Introduction Anonymity has always been a desirable result when criminals commit a crime. Whether a person is covering their face with a ski mask as they physically rob a bank or someone infiltrates a hospital’s network to steal personal information for ransom, every criminal finds comfort in the warped sense that their identity will most likely be unknown, which will allow them to evade law enforcement. Due to technological advancements, criminals are more likely to remain anonymous after committing a criminal act when they engage in cyber crime. As a result, organized crime has been able to evolve due to the rapid emergence of technology, presenting the greatest threat to the transnational community known to date. ‘Hacktivism,’ which is the act of breaking into computer systems for politically and/or socially motivated purposes, is challenging the fine line between basic rights and criminality. The majority of criminals on the Internet have portrayed themselves as ‘hacktivists,’ however, the distinction between criminals and ‘hacktivists’ questions the extent of the rule of law in cyberspace. Cyberspace is defined as “the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.” In view of the nature of cyberspace, ‘hacktivism’ naturally transcends borders, thus, making this an emerging transnational issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The best way to visualize cyberspace is understanding Thomas Hobbes’ theory on the natural
In Himma’s terms, “hacktivism will be understood as involving unauthorized digital intrusions for the purpose of protesting some injustice or advancing some political agenda.” (Himma 14) An unauthorized digital intrusion is the manipulation of computers and networks belonging to someone else who in turn has their property rights violated. (Himma 1) Himma argues hacktivism is morally impermissible if and only if it harms innocent people or if the hacktivist stays anonymous in relation to the act, through three premises in Hacking as Politically Motivated Digital Civil Disobedience: Is Hacktivism Morally Justified? In this paper I am going to explore Himma’s argument and object to his premise that the amount of harm that is produced by an act of hacktivism depends on the moral nature of the attack and the moral standing of the victims.
As technology is used worldwide, it is in no way hard to get your hands on, or learn how to use computers etc. One of the most significant problems with cybercrime is it’s secretive nature; many protection devices which can be cracked will not pick up that they have been, therefore the majority of cybercrime will go unnoticed for a substantial amount of time. Combined with the world wide web, hackers can use the computers to gain information from any organisation around the world, penetrating even the most impenetrable organisations to get what they want, highlighting how technology has led to the process of globalization within the criminal world.
I read the article What Makes cyber crime laws so difficult to enforces by Deb Shinder of the Tech Republic . The article talks about why it is so hard to control cyber crime and enforce laws that will help prevent and protect people from cyber crime. The article starts about talking about how at first when the internet got mainstream it was not regulated at all, but over the coming years we have passed law that regulate things that you can do on the internet. Even though we have these laws that are not working in protecting people against cyber crime, it even states in the article that “It can be frustrating for the victims of such crimes, when the perpetrators are never brought to justice”. The article goes into different subdivision on what they believe is causing the laws to not be effective. It split into judicial issues, Anonymity and identity, Nature of the evidence.
In this day and age living in the era of the computer, it has become more mainstream and common to hear of cyber attacks, and crime being committed on the internet. Activism however, has become a prominent way to protest or argue a political view. Using related technologies and the internet have become a vital way for some to share their views. With the rise of the internet, “hacktivism” has become a prominent way for protest groups to express while also promoting a political agenda often related to free speech, human rights, and freedom of information.
Also, the author explains these groups have found a hole in the Cyber law. Since they are not showing any signs of cyber terrorism and they have an unknown number of people the US government cannot convict them. This means that Congress has to find a way to rewrite the laws, which were written in 1986, so they can take this case to court. This article concludes by stating these hacking collectives are not a threat to the security of the US and the government should consider hiring
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
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.
Adam Segal’s “The Hacked World Order” reveals many prevalent issues in today’s technologically centered society. Starting at Year Zero, June 2012 to June 2013, the battle over cyberspace witnessed world-changing cyberattacks. This was accomplished due to the fact that nearly 75% of the world’s population has easy access to a mobile phone, and the Internet connects nearly 40% of the total human population, which is nearly 2.7 billion people. With that being said, cyberattacks are becoming a more realistic form of terror.
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.
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.
Despite the numerous arrest and prosecutions of members of their networks, the hacktivists continued to be an integral internet activist within the international system.The state and other interested powers are keen to keep secrets of social injustice and hide the truth that may turn the masses against them. In this view, (Beck 3) observes that the widely supported legislative actions seeking to limit the operations and create a prosecution framework for hacktivists. On the same note,(Kelly) confirms that the despite the considerable use of the internet by individuals; it is still dominated by corporations. The internet is seen to provide a convenient meeting point for activists pushing for different interests to converge and come up with ways to fight against the government and influential businesses. Hacktivism provides a safe space for activists to breed and carry out their activities to the disadvantage of the state. As (Li 310) highlights, there are currently over forty statutes created for computer crimes. Principally, these legislations are
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.
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.
The internet is a medium that is becoming progressively important as it makes information available in a quick and easy manner. It has transformed communications and acts as a global network that allows people to communicate and interact without being limited by time, boarders and distance. However, the infrastructure is vulnerable to hackers who use the system to commit cyber crime. To accomplish this, they make use of innovative stealth techniques for their malicious purposes in the internet.
In accordance with many decades of cyber evolution, a cybercrime is shown in different ranges of crimes, which depend on the spread of technology and law. From the introduction of computer in the 1960s to the rise of personal computer in 1980s, cybercrime began to appear. The crimes can vary from piracy of software to patent-related crimes. This caused a surge in the introduction of relevant legislation in many countries and international organizations involved. In late 1990s, when Internet and transnational crimes were born, the international community cooperated in many instances such as the passing of the UN General Assembly Resolution 45/121 in 1990 and the manual for the prevention and control of computer-related crimes issued in 1994. Despite all the