Changes in Technology and Criminal Law - Essay Example

Running Head: HOW TECHNOLOGY CHANGES AND CHANGED CRIMINAL LAW of Table of Contents How Technology Changes and Changed Criminal Law 3 Introduction 3 Has the Law Changed.. 3 The Changes.... 5 The Access to Information...................................................................... 5 Hacking 6 Case Study 7 Legal Information. 9 Courtroom Technology. 10 Legal Practitioners and Technology.... 10 Law Firm Technology 10 E-Discovery.. 11 How Technology Changes and Changed Criminal Law Introduction The advent of computer has caused a lot of changes to the law. Though not exhaustive, the aspects of law that have changed indicate that computers have initiated certain areas of the law to evolve while others remain practically unaffected. Computer use has greatly changed in the area of criminal law. Computer deals can involve hardware, software and other services. Courts asses the customer software cases under the current tests which include element test, bi-figuration test and final product concrete and movable test. Tax law has not been greatly affected by computers as canned software is handled as touchable and taxable. Nonetheless, custom software is elusive and not taxable. Different stats have developed specific laws that deal with the taxability of computer software transactions. There is so much attention to the changes Information Technology has brought to the criminal law practice. The domination of computers and the internet as well as the development of related electronics is changing and is expected to go on changing and due to this, other aspects of daily life are also affected and changing and particularly the practice of law. Information technology is a very tough, radical force that is pushing for changes in many areas of economy and these changes are paramount. Has the Law Changed Computers have come with development of a lot of things ranging from flow of information, gadgetry, crime and general sociability of people. The law has nor been spared by these changes and some aspect have seen drastic changes while others have remained relatively constant due to conservative of technology. Several aspects of law that have been affected include patent law, commercial law, and even tax laws. Patent law has not experienced a lot of changes. The US has explained in detail the way patents should be dealt with as well as computers from which these change in criminal law emerged (Noortwijk 2006). The Supreme Court is responsible for this. Copyright law is the most affected aspect of criminal law that draws these changes from the computer technology. The congress created a regulation that was supposed to take care of this issue (national commission on new technological uses of copyrighted works). Reproducing content or designing a program that is similar to another one without the consent of the original creator is illegal yet with advancement in technology, this is very common. There are rules in place that address pre-computer copyright and formation of new laws in connection to computers. In terms of privacy, the law is very clear that selling or intentional exposure of people's personal infringes their privacy and hence it's illegal. Storage of large files of individual information on computers database is very risky. Government files are also a risk to privacy (Noortwijk 2006). There is federal statute on privacy in place. It's evident that the widespread changes in the practice of criminal law are as a result of technology and in particular, the advent of the computer. Most state laws and federal governments' regulation have passed laws that are aimed at curbing computer crimes. On the other hand computers have been very beneficial in the criminal investigations. The use of computer is thought to have refined the federal regulation of evidences as these rules are basically interpreted, assessed, and analyzed with regard to computer technology (Noortwijk 2006). The relevant base requirements to back authenticity of computer evidence have been ascertained. The Changes Lawyers and other legal practitioners rely on their subjective acquaintance with the legal issues as well as on the external sources of legal information. This has been the trend for decades. With the dawn of computer technology, easier methods of retrieving legal information has been developed, there is increased search for relevant information on the increasing number of laws, legal cases, more literature and preparatory work. In spite of the several study projects that have been carried out on the information retrieved from 1960s up to date, the change indicated in law is not significant, North Carolina Bar Association Foundation (1998). The need to have information, administer justice and increased use of the internet has lead to creation of highly refined approaches in legal databases though this improvement are not usually depicted in the user behavior. There are more changes that take place unknown to the users as they taking place behind the scene. The Access to Information- the advent of technology especially the internet and the computer has mandated that firms, organizations and other authorities have their own websites. This means that there is increased access to official information. Organizations that have contact of the people usually use their websites to make public any latest information, guidelines on how to carry out certain talks like application of loans, declaration of taxes and placing the frequently asked questions. Furthermore, most house holds are currently having their own internet access in the house and hence this information on the net can easily be accessed, North Carolina Bar Association Foundation (1998). The display of information on the internet or obtaining personal information and using it unlawfully could be very dangerous as this is enforceable by law. The federal, state and local governments all recognize and appreciate individual privacy. Computer crimes like hacking are very serious since it has lead to loss of million of money and the inconvenience of having to change pin numbers when ATM card pin numbers are stolen form the computer or website. Hacking - Hacking basically refers to the breach of computer security. On the other hand, hacking can be used to describe smart or quick fix to computer problems or an awkward and inelegant resolution to a problem, this is according to computer science and technology way of definition. The term is also used to describe variation of a program or mechanism to give the user entrance to computer features that otherwise would be inaccessible like the DIY circuit bending. Hacking has been considered a serious crime especially when one hacks in to a government. There are instances when some get involved in what is termed as "ethical hacking"; this is company's strategy to determine their security weaknesses or target for intruders (Hammond R.J & Hammond 2003, 36). Even so, the ethical hacker may get in trouble with the law, it is therefore necessary that some one gets the Get out of jail Free Card (GOOJFC) which is a document that states that you have been authorized by someone in power to do so. Hacking is a federal crime and any cases of suspicion would be investigated by the federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ), the crime can never be expunged unlike the other state crimes, depending on the damage caused, one could also be sued for damages ion the civil court leading to possible jail term or job termination. There are some critics who are proposing that any company hacked should be held responsible and make it a rule that it's illegal to be hacked (Tunick 1994, pp 234). There are major changes that have been brought to the practice of law; in the past, the law only concentrated on criminal hackers who in most cases were not able to be apprehended. However since hacking could be a problem from the inside say someone selling out information, the law nowadays can also victimize a company of organization that has been hacked. In the recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued claims and charged hefty fine to some companies that had leaked data to hackers. This of course brought about some critical questions about taking responsibility if the firm in question is hacked (Hammond R.J & Hammond 2003, 36). Usually it's very difficult to stop a company's computer system from being hacked if not impossible; hence imposing liability to the affected company could result in unintentional consequences. The development of disclosure laws has played a great deal in revealing that some of the security breaches that have been common over the past few years were actually due to negligence on the part of the corporate information technology (IT) team failing to lock down the data in any considerable mode. This revelation encouraged the pressure on companies that get hacked to take responsibility for the crime (Kelly 2007, 53). The computer systems hold very critical information about consumers, company's corporate management, finances and other critical information that should not be accessed by just anybody; companies that leak such information should be help responsible Case Study; The act of using someone else identity or stealing of somebody's identity is an illegal practice. Allowing hackers to access personal information in the first place is illegal and should never happen. There are recent incidences that include TJ Maxx where all the personal consumer information since 2007 including credit cards information was stolen. How the hackers managed to access the information is very unclear and very hard to imagine, this makes people to constantly change their credit card numbers several times over a short period of time. The other victims of identity theft are the office max, Boston market, Marshall's, Barnes & Noble, and Hannaford stores, though the banks covered the losses from illegal charges on the accounts, victims are forced to spend a lot of time revoking the cards, altering all kinds of direct charge accounts that may use the numbers stolen (Hammond R.J & Hammond 2003, 36). These occasions usually bring about a lot of inconveniences including cancellation of a credit card while one is traveling. The master mind behind this incidence, the biggest scam of identity theft; Maksum Yastremskiy also known as Maksik was later arrested in Turkey partying in a night club. The Ukrainian hacker was sentenced to 30 years behind bars. The felon had specialized in supplying credit cards and provision of other financial information. However despite the loss of millions of shillings that was caused and the inconvenience the public was exposed to, Maksik was tried for hacking few banks in Turkey (Kelly 2007, 53) The victims of identity theft are proposing that the companies that leak their personal information be held responsible for the actions. They claim that the corporations are not supposed to keep the data in the first place, more or less to give it to some felonious people who manage to breach their information security, this being the bottom line of the matter. The information leaked once it gets to the hand of criminals does not matter whether it was stolen or leaked out through negligence or even on purpose but someone has to take responsibility and in this case, the victims claim that the hacked company should (Saarenp 2006, pp 509). This is because the company retains sensitive individual identity information and hence responsible for the attack. Criminal charges should include charges on both the receiver of the information and those who leak it. Legal Information There has been an increased openness and down to business approach in the practice of criminal law that is leading to more and more recommendations, studies, FAQs and guidelines that are found online. The major problems are the status of such information within the legal source doctrines. Basically their status are not considered to be absolutely statutory and not wholesome lawful literature either as the writer in most cases could be an authority that interprets the current laws and also practices them on daily basis (Saarenp 2006, pp 509). There is a lot of information and case studies on the internet meaning that the law practitioners are bombarded with a lot of information about law as a result of technology growth. The big question is to what extend should these recommendations be taken(Tunick 1994, pp 234).. The doctrine of the lawful source has to be restructured so that relevant inquires are made into the question, to what degree do they apply in daily life. The advancement in technology has seen the law sector develop new tools that will assist lawyers to work together. Knowledge management is very critical and this includes the creation, organizing, storing, and sharing information. Information technology can assist lawyers in increasing their efficiency as more people can work together and information can be edited more directly. The role of law practitioners (legal professionals) has greatly progressed with the improved technology in law which has consequently revolutionized the current legal setting and structure (Kelly 2007, 53). The legal professionals are more efficient than ever before as there are services like word processing, spreadsheets, databases, legal research software, telecommunications, and presentation. The advancement in the practice of law has impacted on several sector of law and the following is a look at some of them in brief. Courtroom Technology Electronic filing in the courtroom has become very common and the federal government and state government are placing their court posters on the internet database where the legal counsels are allowed to remotely access the courts documents. Most of the courts are currently equipped with electronic are whistles and bells (Saarenp 2006, pp 509). There are also built in monitors and equipment facilities to be used during a trial presentation. Legal Practitioners and Technology All the legal professionals including lawyers, judges, paralegals and other practitioners have embraced the use of technology. Operation of database applications specific to their practice area and using things like videoconference, blackberries among others. Electronic research in legal issues has become dominant and most common methods of study and investigation. Law Firm Technology The tradition paper invoices are being replaced by electronic billing system at a very fast rate in many law firms. Technology has also turned out to be a very significant legal marketing strategy and each day, law firms are creating new websites as well as legal blogs (Kelly 2007, 53). Electronic management of cases has revolutionized the way documents are handled as firms are now increasingly storing files electronically and using databases to retrieve it. E - Discovery New federal regulation of 2006 mandate that parties in litigation process to prepare, store and present documents in electronic form only for instance voicemails, emails. Instance massages among others. There is database technology that allows legal practitioners to image, analyze, review and manage substantial amounts of data inform of electronic evidence (Tunick 1994, pp 234). The crimes faced in the information and communication structure today are not so different for from those crimes before the computer age. Embezzlement, fraud and simple theft are the main motivating factors for the computer crime (Kelly 2007, 53). Computer crimes are getting more complicated, with the criminals working in groups to steal credit card information, cash, individual personal information and even armed forces secrets. Conclusion A major setback to combating computer or cyber crime is the jurisdiction issues during investigations and the rapid development in technology which has not been matched by the same advances in terms of cyber law. This is a swift crime that is not restricted by nation's boundaries and therefore the need to collectively address such crimes needs to be re-evaluated by many nations so as to cooperate in investigations. The Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP) is a certified body that takes care of information security and provides education on the corporate security, privacy policies and defining the accepted character of employees. There are different laws that are covered and they include criminal, civil and regulatory laws which should be well understood by the security professional since the importance of the laws is continually increasing in the industry. Most civil crimes relate to intellectual property regulations that encompass trade secrets, trademarks, copyright and patents as the corporate value of many firms is embodied in these. All these have a value that must be classified to make sure that appropriate intensity of security is applied for their safeguarding. The ethics covered in the CISSP exam include the privacy laws including health insurance portability and accountability act, import and export laws and trans-border information flow; federal privacy act and European Union principles on privacy, computer fraud and abuse act, Gramm-lech-Bliley Act and the computer security act. Information security crimes become serious issues for debate in the US in the 1990s and saw the passage of federal penalty guidelines on computer or cyber crimes that are related to anti-trust, fraud including other white collar crimes; the passage of the Economic Espionage act also gives the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) authority to look in to the corporate and industrial surveillance. References 1. Hammond R.J & Hammond R.J Jnr (2003). Identity Theft. How to Protect Your Most Valuable Asset. Career Press Pp 35 - 79 2. Noortwijk K. V (2006) Ranking and Classifying Legal Documents Using Conceptual Information. Journal of Information Law and Technology. 3. Saarenp A (2006) Towards Legal Information and Legal Knowledge, In Sjberg M &. Wahlgren P (Eds). P 509-525 4. North Carolina Bar Association Foundation (1998). Digital Ethics. The Effect of Technology on the Practice of Law. North Carolina Bar Association Foundation. Pp 128 5. Kelly M (2007). Lives of lawyers revisited: transformation and resilience in the organizations of practice. University of Michigan Press pp 53 6. Tunick D.C (1994). Has Computer Changed The Law the John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law pp 234 Read More