There are three main categories of computer crimes. First, the computer can be used as a storage or communication device. In this instance, the computer is not required for the crime itself, but is used in some way in a criminal activity. An example is financial records kept on a drug dealer's computer. Second, the computer can be used as a tool of crime. In this case, the computer is used to commit traditional offenses, such as creating counterfeit money or fraudulent documents, or newer computer crimes, such as the distribution of child pornography and illegal Internet gambling. Finally, a computer can be used to commit attacks on information, including theft of information, theft of services, and damage to computer systems. This type of computer crime involves the widespread problem of viruses and other forms of siege attacks. The "cyber vandal's" purpose is to attack or prevent the normal operation of a digital system. Who commits these high-tech crimes? Virtually anyone is capable of high-tech crime, but most high-tech offenders, especially computer hackers, fit a unique profile. These individuals are usually 14-to-19 year old white males from middle-class backgrounds. They often possess superior levels of intelligence (IQ over 120), but on a social level they tend to be withdrawn and to associate mainly with peers who share their fascination for electronic gadgets and computer-related activities. Computer Network Break-Ins 1 There are two types of computer network break-ins. The first is commonly known as "hacking." It is not practiced for criminal gain, and can therefore be considered more mischievous than malicious. Nevertheless, network intrusions have been made illegal by the U.S. federal government. A hacker's reward is being able to tell peers that he or she has managed to break into a network, demonstrating superior computing ability, especially the ability to bypass security measures. Hackers, for the most part, seek entry into a computer system and "snoop around," often leaving no sign of entry. It can be likened to an individual's stealthily gaining entry into another person's house, going through a few personal belongings, and carefully leaving without taking anything. 2 The second type of break-in is the one done for illegal purposes. A criminal might break into a large credit card company to steal card numbers, or into a network to steal data or sensitive information. Other criminal acts include computer vandalism, whereby individuals break into a system, alter its operating structure, delete important files, change passwords, or plant viruses that can destroy operating systems, software programs, and data. Industrial Espionage 3 In an age where information can create power, it should not be surprising that competing industries are very curious to know what the others are doing. "Cyber spies" can be hired to break into a competitor's computer system and gather secret information, often leaving no trace of the intrusion. Once again, these spies have such powerful technology at their disposal that they are able to target computers and information that may be thousands of miles away, making detection even more difficult. Software Piracy 4 It is estimated by the U.S. Software Publisher's Association that approximately $7.5 billion worth of American software is illegally copied and distributed annually worldwide. Software piracy ranges from friends sharing and occasionally copying software, to international fraudulent schemes whereby software is replicated and passed on as the original product, sometimes at a lower price. Recent research indicates that employees contribute significantly to the presence of illegal software in the workplace, either by bringing software from home (40 percent), downloading unauthorized copies from the Internet (24 percent), or sharing programs with other employees (24 percent). The duplication process is relatively simple, and once mastered, any software can be pirated and copies sold worldwide. Software developers are constantly trying to stay ahead of the pirates by attempting to render their software resistant to such duplication. The advent of the compact disk and digital video disk unfortunately makes casual software piracy relatively easy. Pornography Online 5 The Internet provides a forum for the display of information. Some individuals, however, see this venue as a means to distribute or seek illegal information such as child pornography. Finding and downloading such material from the Internet is a simple task, even for amateur computer users. While law enforcement agencies occasionally intercept child pornography and those who engage in its dissemination over the airwaves, most offenders are never caught. Also, such material can be strategically hidden or altered to appear to be something else. "Morphing" is a practice that involves using computers to digitally alter pictures. Using such a method, an individual can superimpose two images, or cut and paste parts of one image onto another. This technique has become a tool for child pornographers to evade prosecution. They simply attach the head of an adult to a child's body, and claim the image indeed portrays an adult. 6 Many cases of online pedophilia have been reported as well. (Pedophilia refers to sexual desire felt by an adult for children, or to the crime of sex with a child.) A former employee of Infoseek, Patrick Naughton was a successful computer guru, who in 1990 helped develop the popular Java programming language at Sun Microsystems. However, his career ended in October 1999 when Naughton faced charges of online pedophilia after he arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl with whom he initiated contact in an online chat room. On arrival at a Santa Monica pier for a rendezvous with his online buddy, Naughton was met by FBI agents. The "13-year-old girl" turned out to be a male FBI agent. 7 Pornography is finding itself online in other ways as well. In fact, Web pages are being "page-jacked." A recent scheme involved two hackers who cloned legitimate Web pages, including sites such as Audi and Paine Webber. When computer users attempted to reach the legitimate sites, they were page-jacked to pornographic websites. When attempting to escape the pornographic sites by clicking on the "Back" or "Home" buttons on their browsers, users were then "mouse-trapped" and sent to additional pornographic websites. 8 Going after such offenders becomes difficult if different countries are involved in the illegal act. Let us suppose an individual in country A posts pornographic material on the Internet, and in country A, such material is legal. If the same material is retrieved in country B (although the source is country A), where the material is considered illegal, who is to blame, and where has the crime occurred? Jurisdictional questions about information found on the Internet remain largely unresolved. They will surely become more complex with the increasing traffic of illicit information and images. Mail Bombings 9 Computers can be used to steal money and information. They can also be used for more aggressive purposes. Like the bully told to rough up the new kid in the school yard, computers can be instructed to attack other machines. A common method is that of mail bombings. Mail bombs are the products of computer programs that instruct a computer to literally bombard another computer with information, often irrelevant electronic mail (e-mail). Mail bombs are capable of shutting down computers, and even entire networks, if the amount of information is too large for the receiving computer to digest. Password Sniffers 10 Entry into a computer system often requires a password or some other form of user identification to protect the information it contains. Password sniffers are programs that carefully record the names and passwords of network users as they log in. 11 With such confidential information, unauthorized users are able to gain unlawful access to the computer and the information it contains. Passwords can also be sold to other users for illegal purposes. Credit Card 12 Computers and the Internet are used more and more to conduct business. It has become commonplace to order merchandise, make payments, and conduct personal banking online. This use of credit cards is very appealing to people involved in credit card fraud. Computers can facilitate credit card fraud in two ways. First, a conventionally stolen credit card can be used to order merchandise online and, because no time is wasted going from store to store, a perpetrator can maximize his or her gain before the card is inactivated. Detection is also reduced since there is no physical contact with sales staff who might alert authorities should they suspect fraud. Second, credit card numbers can be stolen from the Internet as customers are making legitimate purchases. Programs similar to those that are designed to steal passwords from unsuspecting users are often used for this purpose. Another way of stealing credit card numbers is for offenders to access computers located in credit bureaus or financial institutions. 13 Currently, no one really knows the actual cost of computer crime. Estimates, however, suggest that the costs range from $500 million to $5 billion per year. Computer crime is underdetected and underreported. Furthermore, computer crime is not considered a major priority for many police departments. Greater attention and resources are focused on violent-crime reduction efforts and, more recently, on community policing. 14 Combating computer crime is not a priority for several reasons: it is difficult to police the Internet, and the necessary resources are not available to adequately handle this type of crime. There is no public outcry against computer crime, since the public is more interested in violent crime. Finally, many police officers feel that they did not choose their profession to police computer crime, but rather to help people and arrest the criminals. Despite these problems, training programs on combating computer crime are being designed and implemented in some police departments. The Criminal Justice Problem 15 High-tech crimes pose a special problem to law enforcement agencies for two reasons. First, these crimes are not easily detected since the offenders can quietly commit them from any computer terminal, usually in the comfort of their own homes. Second, while a few organizations have mobilized to attack high-tech crime, most law enforcement agencies are not equipped to deal with the phenomenon: "Technology changes at an astounding rate while law enforcement techniques, which traditionally are reactionary, do not." It is clear that the police forces of the future need to address this problem by concentrating on detection, and by arming themselves with the technological tools necessary to deal with it. By necessity, computer and/or Internet classes should soon find their way into police academies. Source: Freda Adler, Gerhard Mueller, and William Laufer, Criminology and the Criminal Justice System, 4th ed., New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2001, pp. 352-55. |
