Digital Article : Digital Crime Article

The world as we know it has changed drastically in the past three decades, we are slowly but surely morphing into a worldwide community dependent upon computer technology. More specifically we rely on the Internet heavily for everything in our day to day lives. The benefits of expediency and the convenience afforded to those who utilize information systems their business dynamics is undeniable.

Just in the last decade, there has been a 29% increase in crimes committed against residents and a 22% increase for business losses due to online crimes (Meyer). Another large issue with technology is that they monitor an individualś every move, for example, a phone company, AT&T, was monitoring their customers phones to be able to “use your individual Web browsing information, like the search terms you enter and the Web pages you visit, to tailor ads and offers to your interests” (Silverman 282). Although the increase in such crimes can potentially cause many issues and obstacles for an individual, they do not physically harm anyone. Such crimes as internet fraud and any other crime that can be committed online, are all fixable and can be prevented. There are security systems that can help protect against frauds and prevent any more from occurring, which makes this issue much less crucial to stop. It is also possible to contact police and bankers to stop this from occurring and they can help you regain all of your losses. The government also has the NSA, the National Security Agency, to monitor all internet movements, which helps stop many of these issues. New technology has helped prevent an immense amount of street crimes, that without the internet, would have only continued to rise, while millions of people would have continued to be murdered.

Explain the existing challenges that result from the independent nature of these agencies, as well as the other factors that are common to each of them.

Essi Viding, a professor in the psychology and language sciences department of University College London, who was not involved in

As we drill down into the world of identity theft a little deeper, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) uses Cressey’s, “Fraud Triangle”, to assist in explaining fraud and how it can be applied to identity theft as there are three (3) factors in the triangle: Pressure, Opportunity, and Rationalization. (ACFE). In the pressure stage, this is usually the motivation of the crime. In the Opportunity stage, the would be criminal has an open window if you will to gain the vital information of the victim. In the final stage of rationalization, the would be criminal now transforms themselves into a modern day Robin Hood where they steal from the victims and give to the poor or in this case; the greedy.

In the end the advancements of computing have led to significant impacts on local communities. People can now exchange information online from the comfort of home rather than scheduling in a time and place to meet up in the real world. People can group up and classify themselves, and their work, within their respective communities through online social networking. The use of computers has already made such significant changes, to the local world that mankind can only wonder what future impacts will be

Statista reported that 97% companies in the United states experienced malware attacks like viruses. Criminals often use these attack to steal information from corporations, business, firms, or individual and use if for a particular gain-usually financially. Identity theft is a common practice criminals use to lure and reel in potential clients through spam, social network, trojan, voice phishing, credit card, and many more. As society advance, so does the criminals; they use the power of the advanced technology to trap, while staying hidden from public view.

Over the past few years the internet has become a tempting place for criminals to acquire identifying information, such as passwords and banking data. In criminal’s haste to explore the exciting features of the internet, many people respond to “spam” unsolicited emails that promise them benefits, but request identifying information, without recognizing that in many situations, the requester has no intention of keeping their promise. In some situations, criminals reportedly have exploited computer technology to acquire large amounts of personal information. With enough identifying data about an individual, a criminal can take over that individual’s identity to conduct a wide range of crimes: for example, false applications for loans, credit cards, fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts, acquiring other goods, or privileges which the criminal might deny if they were to use their real name. If the criminal takes steps to ensure that bills for the falsely acquired credit cards, or bank statements showing the unauthorized withdrawals are sent to another address other than the victims, the victim may not become aware of what’s happening until the criminal has already inflicted substantial damage on the victim’s assets, credit and reputation (Identity Theft).

Since the introduction of computer and technology, they have become the new weapon in committing crime, and to the burgeoning science of digital evidence, law enforcement now use computers to fight crime. Nevertheless, digital evidence is information stored, transmitted, and received in binary form that can potentially be relied on as evidence in court. Notwithstanding, digital evidence is commonly associated with crimes that involve such devices, such as a computer hard drives, external storage devices, mobile phones, among others, and are often referred to as e-crimes. However, to fight e-crime, law enforcement must collect relevant digital evidence for such crimes, law enforcement agencies are incorporating the collection and analysis of digital evidence, also referred to as computer forensics, into many of their infrastructures.

Social engineering is a tactic used by fraudsters to gain sensitive information on individuals. Through various tactics information will be collected and combined together to obtain full names, account numbers, addresses, social security numbers, and dates of birth for prospective prospects. The techniques can be used separately or together and can provide sufficient personal information to fraudsters and aid them in many types of activity. As technology improves the various types of social engineering quickly change and adapt to different security systems. The most popular types of social engineering include phishing, vishing, and smishing. Through these activities fraudsters are able to obtain pieces of information through emails, text messages,

Gone are the days of working in one location from nine to five. This generation, which is the most connected generation in history—to technology, to their peers, to information—will need to be managed differently.

Being the fastest growing crime of today, it is estimated that every 79 seconds an identity is stolen (Consumer Reports 13). Empty promises made by solicitors in spam e-mail offer a free gift in exchange for personal information. These solicitors have no intention of sending any free gifts, but their scams help them obtain the private information desired. If enough information is given, criminals are able to apply for credit cards, apply for a fraudulent loan under the victim’s name, and make illegal withdrawals from random bank accounts. This is only one of the many ways a person’s identity could be stolen (O’Reilly).

Cyber Crime is described as criminal activity committed via use of electronic communications with respect to cyber fraud or identity theft through phishing and spoofing. There are many other forms of cyber-crime also such as harassment, pornography etc. via use of information technology.

Just like a biological virus, a computer virus is able to infect and ruin lives. This malicious software constitutes more than just simple viruses but also includes other types of software including worms, Trojan horses, and ransomware. Malware has been around since the late 1980’s. Originally, people became hackers to gain notoriety online, but today, it has become more of a business. Cyber attacks originate from all around the world, and it is not just individual people that benefit from it. In two decades, numerous cyber crime syndicates have been created, and states all over the world sponsor hacker groups. Over the past twenty-five years, malware has become less about checking the integrity of computer security and gaining notoriety in the underground cyber society, and it has become more of a chaos creating, money making business that many people and institutions take part in.

The Internet is a collection of various services and resources. It is clear from the words of Steve Ferguson (2006) that Internet in general is an extremely valuable tool for society in general. The chart (1) below shows the Internet users’ growth rate of using the Internet in the world during the period from 1995 to 2002.