Types of Computer Crimes

What is a computer crime? A computer crime is an illegal activity that is executed via a computer. A computer crime is very similar to a normal crime. The only difference is the means in which the act is carried out. An individual can commit theft, trespassing, embezzlement and fraud. The guidelines to what is an offense act depend on the jurisdiction of the crime. The introduction of the internet has heightened the threat of these crimes. Authorities have difficulty investigating computer crimes and capture computer criminals. The government officials have passed legislation that defines forms of computer crimes. They also teamed up with law enforcement to devise methods to capture the offenders.

Major Forms of Computer Crimes

Data Transfer Theft

Data transfer theft occurs when someone uses your phone line and connects it to their computer. The thief could also use your phone line and pretend to be you. Once you have logged off of your computer, someone who has tapped into your phone line can continue to use your internet service and pretend to be you. Using this method, someone can use your phone lines and you would not know it.

Misuse of Computer Time

The misuse of computer time is when an employee chooses to surf the internet will being paid to perform another functions. Employees that work in both the private and public sector have probably committed this offense. It is not an offense that is prosecuted often but it will be a cause for dismissal from your job.

Computer Output Theft

Computer Output Theft deals with the theft of information. An individual will intercept data that is transferred from one pc to another for the purposes of stealing private or personal information. A thief can steal customer information or personal banking information.

Desktop Forgery

Desktop forgery occurs when an individual copies company letterhead, confidential documents, passports and other important document to receive some form of personal gain.

Wrongful Programming

Wrongful programming is when an individual modifies a computer program with the intent to alter data that resides on the network or personal computer. (TechWarehouse, 2004)

Denial-of-service attack

Denial of service attack is when an individual floods a company's website and causes it's to decrease or crash.

Intellectual property theft

Intellectual property theft is when an individual attempts to claim the rights of another's body of work for the purposes of financial gain. (Computer Crime Research Center, 2005)

Law enforcement has changed their approach to catching computer criminals. The typical investigation methods were not working when it came to computer crimes. Law officials invested into new technology to increase their chances. The government has also stepped in and passed approximately 40 federal statues for computer related crimes. The legislations cover crimes from copyright infringement to child pornography. (Computer Crimes, 2008)

Everyone is susceptible to computer crime. If you have a moderate user at home or a major corporation you are susceptible to all computer crimes. Security packages are very important to the safety of your computer and your private information. For businesses, it is important to implement the best security system possible to protect confidential information and the privacy of your clients. Owners can protect the computer system by implementing forms information technology securities. Corporations should look into bandwidth throttling techniques, implementing a solid input filtering and validation, firewalls, solid authentication, encrypt passwords and credentials, and protect authentication cookies with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). (J.D. Meier, A. Mackman, M. Dunner, S. Vasireddy, R. Escamilla and A. Murukan 2006)

For everyday users, identity theft is your biggest concern. There are several packages that offer pop-up protection, virus detection and protection, privacy software and etc. There are several security software packages that can supply basic and custom security systems. The market has many applications that can counter the attempts of an intruder. The world is rapidly changes and computer offenders are finding new ways to penetrate computer systems.

References:

J.D. Meier, Alex Mackman, Michael Dunner, Srinath Vasireddy, Ray Escamilla and Anandha Murukan (2006) Improving Web Application Security: Threats and Countermeasures Retrieved on 30 Nov 2007 from http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa302418.aspx#c02618429_006

Computer Crimes - Enforcement Agencies (2008) Enforcement Agencies Retrieved on 06 Feb 2008 from http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/240/Computer-Crime-ENFORCEMENT-AGENCIES.html

TechWarehouse (2004) Types of Computer Crimes Retreieved on 06 Feb 2008 from http://www.techiwarehouse.com/cms/engine.php?page_id=2d06df97

Computer Crime Research Center, (2005) Types of Computer Crimes Retrieved on 06 Feb 2008 from http://www.crime-research.org/news/26.11.2005/1661/