UK and EU Legislation to address Cybercrime
Abstract - Abstract - in this paper, we present an introduction to cybercrime, and review UK and EU legislation regarding computer crimes.
This paper will briefly address UK and EU laws that have been created to deal with cybercrimes. Numerous writers, to policymakers and law enforcers have called for stringent and innovative laws to prevent and punish computer crimes. Others want legislation to make computer software companies liable for damages caused by their software-security failures. Responding to the challenges of cyber-crime has indeed engendered a cacophony of ideas.
Keywords - cybercrime, cybersecurity, cyber-attacks, UK and EU laws, Hackers, denial-of-service
1. Introduction
Computer-crime or commonly referred to as Cyber-Crime or ICT Crime (van der Merwe, 2008, p.61) is a new type of criminal activity which started showing its ugly head in the early 90 's as the internet became a common place for online users worldwide. This is due to the fact that computer criminals now have the opportunity to gain access to sensitive information if they possess the necessary know-how. This generally causes huge problems in the economic sphere and results in companies and individuals having to take costly steps to ensure their safety and reduction in commission of cyber-crime (Gordon, 2000, p.423). Cybercrime or also known as computer crime can be defined as any criminal activity that involves a computer and can be divided into two
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.
It’s no secret, the internet sensation has made many people redundant, however, over the past decade this global phenomenon has seen the birth of over 1.2 million jobs, dawning a new era for humanity. With rapid developments occurring in the design, development and implementation of technological discoveries. Traditional legal principles and processes are constantly challenged by the need to keep pace with new technologies. in particular, identity theft has skyrocketed since the rise of the internet; a 2012 survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed 7% of respondents were directly affected by identity crime in the preceding six months. Identity theft not only affects Australian citizens it’s also a cancer to national security, in order for the government to beat this epidemic it’s imperative that harsher punishments are imposed on cyber criminals.
It is the first time, cybercrimes have been added to the official crime survey of ONS for England and Wales. If cyber-related crimes are excluded from the overall figure, crime rate is 6% fewer than in the previous year. This information attests to the great bulk of cybercrime incidents in the country.
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.
Cybercrime has become a fast growing concern for the 21st century as businesses, institutions and individuals grow into an interconnected web of computer networks. Online business transactions, along with the sharing of personal information, are vulnerable to a host of disasters that can reap economic and social havoc. Some sources say that today, cybercrime costs more than $1.0 trillion to society--Global Industry Analysts, Inc. forecasted the world cyber security market to reach $80 billion by 2017 (Gale, 2011).
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
Finally, the growing complexity of cybercrime has showed the importance of constant review of the relevant legislation. This is well exemplified in the changes made in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (Appazov, 2014). This piece of legislation is the only one that specifically handles the issue of cybercrime without dependence on the legislation crafted for other crimes. All in all, there is need for more work as it pertains to legislation in order to sufficiently cover crimes of this nature.
This paper focuses on the cybercrime that have been charged in 2010 and received a sentence. In focusing on these crimes, the consequences of the crimes are analyzed and other features such as the extent of the cybercrime, the sources of the crime, target of the crime, the harms inflicted, the economic impact of the crimes and the possible punishment. The structure of this paper paper includes three parts which are literature review, data collection, and the presentation of the results and discussing the conclusion. Figure: 1 shows the paper Procedure of Study.
The Computer Misuse Act (CMA)is an act of the parliament of the UK redacted in 1990 as a measure to cope with the new technological threats. Old traditional forms of crime such as harassment and fraud offences are nowadays often being committed electronically via computers or the internet.In the last few years new forms of e-crime are appearing, using new technologies such as Denial of Service (DOS) attack and pishing committed by offenders with good technical knowledge in IT. Thus, laws in our society need to be updated to deal with the new forms of crime.
Last thirty years computer crime brought a whole new ground in the networking field, and the Internet, almost two. At present the laws have been set up, and are still developing.
Today cyber-attacks are a occurring at an alarmingly high rate. It is not just governments and major corporation’s websites that are under attack; cyber criminals are using the Internet as an instrument to execute crimes against law enforcement agencies, members of congress, and small businesses as well as conducting terrorism, and even waging war. Cyber-attacks can come anywhere, anytime, anyplace from anybody. Cyber criminals are constantly testing computer defense systems for weaknesses in order to gain access to information in which they can use to their advantage. The following paper characterizes three types of cyber criminal activity, real world examples, ways organizations can protect themselves and why the need for law enforcement and e-business professionals involvement.
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
Cybercrime is one of the fast-growing areas of crime we are facing right now. More criminal’s everyday are taking advantage of the convenience and preying on people use of the Internet to commit a series of criminal activities that has no boundaries physical or virtual. Attacks against computer hardware and software, for example, malware and network intrusion; Financial crimes and corruption, such as online fraud, phishing; are some ways these criminal use to get your personal information..
Cyber security is one of the most significant issues facing world leaders today. Besides, threats from cyber attacks pose serious challenges to global network. In fact, most governments recognize the need to implement cyber security in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems. Cyber security is important because it ensures security of information. ICT systems encompass various aspects of the government. For instance, ICT systems cover national security, well being and economy of the government. Essentially, cyber security ensures that reliable information is relayed to the right systems. Notably, Australian authorities are increasing awareness on cyber crimes. Additionally,
In order to prevent personal data such as bank information from being intercepted, Data Protection Act 1998 (‘the Act’) has been issued by the UK Parliament. According to the Act, doing Cyber-theft for the commission of a relevant offence (e.g. bank theft) are considered as a criminal offence and could be sentenced for five years ' imprisonment (Mobbs, 2003, pp.5–6). Cyber-thefts, however, are not being extinguished under the force from the Act. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), there are 2.5 million incidents of computer misuse (including unauthorised access to personal information and computer virus) reported in England and Wales during the 12 months before 14th August 2015 (TNS BMRB, 2015, p.21), and 3.1 billion pounds per year was estimated to be cost by UK citizens on Cyber-crime (Cabinet Office and National security and intelligence, 2011, p.18). In order to keep the pressure on the Cyber-crime, the British government issued a policy paper of National Security Strategy in which they defined cyber-attacks as a ‘Tier One threat’ to the national security, alongside international terrorism (Cabinet Office, et al., 2015, no pagination). Security of E-Commerce is at the cutting edge of future commercial activity. Internet service providers and personal users are both waiting for the implementation of anti-cybercrime policies in order to protect their information from being trespassed.