cyber crimes
At the outset, terminological clarification about usage of this phrase namely, cyber crime is
warranted. Many a time, ‘cyber crimes’ is used synonymous to indicate computer crimes also.
However, technically speaking, the phrase cyber crimes entails a different and unique understanding.
No doubt, compute , in whatever sense we use the term basically required to understand any activity in the cyber context . In other words , possible crime can be perpetrated with the help of a computer
devoid of cyber context. But as matters stand now,without the help of a computer network it is not
possible to involve in any kind of activity in cyber context.
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The objective of this unit is to define what constitutes Cyber Crime . You will be able to identify the offences that constitute Cyber Crime under I. T. Act 2000.
CYBER CRIME – A PERSPECTIVE
In an influential research work it was observed that : “the vulnerability of today’s information society in view of Computer crimes is still not sufficiently realized: Businesses , administrations and Society depend on a high degree on the efficiency of modern information technology.
In the business community, for example, most of monetary transactions are administered by computers in form of deposit money. Electronic commerce depends on safe systems for
money transactions are administered by computers inf form of deposit money . Electronic commerce depends on safe systems for money transactions in computer networks. Ac company’s entire
frequently depends on the functioning of its data-processing System.
Many businesses store their most valuable company secrets electronically .Marine , air and space control systems, as well as medical supervision rely to a great extent on modern computer
systems. Computers and the internet also play an increasing role in the education and leisure of minors . International computer networks are the nerves of the economy, the public sector and society.
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The security of these computer and communication systems and their protection against computer crime is therefore of essential importance.
In the course of this development computer crime has developed into a major threat of today’s information society. The spreading of computer technology into almost all areas of life as well as the interconnection of computers by international computer networks has made computer crime
more diverse, more dangerous , and internationally present. An analysis of relevant “criminogenic” factors shows that modern computer and communication networks have specific characteristics when are highly useful for perpetrators but which imply difficulties for potential victims and for law enforcement (such as complex security questions, multiple hardware and software systems, inexperinece of many users, anonymity, and secret services around the world are already
exploiting these new features of computer crime. However , many governments businesses and private users are not aware of the attacks that happen or could happen to them in the data processing area . thus , governmental agencies,, the industry and private users should be made aware that protection against computer attacks is of great significance. They should be informed about the
main threats of computer crime and the responses thereto.
CURRENT FORMS OF COMPUTER CRIME:
In most countries , the discussion about computer crime began in the 1960s with the endangerment
for privacy, which was discussed under the headword of “data protection” and was later integrated
within the concept of “computer crime”. scientific research concentrated on computer-specific
economics crimes, especially computer manipulations, computer sabotage , computer espionage and
software piracy. The rapid growth of the telecommunications sector since the 1980s and especially the
spread of the world wide web since the 1990s brought along the dissemination of illegal and harmful
contents such as pornography, hate speech and other communication offences in international computer networks. At the same time , the use of computers and modern communication technology
by perpetrators computer-related crime and that from a phenomenological point of view, homogeneous computer crime no longer existed. Since the respective mode of operation no longer
follow a continuous path,but constantly adapt to new technologies, the following analysis of these
four main groups of computer crime will each start with a short description of the historical development and then give an analysis of the present main forms of crime.
cyber crimes Infringements of Privacy
While computers began their triumph in the 1960s, it was realized in several western countries that the collection, storage, transmission and connection of personal data endangered the personal rights of citizens. Orwellian visions and the mistrust of the revolting youth of the late sixties inspired the discussion about the danger of the “big brother”. However, during the 1980s, the old pattern of the computer as an exotic instrument in the hands of the powerful became obsolete with the massive spreading of personal computers. It became clear that the protection of privacy within the data processing area also had to consider the multitude private computer systems and to establish a difficult balance of interests between the privacy interest of data subjects concerned and the economic freedom of the holders of personal data.
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Economic Offences
since the 1970s,the discussion about computer misuse was not only marked by infringement of privacy but also by computer-related economic crimes, which today are regarded as the central area of computer crime and which were at first exclusively characterized by that term. During the 1970s, fraudulent computer manipulations were the starting point of the discussion about computer-related economic offences and the core center of computer-related economic crime. However, today hacking has increasingly become a ‘basic offence’ which is then used to commit acts of espionage, software piracy, and sabotage as well as computer fraud.
Cyber Crimes Computer Hacking:
The term “computer hacking” traditionally describes the penetration of sabotage or espionage but for the pleasure of overcoming the technical security measures. In practice, this kind of offence can be frequently found. As far as the damage of these cases is concerned, a differentiation is essential: In numerous cases, the penetrated comp-uter user is not actually harmed, but only endangered. However, in these cases, too, the “formal sphere of secrecy” or the integrity of the concerned computer system is violated. Contrary to this, considerable damages occur in other cases especially when the perpetrators later use their knowledge for committing espionage, sabotage or fraud.
Due to recent developments in the field of telephone and telecomm-unications technology such as ISDN hacking does not only affect classic computer systems but also increasing telephone lines, answer phones and voice-mail-system “telephone hackers” dial themselves in to the telephone companies local phone exchanges and are thus able to eavesdrop on the digitally led conversations in a respective part of town. In the US, beside other confidential information, especially the numbers of telephone access cards(calling cards) are eavesdropped on, which are then resold.
cyber crimes Computer Espionage
Computer Espionage only rarely appearing in official statistics constitutes a special danger compared with traditional economic espionage, because in computer systems huge quantities of data are stored in an extremely narrow space, and the data can be copied quickly and easily with the help of modern technology, also via data telecommunication. The objects of offence are especially computer programs, data of research and defense, data of commercial accounting as well as of address of clients. Besides young hackers and competing business enterprises, the secret services are increasingly dealing with economic espionage in recent years.
With the convergence of data processing and telecommunication as well as with the digitization of telecommunication, the line between traditional computer espionage and telephone fax and e-mail monitoring becomes increasingly blurred. In the case telephone tapping, the criminals are able to penetrate the telephone exchanges of the telephone companies especially via normal data lines. Car phones, directional ratio stations and satellite connections are particularly easy to attack in case of encoded communication.
cyber crimes Software piracy and other form of product piracy
The unauthorized copying and use of computer programs often called software piracy at first involved the copying of individual software which frequently contains important internal company know-how and information. Therefore software theft overlaps with computer espionage in many cases.
cyber crimes Computer sabotage and computer extortion
The high concentration of data stored in the electronic devices mentioned above, along with the dependence of many companies and administrative authorities on data processing, make computer sabotage another particular danger for business and administration. The objects of computer sabotage are the tangible computer facilities as well as the intangible data containing computer program and other valuable information.
For the modi operandi, one can be differentiate between methods causing physical damage and those causing logical damage. During the 1970s, the most frequently practiced methods of causing physical damage were igniting or bombing a building. These techniques were typically applied by “outsiders” not employed or otherwise related with the owners of the facilities damaged. Local damage was typically caused by insiders who had access to a company’s system and facilities.
cyber crimes Computer Fraud
During the era of large mainframe computers, fraud committed by computer manipulations constituted a uniform group of crimes. Due to the diversification of computer system in the 1980s, nowadays the term computer fraud describes a spectrum various cases within the field of economic crimes.
Among the “classic” large-scale computer fraud cases , invoice manipulations concerning the payment of bills and salaries of industrial companies as well as the manipulations account balances and balance sheets at banks were and still are the predominant offences.
cyber crimes Illegal and Harmful contents
In the late 1980s first case occurred in which information glorifying violence or information of racist content was distributed with help of computers especially by political extremist.
In the USA, the Ku Klux Klan, the White Aryan Resistance, skinheads, and other neo-nazi organizations had already realized in the 1980s that it was much more effective to work with means of electronic communication than the traditional “newsletters”. These groups used electronics communication systems mainly to distribute the name of Jewish “opponents” and to give advice for violent actions.
In Germany, right-wing and left-wing extremist organizations first used Bulletin board system (BBS) and other electronic communication systems at beginning of the 1995. Right-wing extremist organizations especially used the so called “Thule-Network”, which consist of about 10BBSs. In these BBSs, information about neo-fascistic organizations and corresponding propaganda material was stored. The electronics means of communications were used for the communication with in private groups of users as well as informing the public. Left-wing radical groups (particularly from the anarchistic autonomous scene from the sphere of the so called Red Army Fraction) distribute their plans of action especially via the BBS-network “spinnennetz(cobweb)”which is included in an international exchange of information via the “European Counter Network”(ECN).
At beginning of the 1980s,the triumphant rise of the internet was accompanied by an exchange of illegal and harmful material which was intensively monitored by the press and public. Today the center of attention is focused especially on child pornography, hate speech and libel in international computer networks.
The distribution of child pornography and contents glorifying violence within the internet and similar computer network was illustrated in the famous “CompuServe-Case”. In 1997, Bavarian state prosecutors indicated the head of the German CompuServe GmbH subsidiary for not having filtered pornographic newsgroups games glorifying violence within the proprietary services, both type of data stored on servers of CompuServe Inc. in the USA.
In 1996 the Spanish public was stunned by a case of distribution of child pornography. Two students had a collection of over 150 floppy disks with child pornography all collected over the internet. Both had to be released from prison after 3 days because of a legal gap in the new Spanish Criminal code of 1996. Increasingly, video with a racial background in which the user could discriminate against foreigners and ethnic minorities is serving as propaganda material for young people.
An example for libel was dealt with by court in the United States in 1991. In this case, CompuServe contracted with a third party of that user to conduct a special-interest forum (called “Rumorville”) on CompuServe. The plaintiff claimed that defamatory material about its business was posted by a user in that forum, and sued both the forum host and CompuServe. CompuServe moved for, and received, summary judgment in its favor.
The prosecution perpetrators disseminating illegal contents in the internet is not only made difficult by the fact that these perpetrators are acting abroad and that the international mechanism of co-operation are often weak and slow. Prosecution is often impossible since perpetrators can hide behind the anonymity which today is granted by anonymous re-mailers and by the abuse of free access software.
cyber crimes other offences
Along with advance of information technology, new areas of live computers can be used for almost all offences. This includes, e.g. threats to human life, various activities of organized crime as well as electronic warfare.
Cyber Crimes Attacks of Life
Computer manipulations described above did not only serve the purpose of gaining pecuniary benefits, but were also used for attack on life as in the case of the manipulation of a flight control system or of a hospital computer.
An example for the spreading of computer crime in traditional fields of offences is the manipulation of a British hacker, who accessed the information system of a Liverpool hospital in 1994 because he simply wanted to see “What kind of chaos could be caused by penetrating the hospital computer”. Among other things, he changed the medical prescriptions for the patients: A nine year old patient who was “prescribed” a highly toxic mixture survived only because a nurse re-checked his prescription.
Cyber Crimes Organized Crime
It is obvious that the powerful tools of modern computer and communication systems to store, administer and transfer data are also used by organized crime groups in many areas. Organized crime is specially involved in the above described acts of sophisticated computer fraud, credit card fraud, telephone fraud as well as software and product piracy. Computer data stored and transmitted in encrypted form is also used e.g. by drug and arms dealers to administer their activities. In the future, electronic money transactions and “cyber money” will be increasingly used for illegal gambling and for money laundering on the internet.
The involvement of organized crime groups in the field of computer fraud was illustrated when a Russian group attacked one the best known US banks in New York via data network in 1994. Operating from st. petersburg, the group succeeded in causing the American bank to transfer over US$ 10 million to foreign accounts. Monitoring and following the “money trail” of the manipulations. Some of the perpetrators finally could be arrested.
Cyber Crimes Electronic Warfare
In the meantime, the possibilities of computer manipulations have also been recognized in the military sector “strategic information warfare” has becomes a form of potential warfare of its own. This type of warfare is primarily directed to paralyze or manipulate the adversary’s computer systems.
The dependency of military systems on modern information systems became evident in 1995when a “tiger-team” of the US force succeeded in sending seven ships of the US Navy to wrong destination due to manipulations via computer networks.
Experts point out the possible danger originating from a manipulated nuclear power station in order to stress that computer misuse has become a global threat and security of modern computer systems has gained central significance for the information society of our days (prof. Ulrich Sieber, 1999).
As the technological potential misuse unfolds, we need to expand the scope of criminalization. The possibility of marginal differences as to the scope and ambit of respective cyber crimes cannot be ruled out. Strides in information technology further blurred the legislative understanding of what constitutes cyber crime.
The broadly speaking, the following specified nature of offences are recognized by respective nation-states in their legislations. The list by no means is to be construed as exhaustive but only illustrative.
Cyber Crimes Computer Fraud:
The input, alteration, erasure, or suppression of computer data or computer programs or other interference with the course of data processing that influences the result of data processing, thereby causing economic or possessor loss of property of another person with the internet of procuring an unlawful economic gain for himself or any other person.
Computer Crimes Computer Forgery:
The input, alteration, erasure, or suppression of computer data or computer programs or other interference with the course of data processing in a manner as prescribed by the law;
Computer Crimes Damage to Computer Data or Computer Programs:
The erasure, damaging, deterioration or suppression of computer data or computer programs without right;
Computer Crimes Sabotage:
The input, alteration, erasure, or suppression of computer data or computer programs or other interference with the with computer systems. With an internet to hinder the functioning of a computer or a telecommunication system;
Computer Crimes Unauthorized access:
The access without right to a computer system or network by infringing security measures;
Computer Crimes Unauthorized Interception:
The interception made without right and by technical means, of communications to, fro and within a computer system or network;
Unauthorized Reproduction of a protected computer program:
The reproduction, distribution, or communication to the public without right.
The reproduction, distribution, or communication to the public without right.
Computer Crimes Classification of Crimes Under I.T. Act 2000
While considering the general terrain of cyber law, as of now, the following acts are construed as cyber crimes in the I.T. Act.2000.
Without permission of the authorized user
-Accessing or securing access to such computer system or computer network;
-Downloading, copying extracting any data or information for such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored on any removable storage medium;
-Introducing any computer virus or contaminant in the computer system or network;
-Damaging the computer, computer system or network;
-Disrupting the working of computer, computer system or network;
-Disrupting access of computer, computer system or network of an authorized user;
-Providing assistance to ensure unauthorized access to the computer, computer system or network;
-Tampering with computer source documents;
-Hacking with computer system;
-Publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form;
-Failure to extend all facilities and technical assistance to the controller to decry-pt any information necessary for the security of nation;
-Unauthorized access or attempt to secure unauthorized access to a system that by official notification is declared a protection system;
-Misrepresenting or suppressing any material fact from the controller or certifying authority for obtaining any license or digital signature;
-Breach of confidentiality and privacy;
-Publishing digital certificate that are the false in certain particulars;
-Failure to furnish any document, report, information, maintain book of account as required by the controller or certifying authorities.