Computer Crimes Categories - Essay Example

Computer Crimes Computer crimes categories In the recent past, there have been a massive growth and rise of computer technology. Almost everything is then dependent upon computer and computer software. The immense growth of the computer use and utilization in all sphere of the world have led to the eruption of cybercrime, which simply refers to any crime that is committed over the internet through a computer. Primarily, cybercrime does utilize the computer as to commit various crimes not morally acceptable, such as child pornography, software piracy, fraud or copyright theft. Another type of cybercrimes that may exist includes hacking of important webpages and spamming. Such acts are at the verge of creating tensions in many countries, leading to insecurity. The advent of computers has led to a rampant evolvement of cybercrimes. There does exist at least four classifications of computer crimes. The computer can be the crime target, in that there is data alteration hence it cannot provide the expected service. The information in the computer is attacked, hence interrupting all the operations. Secondly, the computer can be an instrument in crime. In such a case, one uses a computer to participate in a crime. The crime is mostly common especially to people who utilize illegal means to solicit funds. On the other hand, the prevalence of computers can be associated with crimes. Such crimes may include counterfeiting of the software and theft. Lastly, computer can remain an incidental substance in crime proceedings. It can act as a facilitator. An example in such a case is Child Pornography (Carucci, Overhuls, and Soares, pg. 388). In essence, privacy of information remains a critical component in every organization. However, the invention of the computers has posed great risks to the information, and most firms have to remain on watch at tall times to prevent any imposter who may be at the verge of interfering with their privacy. It is worth noting that most companies are opting to heighten their web security to secure information. Computer viruses, Trojan horses and malwares are dangerous programs designed with the ultimate goal of damaging the computer system. Virus has had devastating impacts on the information stored in the computers, causing unexpected disruptions in the flow of activities. They have made many firms incur huge losses of billions of dollars due to information loss. Viruses tend to pass from one computer to another. They can be likened to biological viruses. The agents of destruction target the hardware. The victim creating such a virus targets it to create a certain level of harm to the computer hardware. In the recent past, virus creators have come up with immense tricks. For example, they have initiated an action whereby a virus can be in a potion to load into the computer memory, and can just run on the background computer as long as the computer is on operation. In such a case, the virus has the best opportunity to replicate. Floppy discs and hard discs are not left behind but are also at risk of attack. Trojan horses are fatal programs found within other programs. On the installation, such programs do infect other files in the computer, causing confusion and mayhem. Sometimes, they can send the computer private information to a third party, who can control all the operational processes of the computer. Such applications developers utilize spamming by sending messaged to thousands of unsuspecting people. They end up downloading the documents and opening them, hence propagating the infections (Huang, Radkowski III, and Roman, pg. 285). Spamming involves sending thousands of similar messages to many unsuspecting people. It forces the same message to many people and is usually a commercial advertisement. It is quite cheap to send such mails. Spams have detrimental implications to the email system of the user. The recipient is not in a position to communicate effectively. Time is wasted hence decreasing the productivity levels. Denial of Service Attacks does occur when an attacker makes an offer to prevent certain users from accessibility of certain information. Other types of cybercrime activities include phishing, smishing, and vishing. Phishing entails receiving emails that are spoof and mimicking companies that deal with money transactions, such as PayPal, eBay or Amazon. They try to steal personal financial data and information. They can be at the verge of convincing other people to become participants of illegal activities (Schmalleger, pg. 48). Phishers utilize such methods to trick most people to reveal their financial information. Sometimes phishers can make use of authentic company logos, sending fraudulent emails to employees. Smishing utilizes short text messages tricking people to send their personal information. Cyber stalking entails harassment of a repeated behavior a certain individual engages in most frequently. Cyber stalkers do send threatening messages. Most of the messages are automated at regular intervals. Most victims of the act are women. Cyber stalkers have a desire to exert control over the victims they coerce. Men consist of the largest percentage of the population involved in cyber stalking. The accessibility to personal information is quite accessible especially in the social media, and a cyber-stalker can just access and utilize it. Research has indicated that cyber stalking may even rise to great heights, with the increasing utilization of computers to run the daily errands (Dhillon and Moores, pg. 720). In the industrial and business sector, industrial espionage does utilize illegal mechanisms to have access to trade secrets and competition strategies from other companies they may consider a threat in their thriving in the market. Ex-employees, hackers, and disgruntled employees have the highest tendencies of being involved in such crimes. They can access any information with reference to the products specifications, marketing information and products designs even before they are inaugurated in the markets. Computer hacking is another headache to many companies and visionaries of computer technologies. The pioneers of the computer industry were involved in creating programs that no one person could foresee. They could build up small applications to come up with great operating systems. A strong sense of curiosity always drives the hackers in creating such programs. Hackers can utilize their great expertise to log into private systems and access information in an illegal manner. Other good hackers infiltrate the company’s loopholes and ultimately act as great security advisors. Created laws to address Computer Crimes The computers have ushered in an era of revolution, bringing up instant changes in business and communication fields. However, the recent times have seen an upsurge in computer crimes. Despite the sudden rise in the crimes, the Federal Government has not been responsive enough in coming up with computer crime laws to counteract the rising cases. However, there are a few laws that have been put in place to prosecute the victims of such crimes. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act states that utilization of harmful computer codes is illegal if the aim of code dissemination is to bring damage or economic loss. If the victim is convicted of the same crime, he or she does risks facing a fine of close to 250 $ and 20 years imprisonment. Access to computers without authorization, any trafficking of passwords with a goal of destruction can deem one immediate prosecution with reference to this Act. The Economic Espionage Act came into being in 1986. It brings into condemnation sharing of trading secrets both locally and internationally. It is illegal for a person to download, take, possess or receive secret information prior to authorization by the owner. In addition, the Wire Fraud Act illegalizes the act of using interstate communication systems to commit fraud or obtain any property. Any theft aided by a computer is also termed as illegal (Carucci, Overhuls, and Soares, pg. 390). Additionally, the United States of America Patriot Act makes a clear definition of cyber terrorism and their penalties. Managing Computer Crime Issue Prevention is better than cure. It is worth remaining safe from loss of information and data through preventive measures. One needs to be aware of the existence of such cybercrimes when making important decisions regarding utilization of information systems at any one time. To ensure a virus fails to harm through email, it is important to take extra caution when opening an email or attachment from any unknown sender. The best action is to delete and discard the message. An antivirus software should always be updated to prevent and detect any malwares. With reference to Phishing, one should always report any information of attempted attack to the financial institution involved. Changing of passwords to the spoofed sites is also vital. To prevent stalking, one should not share personal information in non-secure sites such as social sites. If a person becomes hostile while online, it is wise to log off and surf somewhere else. Blocking a person and filtering the messages also saves a great deal. Reporting to the Internet Service Provider is useful, as the providers do pose policies prohibiting any form of abuse. Moreover, all companies ought to secure reliable hardware that is not a subject to hackers. Continuous monitoring, assessment and evaluation of the firm’s data form a vital component in security maintenance. All the employees must also be educated on the various ways to prevent the occurrence of an attack (Parker, pg. 122). While shopping online, it is of paramount importance to be extra cautious of the authenticity of the sites prior to making any payments. The site should use encryption symbol, in a bid to secure personal information. All phony websites requesting for personal information should be avoided. Strong passwords used to secure access may also go a long way to preventing any person from accessing into the system. In summation, the vicious cycle of discovery never ends. It is all about vulnerability discovery, new products release to curb the vulnerability. The cycle is continuous, but one has to act safe to remain safe. Works cited Carucci, Dominic, David Overhuls, and Nicholas Soares. “Computer Crimes.” Criminal Law Review 48 (2011): p375–419. Print. Dhillon, Gurpreet, and Steve Moores. “Computer Crimes: Theorizing about the Enemy within.” Computers and Security 20 (2001): 715–723. Huang, Xiaomin, Peter Radkowski III, and Peter Roman. “Computer Crimes.” The American Criminal Law Review 44 (2007): 285. Print. Parker, Donn B. Fighting Computer Crime: A New Framework for Protecting Information. N. p., 1998. Print. Schmalleger, F. Crimes of the Internet. N. p., 2008. Print. Read More