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Computer Crime

Computer Crime


Computer crimes need to be prevented and halted thought increased
computer network security measures as well as tougher laws and enforcement of
those laws in cyberspace:

Computer crime is generally defined as any crime accomplished through
special knowledge of computer technology. All that is required is a personal
computer, a modem, and a phone line. Increasing instances of white-collar crime
involve computers as more businesses automate and information becomes an
important asset. Computers are objects of crime when they or their contents are
damaged, as when terrorists attack computer centers with explosives or gasoline,
or when a "computer virus"--a program capable of altering or erasing computer
memory--is introduced into a computer system. As subjects of crime, computers
represent the electronic environment in which frauds are programmed and
executed; an example is the transfer of money balances in accounts to
perpetrators' accounts for withdrawal. Computers are instruments of crime when
used to plan or control such criminal acts as complex embezzlements that might
occur over long periods of time, or when a computer operator uses a computer to
steal valuable information from an employer.

Computers have been used for most kinds of crime, including fraud, theft,
larceny, embezzlement, burglary, sabotage, espionage, murder, and forgery, since
the first cases were reported in 1958. One study of 1,500 computer crimes
established that most of them were committed by trusted computer users within
businesses; persons with the requisite skills, knowledge, access, and resources.
Much of known computer crime has consisted of entering false data into computers,
which is simpler and safer than the complex process of writing a program to
change data already in the computer. With the advent of personal computers to
manipulate information and access computers by telephone, increasing numbers of
crimes--mostly simple but costly electronic trespassing,...