richierich121 asked this question on 5/10/2000:
IF THE LIST IS NOT TOO LONG WHAT ARE THE COMPUTER CRIMES IN TOTO AND WHAT ARE THERE DEFINITIONS,I AM NEW TO COMPUTERS AND COMPUTER LANGUAGE BUT I AM BEGINNING TO GRASP THE FUNDAMENTALS.I AM PARTICULARY INTERESTED IN WHITE COLLAR COMPUTER CRIME.?LUKE
NataliePratt gave this response on 5/11/2000:
According to the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin there are primarily four general types of computer crimes.
Computer As the Target: Crimes in which the computer is the target include such offenses as theft of intellectual property, theft of marketing information, or blackmail based on information gained from computerized files (e.g., medical information, personal history, or sexual preference). These crimes also could entail sabotage of intellectual property, marketing, pricing, or personnel data or sabotage of operating systems and programs with the intent to impede a business or create chaos in a business' operations. Unlawful access to criminal justice and other government records is another crime that targets the computer directly. This crime covers changing a criminal history; modifying want and warrant information; creating a driver's license, passport, or another document for identification purposes; changing tax records; or gaining access to intelligence files. Techno-vandalism occurs when unauthorized access to a computer results in damage to files or programs, not so much for profit but for the challenge. In such cases, the damage or loss may be intentional or accidental. Another crime in this category is techno-trespass, that is, "walking" through a computer just to explore. In such cases, the intruder only looks at a file, but even this violates the owner's privacy. This would be the technological equivalent of a criminal trespass.
Computer As the Instrumentality of the Crime: Essentially, the criminal introduces a new code (programming instructions) to manipulate the computer's analytical processes, thereby facilitating the crime. Another method involves converting legitimate computer processes for illegitimate purposes. Crimes in this category include fraudulent use of automated teller machine (ATM) cards and accounts; theft of money from accrual, conversion, or transfer accounts; credit card fraud; fraud from computer transactions (stock transfers, sales, or billings); and telecommunications fraud.
Computer Is Incidental to Other Crimes: In this category of computer crime, the computer is not essential for the crime to occur, but it is related to the criminal act. This means that the crime could occur without the technology; however, computerization helps the crime to occur faster, permits processing of greater amounts of information, and makes the crime more difficult to identify and trace. Such crimes include money laundering and unlawful banking transactions, BBSs supporting unlawful activity,organized crime records or books, and bookmaking. In one case, a suspect committed murder by changing a patient's medication information and dosage in a hospital computer.
Crimes Associated With the Prevalence of Computers: The simple presence of computers, and notably the widespread growth of microcomputers, generates new versions of fairly traditional crimes. In these cases, technological growth essentially creates new crime targets. Software piracy/counterfeiting, copyright violation of computer programs, counterfeit equipment, black market computer equipment and programs, and theft of technological equipment fall into this category of computer crime. One offense in this category occurs with relative frequency--the violation of copyright restrictions of commercial software. Initially, this offense may not seem like a serious crime; yet, the potential loss to businesses can be quite staggering.
Here are also some more sites for you to check out. Combined, they have a lot of resources to help you learn more.
http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/6095/articles/computer-crime/computer-crime.html - Miscellaneous items on Computer Crime
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~btf1553/ccrr/search1.htm - COMPUTER CRIME RESEARCH RESOURCES
http://www.emergency.com/fbi-nccs.htm - FBI Computer Crime Squad
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/compcrime.html - Investigating and Prosecuting Computer Crime
http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/info/012496/info40_13296.html - Computer crime costs Britain $1.5 billion a year
http://www.auscert.org.au/Information/Contact/irt.html - Computer Security / Computer Emergency Incident Response Team Links
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/index.html - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section
http://www.rbs2.com/ccrime.htm - Computer Crime
http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/comcrime.htm - QuickLinks - Computer crime
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/html/cpu-cri.htm - Computer Crime: RCMP Technological Crime Bulletin
http://www.codexdatasystems.com/ccrime.html - Computer Crime Links & Resources
http://www.virtuallibrarian.com/legal/ - Computer Crime Reference Index
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~btf1553/ccrr/welcome.htm - Computer Crime Research Resources
http://hcs.harvard.edu/~hcr/94apr/fedlaw.html - Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute
http://www.auscert.org.au/home.html - Computer Security / Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCert)
http://www2.gdi.net/~way2go/Computer_Fraud.htm - Computer Fraud and Computer Crime
http://www.jcsmithinv.com/1030.htm - Federal Computer Crime and Abuse Section
http://www.hightechcrimecops.org/StateStatutes.htm - State Statutes Criminal Code Regarding Computer Crime
http://computerforensics.net/federal_guidelines.htm - Federal Guidelines for Searching and Seizing Computers
http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/privacy/crime/crime.html - Computer Crime and Legal Resource Directory
http://www.securityserver.com/category/@crime5.htm - Computer Crime: Miscellaneous Topics
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/index.html - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/html/cpu-cri.htm - Computer Crime: RCMP Technological Crime Bulletin
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~btf1553/ccrr/welcome.htm - Computer Crime Research Resources
http://www.ifs.univie.ac.at/~pr2gq1/rev4344.html - United Nations Manual on the prevention and control of computer-related crime
http://www.itweb.co.za/office/seig/9902121148.htm - Alarming level of computer fraud
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/2316.htm - Computer fraud; classification
Good Luck and I hope this helps Natalie Pratt Midwest Investigative Consultants