Cyber Crime as an Unlawful Act - Term Paper Example

Topic: Cyber Crime Introduction Cyber Crime can be described as an unlawful act in which a computer is either the target or a tool, or both. These Cyber Crimes include; email spoofing, sending intimidating emails, Cyber defamation etc. Cyber Crime is a crime that has its origin in the developing reliance on computers, in the modern life. Criminals have come to realize that the internet can offer opportunities and huge benefits for illegal businesses (Goodman, 2008). The bad side of the internet does not only involve theft, fraud, drug trafficking and pornography, but also on criminal associations that are more interested in exploitation than the nature of intrusion, which is what the criminals focus on. The number of people who are trying to commit crimes against kids through the internet, blogs, social media and other sites is rapidly growing. The cause of this is the use of technology amongst our children grows day by day. Major Cyber Crimes Being Faced Software piracy; this is a case whereby someone copies software for personal use or distribution. This happens with programs that are not protected with malware protection, encryption keys or supplementary types of anti- piracy methods. These anti- piracy tools are, however, not perfectly foolproof since the Cyber criminals develop advanced ways of meandering with them. Anti- piracy methods will thus constantly be improved. Child pornography and Minor Assault; this is whereby an individual knowingly distributes, sells and buys child pornography via the internet. Child prostitution is also part of this since criminals have been using chat rooms to tempt minors into sexual encounters that are illegal. Computer Virus Transmission: a virus transmitter, who in this case is the criminal, creates a deadly virus that infects computers and causes them to function improperly. These viruses might also cause the computer to run irritating programs, or get access to a victim’s personal data. ‘Malware’ is the common name that is given to this software. Frequent types of malware are spyware, Trojan horses and Adware. Victims can without knowing download these programs via pop-up windows, websites and emails. Money Fraud; In this case, a victim is made to believe that he will be given money or some other valuable thing. “Phishing” scams entail creating replica emails while pretending to be genuine businesses like credit companies or banks that probe the victim to ascertain personal data. Computer Industry Espionage; this is the stealing trade secrets, or spying of individuals via technological ways for blackmail, corporate advantage or bribery. Some methods include establishing passwords and Logins, use of programmed surveillance to get the secrets of a company and electronic eavesdropping In our project, the five mentioned Cyber crimes will be our concern. They are the greatest crimes that we are currently facing and a state. If we manage to prevent these major Cyber crimes effectively, then I think that the other minor ones will be on the verge of eradication. Cyber Crime Task Force Plan and Strategy The key concerns that we should take into account while setting up this task force are: Adequate premises for the units involved, and an organizational setting, whereby we will have a police department to which our unit will be attached. Other important concerns are the National Legislations which offer basis that are legal, an internal structure and organization, and internal regulations and orders managing the running of the unit. The most essential requirement is that the government realizes the impact and nature of the threat of cybercrime, and hence the requirement for a unit that is specialized and is equipped with the essential resources and authority. Additionally, there is a need that the government prepares a cybercrime strategy which would offer general direction and guide various institutions in their actions against cybercrime. The general purpose of this strategy is to ascertain that the rule of law is enacted and that the legal rights are given protection in the online and ICT environment. We have to select a number of detectives and computer forensic personnel have all along been working effectively in their various fields. To make the work more effective, we will divide the force into groups and assign each group an area to cover and Cyber crime to handle. We also have to set up an Internet Cyber Crime Law Enforcement Task Force, and additional Law Enforcement Agencies who will participate in the program. The two groups have to work hand in hand with the highway patrol, in sharing relevant information that will help the process with them. The task force must also be multi- jurisdictional, and have an approved Memorandum of Understanding between every agency that is participating in the program. The functions of the Cyber crime task force may include: Carrying out investigations, forensic analysis and data collection, evaluation of cybercrime phenomena, coordination of territorial units, defining internal procedures, contributing to defining national cybercrime strategy, carrying out training programmes, and even developing systems of national reporting. The following are the steps that should be taken when creating a task force: Asses the needs and make decisions, set up the legal basis, appoint the manager of the task force, Provide equipment and supplementary resources, Carry out training programme for the force, and Carry out evaluation mechanisms and action plan. These are some of the key steps that prominent cybercrime task forces like the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force (http://www.fbi.gov) and the European Cybercrime Task Force (http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/European_Cybercrime_Task_Force) use to make their work more effective. The force’s performance will be dependant: The cooperation it will have with the private sector, cooperation within the force, the staff’s quality, the motivation and determination of the staff, and the cooperation it will have with courts, prosecutors and other agencies at the domestic level. The existence of the task force and resources assigned to it will be justified by the following pointers: -The credibility, visibility, and trust within the task force. - Knowledge of the trends, risks and typologies, (cybercrime phenomenon), of cybercrime. -Implementation of international and national law in the cybercrime area. During the project, we should deal with the three aspects of cybercrime which are; Offences done against computer systems and data, offences done using computers, and electronic proof on a computer connected to any offence. This implies that the country’s system of criminal justice must be capable of dealing with a huge number of cases and offences. The strategy that the task force will use should aim at criminal justice and prevention of crime on the internet. The measures that should be covered are; International cooperation, training of personnel and institutional development, establishing co operations and partnerships with the public and private sectors, developing systems for cybercrime reporting, and prevention of cybercrime. We have to organize the task force into three structures; investigation, computer forensics and data and information analysis. Allocation of Resources For the allocation of the needed resources to our task force to be done, the following conditions must be met: -The Cyber crime task force is going to save the society from large amounts of money and damages caused by criminal earnings that are generated via cybercrime. -Cyber crime may prove to be a threat to the social, economic and the security well being of the country. The various software and hardware that will be needed in the project include; the paraben forensic tool, live detectors, X-ways and X-rays, virtualization software, forensic equipments (laptops, computers), EnCase software and other data recovery software, and Distributed Network attack (DNA). Other keys resources are the Logicube Forensic Dossier, Open source Linux Tools, Internet connections, Mobile phone analysis tools, specialized Internet surveillance software, Computer systems, intrusion detection tools, decryption technology etc. Other equipments that are important in the project are transportation and communication means Personnel and Skills Needed For personnel, the following are needed: Computer analysts and specialists, police officers, computer experts, computer and laboratory technicians, investigators, engineers, secretaries, field officers, administrative staff, advisers, prosecutors, forensic, undercover officers, FBI officers. The named personnel must have the following skills and trainings in a random order: Bachelors and masters in computer science (for the experts, analysts and engineers), Criminal investigation training, technical education, and computer related qualifications (for the police officers), Bachelor of law, and Bachelors in Economics and criminology. Other minor qualifications are International/National training, Bachelors and masters in ICT, administrative trainings, experience in investigative issues (for computer technicians), bachelors’ degree on cybercrime, and other trainings by Ministry of National Education. Federal Agencies In order to be effective and more successful, the cybercrime task force should develop associations with well known and reputable federal agencies. These federal agencies share common concerns as the task force and work hand in hand so as to prevent Cyber crimes. It is important to do this because, somewhere along the project, the agencies might need to take centre stage while the task force follows their lead and vise versa. The best federal agencies to form relationships with are, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations Agency, Federal Protective Services Agency, and U.S. Army Human Resources Command Agency Setting Up a Cyber Crime Lab The cybercrime lab should be categorized into some sections: The Evidence section which handles any item of media and evidence that has been submitted for examination, the Intake section which should offer support to customers once the lab request form is obtained, the Imaging and Extraction section which makes forensic duplicates of any media that are submitted to the lab, and the Major crimes section which carries out analysis on the digital evidence that support criminal investigation. The major sections include the Counterintelligence section which supports counterterrorism investigations which affect national security, the Intrusion $information assurance section which analyses and examines computer intrusion, the Litigation support section which carries out the coordination of litigation and travel requests for examiners providing trial testimonials martial proceedings of courts, and the Quality assurance section which ensures that all the laboratory products are of high quality. The lab should be equipped in a way that will help facilitate preservation, acquisition and presentation of data. These are data that have been electrically processed and stored in computer media. The lab should be furnished with tools that are used for tracking, preserving, gathering and analyzing evidence. An ideal cybercrime lab should consist of the following: A processor, Operating system, task application, an ideal file system, PDA cell phone, cameras, memory sticks and cards etc. The systems in the lab are important because they make investigation easier and of more quality. Cybercrime Legislation For the task force to pursue the cybercriminals, Legislations should be developed and pushed in St. Louis County. These Legislations serve to increase local law enforcement capacity for investigating Cyber crime. The legislation should include the following: A national and international criminal tribunal should be established for cyberspace, the prosecutor, as the Tribunal’s separate organ, should have the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting, and cybercrimes, which are of most serious national concern, should be added to the substantive national criminal law. Some of the Legislations that should be included are the Telecommunication act, Computer crimes act, Cybercrime prevention act, Computer Misuse charge, Law of electronic data exchange, Criminal code, Criminal procedure code, Mutual assistance in criminal matters act, and the Cyber crime law. Ones proven legal, these laws should be reviewed and passed by the juridical court and the legislative court. Conclusion Once the project has begun, we will be giving out periodic reports on the progress. Cybercrime must be dealt with accordingly. It is one the crimes that make our country’s economy depreciate in an alarming manner, since a lot of citizens and even financial institutions are being robbed daily. Our children are also vulnerable to the criminals, and the only way to make the cyber world a safe place for them is by fighting cybercrime. As a detective, it is my belief that this taskforce will bring on board skills necessary in availing extra evidence through their diverse expertise that the current police force is not capable of doing. This elite unit, in addition to investigating and apprehending these criminals, use the available resources to come up with solutions to the problems created by the criminal acts through prudent and counter offensive software development since they have requisite skills. I support the cybercrime task force project, and we are ready to work diligently to fight cybercrime. It is my hope that resources and necessary support will be availed to ensure optimal functionality of this taskforce. This I believe will start with proper budgetary allocation to ensure that every operational element of the unit is professionally and properly done. Reference Goodman, M. (2008): An Introduction to Cyber Crime and Terrorism: Problems and the Challenges. intgovforum. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from www.intgovforum.org/cms/workshops_08/IGF_dimensions_Marc-Goodman.pdf Read More