected in a special Convention on Cybercrime, signed in 2001 in Budapest, representatives of 30 countries, members of the Council of Europe. The scale of a virtual crime using the internet in the US can be seen from the following

Just as technology has exponentially increased the level of communication and commerce, it has similarly expanded opportunities for criminal activity and victimization. The Internet can be used to commit crimes ranging from the release of a computer virus resulting in worldwide catastrophic damage to industrial espionage, from simple assaults to acts of terrorism, from child pornography to luring and sexual assault on children. Apart from the breadth of potential misconduct, the unique nature of the internet presents challenges not evident in the traditional law enforcement, such as questions of jurisdiction, evidence access and preservation, applicability of current laws, vulnerability of a virtually unlimited victim pool, and practical obstacles to the identification of perpetrators. In this investigation manual you will find the overview of a crime, conduct a seizure of evidence with pictures, what to do when conducting a search

When you begin to examine how the internet and crime are related, you must first examine exactly what the internet is and how it works. The internet is a global system of computers and networks that are interconnected and service billions of users at any given time. This could be considered a cybercriminals’ playground. Because billions of computers are connected via a vast array of private and public networks including many government agencies, it is easy to see how a cybercriminal could obtain valuable information or unleash denial of service attacks that could cripple many of these systems.

Criminals have always been around, but cybercrime is something new. It has only been around since the 60s, but it has grown exponentially. Why? Is cybercrime somehow different? Criminals engage in cybercrime for the simple reason that it is easier than conventional crime, there are no witnesses, and they can make more money faster. Cybercrime investigators are few and far between, and there is little cooperation among different jurisdictions. Nevertheless, as technology advances, so does the number of people who see that cybersecurity is a growing field and is needed to maintain the integrity of commerce locally and globally.

When it comes being committed using technology, there are different types of crimes that can be committed. These crimes have been traditionally defined as either computer crimes or cybercrimes. The distinction in the two types of crimes seems to focus primarily on whether the crime can be committed without the use of technology and if the computer itself was actively involved with the crime. However, both types have created issues with the criminal justice system with how criminals are committing their crimes, the difficulties in law enforcement performing their duties, and the increased pool or potential targets and victims.

What is cyber crime? Cyber crime is defined as any criminal activities carried out on some form of technology customarily a computer. These cases are currently running the U.S. judicial system and have been since the invention of computers. The cyber crimes are beginning to surmount the criminal justice system and justice needs to be served. Of the many suggestions people have regarding the criminal justice system, improvements to cyber crime penalization can be implemented by updating ways of accumulating various evidence and customizing a set of consequences to online crime, rather than treating it like customary crimes.

Cyber crime spans not only state and national boundaries, but the international boundaries as well. At the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, in a workshop devoted to the issues of crimes related to computer networks, cybercrime was broken into two categories and defined thus:

The agencies employed by governments to police the web in order to protect the vulnerable have seen an increase in child pornography and online fraud. The speed at which information can be distributed and the number of people that can be reached attracts those that are intent on causing harm. The term “cybercrime” is becoming more widely used. The financial gains that can be made and the anonymity the internet can provide, make the virtual world of cyberspace a haven for criminals. Although the internet has huge benefits for information gathering and social networking, in the wrong hands it can cause harm to the vulnerable and criminals are able to vanish into the underground with the use of false identities that are hard to track online.

Electronic crime is also known as computer-related crimes, high-tech crimes or cybercrime. The term describes both crimes directed at computers or other carrier servers and crimes that use computers or networks to make the offence. These crimes are often driven by the intention to ruin one’s reputation, harm someone physically or mentally, and/or cause loss to the victim directly or indirectly for their own personal gain. Some examples of electronic crime include: phishing, copyright infringement, viruses, child pornography, child grooming, cyberterrorism, cyberbullying, defamation etc.

Cyber-crime has become the most threatening crime in so many ways, because it can be linked in one way or another to other crimes. And worst of all, society isn’t even in a position to defend itself against it yet. An article published in the Wall Street Journal quoted the Pentagon stating “If a cyber-attack produces the death, damage, destruction or high-level disruption that a traditional military attack would cause, then it would be a candidate for a "use of force" consideration, which could merit retaliation.”(Pentagon: Cyber Attacks Can Count As Act Of War, 2011) There have been recent attacks on the Pentagons computer systems, which has created urgency for a better approach to keep the hackers out. There have been reports stating that the United States Government plans to spend $13.3 billion by 2015 to defend against cyber-crime. In the fall of 2010 the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) was formed. They are a global not-for-profit organization “established to channel funding, expertise and assistance directly to assist law enforcement cyber-crime units in both domestic and international markets.” (Coleman, 2011)