Computer Crime

Indira Carr

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351571265
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

Alongside its positive impact of providing a global reach, the Internet is prone to a variety of abuses. In the 1990s it was unauthorised access of computers and impairment of the operation of computers through the introduction of viruses and worms that took centre stage. Since then the potential of the Internet for fraudulent activities has been realised by the criminal fraternity and, in recent years, we have seen, for instance, the rise of identity theft and the widespread distribution of offensive and illegal materials. The collection of essays in this volume, while being highly selective, provides a snapshot of the parameters of computer crime, the legal response and discussions surrounding ways to improve the security of cyberspace.

Part I
The Parameters of Computer Crime

[1]

Shoring Up the Weakest Link: What Lawmakers Around the World Need to Consider in Developing Comprehensive Laws to Combat Cybercrime

RICHARD W. DOWNING*

While many countries have modernized their laws to take into account law enforcement needs to counter the threat of cybercrime, many others are in the process of doing so or have yet to begin. Drawing from the laws of a number of countries and from the provisions of the Convention on Cybercrime (2001), this Article discusses the policy choices lawmakers must make in developing appropriate substantive and procedural laws to combat cybercrime.

INTRODUCTION

I. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

A. What Is Cybercrime?

1. Computer As a Tool

2. Computer As a Storage Device

3. Computer As a Victim

B. Definitions of Some Common Terms

II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR DRAFTING CYBERCRIME LAWS

A. Consistency Between the Physical World and the Virtual World

B. Technological Neutrality

C. Jurisdiction

D. Considering Other Societal Concerns

E. Inchoate Crimes

III. SUBSTANTIVE LAWS CRIMINALIZING ATTACKS ON COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION NETWORKS

A. Computer Intrusions

1. “Unauthorized Access” or “Exceeding Authorized Access”

2. “Unauthorized Access” or “Exceeding Authorized Access” and Obtaining Information

3. “Unauthorized Access” or “Exceeding Authorized Access” and Facilitation of Another Crime

B. Damaging Computers or Information Stored on Computers

C. Interception of Data in Transmission

D. Trafficking in Passwords and Other Access Devices

E. Mental State Required for the Commission of the Crime

F. Jurisdictional Issues

G. Determining the Appropriate Punishment

1. Monetary Harms

2. Physical Harm to Individuals, Threats to Public Safety, and Damage to Critical National Infrastructures

3. Nature of the Victim

4. Invasions of Privacy and Stolen Data

5. Mental State of the Actor

IV. PROCEDURAL LAWS EMPOWERING LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES TO GATHER ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE

A. Considering Privacy and the Need for Law Enforcement Authorities

B. One Model for Thinking About Procedural Laws

C. Interception of the Content of Communications on Computer Networks While the Communications Are Occurring

1. Law Enforcement Needs and Privacy Considerations

2. Examples of Restrictions on Interception Authorities

3. Exceptions Where Interception Is Less Intrusive

D. Collection of Traffic Data While the Communication Is Occurring

1. Examples of Laws

E. Law Enforcement Access to Content Stored on a Network

1. Law Enforcement Needs and Privacy Considerations

2. Example of Laws

F. Law Enforcement Access to Non-Content Information Stored on a Network

1. Examples of Laws

2. Preservation of Stored Records and Information

G. Compelling Disclosure of Electronic Evidence in the Possession of the Target

1. Seizing Computer Hardware vs. Seizing Electronic Data

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Today, the exploding use of information systems and networks has caused countries to become increasingly interconnected. In developed countries, computer networks play a major role in how companies do business, how governments provide services to citizens and enterprises, and how people communicate and exchange information. They support critical infrastructures such as electricity and gas, transportation, and banking and finance. By providing easy access to information and benefits, “e-government” improves services to citizens and reduces bureaucratic inefficiencies. The number and type of information technologies have multiplied and will continue to grow, and so have the nature, volume, and sensitivity of information that is moving from place to place.

As in more developed countries, computer networks hold the potential for economic growth and prosperity in developing countries as well. E-commerce increases productivity and allows access to markets in other countries like never before. Small- and medium-sized enterprises in particular benefit from development of this type. Secure computer networks can improve infrastructure reliability, such as by enhancing transportation services and improving the consistent delivery of electricity and natural gas. Moreover, secure networks and favorable laws attract foreign investment in such industries as information processing and software development.

Further, the Internet also holds out the promise of benefits that particularly may assist developing economies. “Telemedicine” may allow doctors to treat patients in remote or rural areas that do not already have access to modern medical care. Similarly, providing educational services over the Internet may allow many to receive training and college degrees who would previously have been unable to obtain them. In sum, providing the right environment for the development of secure computer networks can provide numerous benefits to both developed and developing societies.

Yet with this blossoming potential come new dangers. Criminals and terrorists have recognized the potential of the Internet and have exploited it. Hackers have broken into bank computers, transferred funds to their own accounts, and extorted the banks; criminals use computers and computer networks to make child pornography cheaply and easily and to distribute it over the Internet to pedophiles they may never meet in person; and terrorists and drug dealers use encrypted electronic communications to evade government surveillance. Indeed, even improvements of critical infrastructures through computerization have a dark side: insecure information networks make infrastructures vulnerable to the attacks of hackers and “malicious code” such as viruses and worms. For example, in 1997, one hacker recklessly damaged a telecommunications switch that interrupted service at a regional airport in Massachusetts,¹ and malicious code has caused disruptions in train traffic, automated teller machines, and police emergency phone lines.²

The threat caused by these crimes is not limited, however, to the direct harms of the crimes themselves: all of the benefits of information networks are at risk if the networks are not safe and secure. If users become unwilling to send their personal and credit card information over the Internet, e-commerce will not flourish. Similarly, citizens will not file their tax returns, bid on government contracts, or use other e-government services if they are afraid to use the networks. Moreover, if a particular country gets a reputation as a haven for Internet crime, consumers and businesses will refrain from interacting with it. For example, the prevalence of fraud by criminals located in Indonesia has caused many online retailers to block Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that originate in Indonesia, affecting online transactions both to and from the country.³

So how should a country respond to the threat of cybercrime? To begin with, national governments can promote better network security practices by government agencies, businesses, and the general public.⁴ Governments can also promote the sharing of information regarding new security flaws and vulnerabilities so that experts can develop “patches” to counter them and users of all kinds can protect their computers. They can also promote security consciousness among software creators as well as promote the development of security technologies that can detect or prevent criminal misuse of networks. Yet when crime occurs—and it will—law enforcement must have the ability to respond to deter and punish it.

Law enforcement, however, faces a number of challenges in its efforts to respond to these new crimes. The first is a technical challenge: computer networks often do not allow for access to the electronic evidence needed to detect and identify criminals. The second is an operational one: law enforcement agencies often do not have the training and equipment needed to collect the evidence that the networks do make available. The third is a legal challenge: many national laws neither empower law enforcement to collect electronic evidence nor provide for effective punishment for criminal misus...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Series preface
• Introduction
• Part I The Parameters of Computer Crime
• Part II Harmonization of Computer Crime Laws – the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention
• Part III Investigation, Jurisdiction and Sentencing Issues
• Part IV Cyber Security
• Name Index