1. Chapter 12 Technology and Crime: It’s a Double-Edged Sword
Frank Schmalleger
PowerPoint presentation created by
Ellen G. Cohn, Ph.D.

2. High Technology and Criminal Opportunity
Information is valuable
Avenues for high-tech criminals seeking illegitimate access to computerized info
Direct access
Computer trespass
EMF decoders
Cybercrime: Any violation of a federal or state computer statute

3. FBI Typology of Computer Crime
Internal computer crimes (viruses)
Internet and telecommunications crimes
Support of criminal enterprises
Computer-manipulation crimes
Hardware, software, and information theft

4. The Extent of Cybercrime
U.S. Secret Service estimates the annual cost of cybercrime at about $666 million
Software piracy: The unauthorized and illegal copying of software programs
Phishing: A scam that uses official-looking messages to steal valuable info
Criminal mischief: Computer crime not committed for financial gain, such as creating and transmitting malicious forms of programming code (malware)

5. Computer Crime and the Law
Communications Decency Act (1996)
Reno v. ACLU (1997)
Children’s Internet Protection Act
No Electronic Theft Act (1997)
Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act (1999)
Cyber Security Enhancement Act (2002)

6. Computer Crime and the Law
Computer-related crime:
Any illegal act for which knowledge of computer technology is involved for its perpetration, investigation, or prosecution
Computer abuse:
Any unlawful incident associated with computer technology in which a victim suffered or could have suffered loss or in which a perpetrator by intention made or could have made gain

7. A Profile of Computer Criminals
Hackers are a product of cyberspace
The average hacker is:
Male, aged 16-25, lives in the U.S.
Computer user, not a programmer
Hacks with software written by others
Primary motivation is to gain access to Web sites and computer networks, not to profit financially

8. The History and Nature of Hacking
Hacking may have begun with the creation of the interstate phone system and direct distance dialing
Various types of illegal telephone access
Phone phreaking – one of the earliest forms of cybercrime
Voice mail hacking
Voice mail fraud

9. Identity Theft
Identity theft: The misuse of another individual’s personal information to commit fraud
Two main categories
Existing account fraud
New account fraud

10. Identity Theft Direct costs Indirect costs
Out-of-pocket costs to victims, businesses
Costs to repair identity (time, money)
Indirect costs
Businesses pay for fraud prevention, mitigation of harm
Victims pay costs incurred in civil litigation initiated by creditors, costs in overcoming obstacles in obtaining or retaining credit
Fear of identity theft harms digital economy

11. Identity Theft
Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (1998) – made identity theft a federal crime
Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act (2004) – increased penalties for federal identity theft

12. Identity Thieves: Who They Are
Hard to classify identity thieves – most victims do not know who stole or misused their information
Thieves often have no prior criminal background – may have preexisting relationship with the victim
Steady increase in involvement of foreign organized criminal groups in computer or Internet related theft schemes

13. Technology in the Fight Against Crime
Technology helps criminals and criminal justice personnel
Criminals have new weapons to commit crimes
Criminal justice system has new tools to fight crime
Law enforcement capabilities and criminally useful technologies frequently leapfrog one another

14. DNA Technology
DNA profiling uses DNA samples from suspects/offenders and compares them with DNA from crime scene
Has resulted in the release of some unjustly convicted people and, in some cases, the discovery of the true offender
Becoming widely accepted in U.S. and worldwide

15. Computers as Crime-Fighting Tools
Specialized Web sites to connect people
Automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS)
Online criminal information and database services
Expert systems
Specialized software programs to assist police artists

16. Combating Computer Crime
Data encryption: The process of encoding information so only the intended recipients can read it
Threat analysis (risk analysis)
A complete and thorough assessment of the kinds of perils facing an organization
Once threats are identified, strategies to deal with them can be introduced
Audit trail

17. Police Investigation of Computer Crime
State/local depts
Few depts have personnel skilled in investigating computer crimes
Depts may intentionally avoid computer-crime investigations, make it a low priority
Recent federal intervention
FBI’s National Computer Crime Squad investigates violations of federal computer crime laws
The U.S. DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section focuses on computer and intellectual property crime
DCS-1000 – FBI’s network “sniffer” (abandoned in 2005)

18. Policy Issues: Personal Freedoms in the Info Age
First Amendment: Freedom of speech
Are electronic communications protected?
Fourth Amendment: Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
Does this include electronic information?
EFF – formed to help ensure constitutional principles are protected as new technologies emerge