Computer+Crime


 * Computer Crime**, **E-Crime**, **Hi-Tech Crime** or **Electronic Crime** is a where a [|computer] is the target of a [|crime] or is the means adopted to commit a crime. Most of these crimes are not new. Criminals simply devise different ways to undertake standard criminal activities such as [|fraud], [|theft], [|blackmail], [|forgery], and [|embezzlement] using the new medium, often involving the [|Internet].

Discussion
A computer can be the target of crime, for example, when a person intends to steal information from, or causing damage to, a computer or [|computer network]. This can be entirely virtual, i.e. the information only exists in digital form and the damage, while real, has no physical consequence other than the machine ceases to function. In some legal systems, intangible property cannot be stolen and the damage must be visible, e.g. as resulting from a blow from a hammer. Yet [|denial of service] attacks for the purposes of [|extortion] may result in significant damage both to the system and the profitability of the site targeted. A further problem is that many definitions have not kept pace with the technology. For example, where the offence requires proof of a trick or deception as the operative cause of the theft, this may require the mind of a human being to change and so do or refrain from doing something that causes the loss. Increasingly, computer systems control access to goods and services. If a criminal manipulates the system into releasing the goods or authorising the services, has there been a "trick", has there been a "deception", does the machine act because it "believes" payment to have been made, does the machine have "knowledge", does the machine "do" or "refrain from doing"" something it has been programmed to do (or not). Where human-centric terminology is used for crimes relying on [|natural language] skills and innate gullibility, definitions have to be modified to ensure that fraudulent behaviour remains criminal no matter how it is committed (consider the definition of [|wire fraud]). Issues surrounding [|hacking], [|copyright] theft through [|warez], [|child pornography], and [|paedophilia] (see [|child grooming], have become high-profile. But this emphasis fails to consider the equally real but less spectacular issues of [|obscene] [|graffiti] appearing on websites and "[|cyberstalking]" or [|harassment] that can affect everyday life. There are also problems of [|privacy] when [|confidential] information is lost, say, when an [|e-mail] is intercepted whether through illegal hacking, legitimate monitoring (increasingly common in the workplace) or when it is simply read by an unauthorised or unintended person. E-mail and [|sms] messages are seen as casual communication including many things that would never be put in a letter. But, unlike spoken communication, there is no intonation and accenting, so the message can be more easily distorted or interpreted as offensive. In [|England and Wales], s43 Telecommunications Act 1984 makes it an offence to use a public telecommunications network to send 'grossly offensive, threatening or obscene' material, and a 'public telecommunications network' is widely enough defined to cover Internet traffic which goes through telephone lines or other cables. Secondly, a computer can be the tool used to plan or commit an offence such as [|larceny] or the distribution of child pornography. The growth of international [|data communications] and in particular the Internet has made these crimes both more common and more difficult to police. and [|encryption] techniques, criminals may [|conspire] or exchange data with fewer opportunities for the [|police] to monitor and intercept. This requires modification to the standard [|warrants] for [|search], [|telephone tapping], etc. Thirdly, a computer can be a source of [|evidence]. Even though the computer is not directly used for criminal purposes, it is an excellent device for record keeping, particularly given the power to encrypt the data. If this evidence can obtained and decrypted, it can be of great value to criminal investigators. Thus, specialised government agencies and units have been set up to develop the necessary expertise. See below for a link to the [|U.S. Department of Justice]'s website about e-crime and its [|computer forensics] services. [[|edit]]

Hacking
Hacking may be defined as, "deliberately gaining unauthorised access to an information system" and, in extreme cases, it may amount to [|industrial espionage] or a national security crime when the defendant accesses commercially or nationally sensitive materials. Under [|English law], the [|Computer Misuse Act 1990] creates three offences which reflect the range of seriousness in what may be done. Thus, out of curiosity or a sense of public duty, [|white hat] hackers may identify and exploit [|security flaws]. Although this may represent a threat to commercially or militarily sensitive sites, this form of activity is not necessarily against the public interest and should be distinguished from both nuisance attacks and the more serious, malicious assaults, even though all "victims" may still incur financial "loss" whether through the unexpected cost of having to repair insecure systems, or downtime on a retail [|portal]. The more genuinely criminal can be external threats, i.e. those who wish to break into the systems from outside, or internal in that [|employees] wish to steal from their employers or to place a [|logic bomb] or similar presents when leaving their employment. The cost and inconvenience involved can be substantial. For example, the development of [|computer viruses] such as the "[|love bug]", [|worms], [|trojans], etc. represent major threats. Less obvious but no less costly is [|telephone hacking] or "[|phreaking]", i.e. unauthorised access into an [|organisation]'s telephone system to make free long-distance calls. Even [|New Scotland Yard] was a victim and lost £1 million when hackers accessed the DISA (Direct Inward System Access) facility on the main [|PBX] (DISA allows teleworkers at home or travelling to call into the corporate telephone system, enter an authorisation code and gain access to system features or make long distance calls). Hacking frequently involves people acting in different [|states]. [|Criminal jurisdiction] is usually invoked both when the [|defendant] and/or the accessed computer is physically within the territory of the prosecuting state. [[|edit]]

Fraud
[|Internet fraud] is any dishonest misrepresentation of fact intended to induce another to do or refrain from doing something which causes loss. In this context, the fraud will result in obtaining a benefit by: Manipulating banking systems to make unauthorised [|electronic funds transfers] or to divert the whole or part of the retail prices collected by a portal would be serious thefts (see [|salami slicing]). An increasing problem is the unauthorised use of credit card numbers and other data collected as part of [|identity theft]. [[|edit]][[[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick%7C%5D%5D%5B%5Bhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick]|]] Confidence tricks and scams Despite the fact that many of these cons that trade on human gullibility are genuinely old and notorious, the internet gives criminals the opportunity to reach millions of innocent people who may be tempted by the prospect of easy money, e.g. the Nigerian banking scam. [[|edit]]
 * altering computer input in an unauthorised way. This requires little technical expertise and is a not uncommon form of theft by employees altering the data before entry or entering false data, or by entering unauthorised instructions or using unauthorised processes;
 * altering, destroying, suppressing, or stealing output, usually to conceal unauthorised transactions: this is difficult to detect;
 * altering or deleting stored data; or
 * altering or misusing existing system tools or software packages, or altering or writing code for fraudulent purposes. This requires real programming skills and is not common.

Piracy
Most states have enacted laws to protect copyrighted materials, and people who distribute and download copyrighted recordings without permission are liable to face civil actions for damages and penalties and/or criminal prosecution. For the most part, the criminal law is only used for commercial piracy except where a non-commercial distribution has a not-insignificant effect on the copyright owner's business. The theft of software, the copying of licensed software without permission, and software counterfeiting are not only a matter for the police but can also involve customs officers, agencies tasked to protect consumers and/or IPR holders, and agencies responsible for ensuring that advertising is not misleading. In English law, ss16 and 20 Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 (as amended by the Copyright, etc. and Trade Marks (Offences and Enforcement) Act 2002) create offences when, knowing or reasonably suspecting that the software packages, games, films, books or music files are illegal copies, and without the permission of the copyright owner, a person: The penalties for these "copyright theft" offences depend on the seriousness of the offences: Also note s24 Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 which creates a range of offences relating to the distribution of any device, product or component which is primarily designed, produced, or adapted for the purpose of enabling or facilitating the circumvention of effective technological measures. When this is for non-commercial purposes, it requires there to be a measurable effect on the rights holder's business. [[|edit]]
 * makes unauthorised copies e.g. burning music files or films on to CD-Rs or DVD-Rs;
 * distributes, sells or hires out unauthorised copies of CDs, VCDs and DVDs;
 * on a larger scale, distributes unauthorised copies as a commercial enterprise on the internet;
 * possesses unauthorised copies with a view to distributing, selling or hiring these to other people;
 * while not dealing commercially, distributes unauthorised copies on such a scale as to have an measurable impact on the copyright owner's business.
 * before a magistrates' Court, the penalties for distributing pirated files are a maximum fine of £5,000 and/or six months imprisonment;
 * in the Crown Court, the penalties for distributing pirated files are an unlimited fine and/or up to 10 years imprisonment.

A substantial quantity of both [|hardcore] and softcore pornography, including material designed to appeal to paedophiles, is available on the Internet. Ostensibly, it is aimed at adults and it may or may not be illegal for adults to read or view depending on the rules of the state of residence. Child pornography is illegal in most states. Even if the pornography is not illegal //per se//, it may nevertheless be considered harmful or distressing for others to see, whether as adults coming across it unexpectedly or as children. The various offences relate to possession, storage and distribution of obscene material, although some states do not criminalise mere possession so long as there is no attempt to show it to others, and then only if distribution is for gain (English law: s2(1) Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964). But child pornography, which features the sexual abuse of children, is often considered so serious that mere possession is an offence. The general test of "obscenity" is whether the material tends to "deprave and corrupt" those who are likely to read, see, or hear it. [[|edit]]
 * Pornography**

Offensive content
The content of websites and other electronic communications may be harmful, distasteful or offensive for a variety of reasons. Most states have enacted law that place some limits on the [|freedom of speech] and ban [|racist], [|blasphemous], politically subversive, seditious or inflammatory material that tends to incite [|hate crimes]. This is a sensitive area in which the courts can become involved in arbitrating between groups with entrenched beliefs, each convinced that their point of view has been unreasonably attacked. In England, s28 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defines a racial group, following //Mandla v Dowell-Lee// (1983) 2 AC 548 (in which a requirement to wear a cap as part of a school uniform had the effect of excluding [|Sikh] boys whose religion required them to wear a turban), as a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin; and a religious group as a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief. Therefore, it is equally an offence to show hostility to a person who practises a particular faith as to a person who has no religious belief or faith. [[|edit]]

Harassment
Whereas content may be offensive in a non-specific way, harassment directs obscenities and derogatory comments at specific individuals focusing on gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation. This often occurs in chat rooms, through newsgroups, and by sending hate e-mail to interested parties (see [|cyber bullying], [|harassment by computer], [|stalking], and cyberstalking). In England, in a broader form than s43 Telecommunications Act 1984, s1 Malicious Communications Act 1988 makes it an offence to send an indecent, offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person. Now, s2 Protection from Harassment Act 1997 criminalises a course of conduct amounting to harassment which the defendant knows, or ought to know, amounts to harassment of another. If a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other, the knowledge will be [|imputed] to the defendant. Although harassment is not defined, s7 states that it includes causing alarm or distress, and conduct is defined as including speech in all its forms. More problematic are deliberate attacks which amount to [|defamation]. In general, [|libel] is not treated as a criminal matter except when it may provoke the person defamed into retaliatory violence (see cybersmearing as it affects business [|[1]]. All forms of unsolicited e-mail and advertisements can also be considered to be forms of Internet harassment where the content is offensive or of an explicit sexual nature. Now termed [|SPAM], it has been criminalised in various countries[|[2]] [[|edit]]


 * Identity Theft
 * Some of the most common crime on the Internet occurs when criminals try to obtain information about you. Sometimes without you even realizing that it is happening. Many websites collect all kinds of information about you. Therefore, you should always be careful when providing information about yourself on the Internet, especially if a website is asking for sensitive information such as your Social Insurance Number, your credit card number or your home address and telephone number. Very often, websites collect information for legitimate reasons such as providing you a service or a product. Other times, websites may try to use the information you give them to take advantage of you or to make money by selling these information to other companies. More seriously, commit crimes under your name. You should always read the privacy policies of websites you visit to see what they will do with the information they collect from you. Identity theft happens when a person or a company collects sensitive information about you to pose as you online or in other situations. Sometimes this can be as simple as using your credit card information without your authorization. In general, be aware but do not be paranoid. The best defence against identity theft is awareness.


 * Phishing
 * You have probably heard the term "phishing". It is also called "carding" or "spoofing". "phishing" is an activity known as a high tech scam in which identity thieves pose as legitimate business or service professionals to obtain your personal information. Then they use your information to commit crimes under your name. Most often, these activities come in the forms of email or pop-up windows which ask you to validate or update your personal information. This information could be used to transfer money between bank accounts, make payments or commit other crimes. Another type of scam is known as email scam in which emails are used to carry worms or viruses that can harm your computer system. They look legitimate, and they direct you to professional looking websites that seem to be created by organizations which you trust. Therefore, never reply to such emails or click on any of the pop up windows. When you are unsure about the situation, always contact the company by phone or simply ignore the message.