Computer Crime

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“Computer Crime Is Widespread Which Can Be Mainly Attributed To The Overload of Information on the Internet”

La Rose Brown

Introduction to Computer
Michael Seesahai
September 12, 201 Computer crime is indeed widespread and can be mainly attributed to the overload of information on the internet. Computer crime can be described as any violations of criminal law that involve knowledge of computer technology for their perpetration or criminal acts, committed with a computer. Some examples of Computer crimes are: Identity theft, unauthorized access or modification of program writing or spreading computer viruses or worm, making and digitally distributing child pornography, Industrial espionage by means of access to or theft of computer material, fraud, Internet stalking, cyber terrorism and many more. Even though the Internet has transformed business computing and communications, it has also given rise to unprecedented computer security threats and mainly because of the information that can be gathered off the internet by the violators. The Internet is used for a highway storage capacity and people around the world are highly dependent on storing information on the internet and for sharing or transferring information from one place or point to another. Attack on Businesses Some organizations transfer information between themselves, example Government entities and small businesses, like Colleges, Schools etc. They store Information for learning purposes, like: video, voice, images etc. Most of those Entities / Organizations are not properly secured, which makes their Computer system vulnerable to hackers, who will hack in and steal things such as data, to sell to cyber undergrounds or take control of a server, from where they can attack third parties and conduct many more crimes. “Computer crimes otherwise called cyber crime, is one of the fastest growing areas of crime. . . . this information was published on the web by Interpol, [a trained set of police officers to keep up with the emerging threats of Computer crimes]. More and more criminals are exploring the speed, convenience and anonymity that modern technologies offer in order to commit a diverse range of criminal activities.” Attack on Individuals The Global nature of the Internet has allowed criminals to commit almost any illegal acts and even though some of them do not carry monetary loss, they are just as harmful in the possibility of losing files, information and access to one’s Computer. Some Computer crimes against individuals are as follows: harassment via emails, email spoofing, cyber pornography, cyber stalking, unauthorized control over computer system, indecent exposure, deployment of viruses and many more. Ways to Mitigate Threats to Businesses and Individuals For companies to cause less threat to their systems, they must build safer operating procedures and buy protective software and hardware. They must also test and monitor their systems regularly, to ensure that they are effective against emerging threats. In respect to individuals, care should be taken when posting information on the internet. Credit card information should not be sent on any unsecured websites, neither should any photograph be published online particularly to strangers and chat friends. Since the Internet is not limited by geography, crime committed on the internet can easily achieve global dimension. Systems can be accessed from anywhere in the world and locating perpetrators can be difficult, so one need to educate themselves about the different types of scams that exist on the Internet and how to avert them, by doing so one is putting themselves one step ahead of cyber criminals. Persons should not published critical information about themselves online because such information can leave one vulnerable to harassment which can also be sexual. Adults need to monitor their children when they used the Internet and inform them of the dangers they can get into online if not careful. Care should also be taken when downloading files and soft wares especially from sites that is not trusted and if one gets an email from unknown person claiming that they need to send personal information so that they can claim a prize, such email should be ignored. The less information that is published on the internet is better for an individual. If an organization has to send information from one place to another they should ensure that their system is updated regularly so that scammers will have problems getting into their system thus giving them little or no information to work with.

Bibliography
Computer Crime Research Center – Daily News about computer… www.crime-research.org/ {accessed 12- September-2012}.
Computer crime – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_crime {accessed 12- September – 2012}.
Cybercrime/Cybercrime/crimeareas/Internet/HomeINTERPOI-www.interpol.int/Crime-Areas/Cybercrime {accessed 13-September - 2012}. http://www.Investopedia.com/.../3ways-Cyber-crime-impact-business.aspx {25-Jan-2002}. http://www.SIV.edu.n/Research/pdf/Vishal_Dhot-repdf {accessed 15- September-2012}.

Bibliography: Computer Crime Research Center – Daily News about computer… www.crime-research.org/ {accessed 12- September-2012}. Computer crime – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_crime {accessed 12- September – 2012}. Cybercrime/Cybercrime/crimeareas/Internet/HomeINTERPOI-www.interpol.int/Crime-Areas/Cybercrime {accessed 13-September - 2012}. http://www.Investopedia.com/.../3ways-Cyber-crime-impact-business.aspx {25-Jan-2002}. http://www.SIV.edu.n/Research/pdf/Vishal_Dhot-repdf {accessed 15- September-2012}.