The Customers' Complacent Attitude Triggers the Growth of Cyber Crime - Coursework Example

The rise of web-based technologies has rendered the Computer misuse Act ineffective. Introduction: To begin with, it would be quite honest to say that calculating any kind of offence, whether it’s simple or complicated, is not that easy. Cyber offenses are no exception from this viewpoint and there are numerous reasons that seek to explain the difficulty in counting the number of cyber offenses that happen every year in the country. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of cyber offenses witnessed an unusual high. Cyber offenses have been categorized into different types which come under the purview of the Computer exploitation (misuse) Act of 1990. This Act mainly encompasses fundamental and provoked hacking or any kind of unlawful performances motivated by the intention to hurt or mere carelessness which, ultimately, harms the functioning of a computer. The Internet as well as other web-based technologies has paved way for the enormous rise in cyber offences. Undoubtedly, cyber crimes have become a matter of grave concern for the entire community. The spiraling rate of cyber offenses has triggered an immediate necessity to comprehend and assess cyber crimes. The percentage of Internet crimes has been increasing on a large scale mainly because of the use of highly innovative and sophisticated technologies, association with fraudsters and the ever-growing quantity of identity information which could be assimilated through the Internet. In a vast majority of cases, the victims of cyber offences have been abused by employing novel methods. Besides, it is obvious that people, these days, lack thoughtfulness regarding their duty to safeguard their identity from the persons who misuse it. The recommendations put forward by the House of Lords with respect to well-organized assimilation of facts and standardizing of definitions, in order to tackle cyber crimes, are quite acceptable. However, such recommendations might give rise to certain problems if they are put into practice. One of the major problems which is encountered while tackling cyber crimes is that individuals or groups who commit these offenses only disclose their false identities. Therefore, it has become a really tough job for the crime detecting authorities to investigate their real identities. The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 seeks to prohibit criminal hacking and to rectify the possible harm caused to the public as well as business enterprises by germ writers and hackers. The Computer Misuse Act also intends to safely protect computers and the related devices from illegal admission, alteration or such other associated purposes. Here, it is to be noted that the three chief offences related to computers are (1) An unlawful admission to any device/gadget related to a computer under section 1 of the act, (2) An unlawful admission to any device/gadget related to a computer with the possible intention of committing an illegal act under section 2 of the act. (3) An unlawful alteration of any device/gadget related to a computer under section 3 of the act. In short, the section 1 of the Act focuses on unlawful hacking while section 2 offers explanation on provoked hacking. The Section 3 of the Act focuses on problems related to virus attacks on computers and it’s related equipments and safety of stored information/data. However, the Computer Misuse Act has several loopholes which could possibly render it as a failure. Today, since there are lots of machines that offer uninhibited access to data or information, it is tough to differentiate among the authorized and the unauthorized ones. The Act, in general, intends to safeguard the liberties of the individuals who roam through unauthorized areas knowingly. Case Laws: R v Gold & Schifreen Robert Schifreen was a PC hacker in the United Kingdom. He then became PC safety consultant in a firm. Schifreen was tried on the basis of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act for breaking into another person’s mail by using his password. However, he was freed later on. This incident led to the creation of the Computer Misuse Act of 1990. In case law DPP v. Lennon- This is the first criminal offence that happened in the United Nations related to the disagreement of service attack. The court found that the disagreement of service attack constituted a crime of unlawful alteration under Section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Under this case, the Defendant was charged of the crime of using the Avalanche software to send 500,000 unwanted mails to several staff members who served with his previous employer. “The prosecution argued that the Defendant had caused an unauthorized modification by adding data to Domestic and General's mail server. The Defendant admitted using the Avalanche software to launch the attack and the defense did not dispute that the receipt of e-mails constituted a modification of Domestic and General's server.” 1 R v. Gold case- Under this case, Gold observed a worker of Prestel arrive at an exhibition with his identity card and secret password. Gold and his accomplices gained access to this confidential information from a residence computer. Prestel accused the men of fake deception and manipulation. Finally, they were found guilty of the crime and fine was imposed. “One of the key aspects of the appeal in R v Gold was that the two men were not using the data in any way for personal or illegal gain. Since no material gain was involved in spying on someone else’s system, they argued that the charges under the specific laws could not apply to them. The House of Lords acquitted the men, but became determined to forbid this type of behavior in future. This led to the Computer Misuse Act being developed and passed into law in 1990, two years after the successful appeal.” 2 In the case of R v Bignell, the right to use the information contained in a Police State PC was not found to be illegal according to section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act owing to the reason that the policemen connected to this case had the authority to access the PC. “Regulating computer misuse has proven to be particularly challenging for the criminal law system and the interpretation and application of the Computer Misuse Act has often been inconsistent. Recent cases include the acquittal the acquittal of a teenager who caused around dollar 30,000 worth of damage by bombarding his former employer with five million emails and a software tester who was convicted of hacking after having doubts about the authenticity of a website raising funds for the tsunami disaster. 3 The users of PC also possess the right to safeguard their systems from grave dangers and also to investigate the various networks they use. The same was the issue in the Daniel Cuthbert case in which a person who checked the validity of the website was later tried for accessing unauthorizedly. In the present scenario of fast-changing cyber technology, and novel methods of attacks hitting the cyber space, the definitions of cyber crimes have to be more specific and punishments have to be harsh enough. The Act gives significance to the crimes which were quite common in the previous decades. The crimes specified in the Act do not envisage all the offences (those in the present) because the number of crimes and the various methods employed to commit the cyber crimes have increased to a very great extent. ” Although illegal activities such as hacking are clearly covered by the Computer Misuse Act, said APIG's joint vice chairman Richard Allen, other areas -- such as denial of services attack, 'phishing' and virus attacks -- fall into grey areas.” 4 The primary difficulties associated with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act concerns the photocopying or copying of significant records by computer hackers. There are various challenges which crime detecting authorities have to face while encountering problems related to e-crime and criminal rule. Some of the important reasons are the character of e-crime and the character of the criminal rule. An illegal domestic rule cannot efficiently control e-crimes. Few of the features associated with e-crimes are: Should create grave monetary defeat or act as a danger to national safety. Should be able to stay wholly inside jurisdiction. Frequently crossing the limits of jurisdiction Ambiguous in meaning. Some of the basic features associated with criminal rule are: Deals with important subjects of community concern. Pays attention mainly to domestic authority. It is mainly connected with controlling maintenance ethics. The computer misuse Act of 1990, valid only to United Kingdom and Wales, has its own set of failures. The foremost failure of the Act was that it was immediate, disjointed and unsure. If we take a flash-back into the era which witnessed the sudden boom of Personal Computers, we can clearly see how much technology has expanded and progressed over the years. The computer facilities, which we have today, are the inevitable outcome of man’s technological know-how and his ever-growing needs. In the early days, it was the reeds of papyrus that facilitated the documentation of verbal communication and information. Today, the personal computer exercises a far stronger influence on the minds of the people and has result in a staggering increase in the various computer related offences too. The dimension, capability and unique sales value of a personal computer make it simple, easy-to-use and accessible even to the man who doesn’t have much technological know-how. Advanced personal computers frequently have high velocity or dial-up links to the Internet that enable access to the WWW (WORLD WIDE WEB) and various other resources too .This will, inturn, act as a provocation for people to commit more and more internet-related criminal activities. The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 in was initiated partially in the United Kingdom in reply to the decision in R v Gold & Schifreen. This case comes under the section 8 of the Computer Misuse Act of 1990. “The Computer Misuse Act 1990 was intended to deal with perceived weaknesses in the criminal law in relation to computer fraud and misuse. Particular issues concerned unauthorized access to computer material, unauthorized modification of computer programs and data and, in terms of computer fraud, the problem that it did not appear possible at law to deceive a machine and doubts about the applicability of the law of attempts to computer fraud.” 5 Some of the customary cyber crimes include forgery, theft etc. However, all these are done in different ways. A few of the regulations meant to tackle the cyber crimes are: Precautionary actions- It is mainly done by way of publicity. Precautionary actions basically include an explanation on the various circumstances in which cyber crimes take places, its motives and intentions and also the gravity of these actions. Preliminary Action- The position of the superior executive accountable for data schemes differs from one organization to another The organization must implement various actions and ensure that executives with liability for limited systems obtain the information and the power to receive alike action. Such suspension of right to use would be a fit reply to any kind of mistreatment or misuse. Computer Security: Through the advance of Computer Misuse Act, such actions will have additional value. Penalties under the Disciplinary Procedures: This includes a thorough evaluation of the level of penalties and other kinds of disciplinary actions. The main change that is recommended to the 1990 Act – drafted at a time before the World Wide Web existed – is the introduction of an offence to deal with denial of service (DoS) attacks, because the consensus is that such attacks would be difficult or impossible to prosecute under the current law.” 6 One of the main disadvantages of the Act is that it does not deal with topics such as virus attacks on computers and has not given importance to its disastrous implications. Due to the rapid advancements in technology, there has been a growing necessity to ensure that the concerned cyber crime legislations are reviewed from time to time. If the laws are outdated, they would fail to meet the present day requirements of the society. The Computer Misuse Act cannot be fully employed to find out the hackers or the perpetrators of cyber crimes. The act has also failed to distinguish between minor hackers and persons who commit serious hacking offences. Moreover, the punishments provided, as per the Act, is also meager. Severe punishments for series offences have not been prescribed under the Computer Misuse Act. The opponents of the Act have argued that the Act has been created without any forethought and also that it failed to meet the needs of the days it was created. They have also argued that the Act does not do much to prevent the crimes and that the offenders can easily escape the punishment or undergo meager punishments even for serious offences committed by them. This kind of lenient approach has made the individuals completely unafraid of committing cyber offences. This could be cited as one of the reasons for the rapid increase in the number of cyber crimes. The loopholes in the Act are infact, very clear. The technological changes and the new methods of committing cyber offences have to be analyzed in a very clear and critical manner and ways to tackle the novel offences in this field have to be soon found so that the offenders of cyber crimes do not escape from the clutches of law. A cyber crime causes grave danger to the public and today, it has become an issue of public concern. Serious offences such as pornography and child sexual abuse through the Internet have serious implications on the society and must be dealt with severely by the law. All kinds of cyber offences have to be brought under the purview of the Act. It should not be a mere extension of the criminal law as in the case of the Computer Misuse act. Conclusion: The complacent attitude of customers has been a major cause for the growth in cyber offences in the recent years. Although education and creating awareness about cyber crimes could assist in solving the issue, this will be of no value if the individuals do not bear in mind that it is their personal duty to safeguard their identities from the dangers caused by cyber offences. Cyber offences have become an issue which should not be taken lightly. The main concern with respect to legislations is that technology progresses quicker when compared to law. The definitions are ambiguous while the issue is universal. As the offences may take place in different State jurisdictions, the issue has to be tackled globally. Laws must be subject to change according to the changes and developments in the field of technology. And since technology has a far greater impact on cyber crimes, there is an urgent need for more and more changes in the legislations with respect to cyber crimes. Reference Lists ‘Computer Misuse Act needs Reforming, Concludes APIG’ (Out-law.com 2004) accessed 14 April 2010 ‘Computer Says no: The Social Aspects of Computer Misuse’ (University of Leeds 2006) accessed 14 April 2010 David Bainbridge, ‘Criminal Law Tackles Computer Fraud and Misuse’ (Science Direct 2007) accessed 14 April 2010. ‘Director of Public Prosecutions v Lennon: Case Reports’ (Out -law.com 2007) accessed 14 April 2010 ‘Outdated Computer Misuse Act to be Investigated’ (Information Age 2006) accessed 14 April 2010 Tricia Ellis-Christensen, ‘What is the computer misuse act of 1990?’ (Wisegeek 2010) accessed 14 April 2010 Read More