Combating Computer Crime

Date: January 10, 2005
Source: Computer Crime Research Center
By: Trenton Albrecht

... regular audits and supervise their employees well. It should also use software to detect for modification of programs (Information Systems Unit, n.d.). Other actions that they should undergo include background and security checks that should be performed on important computer personnel (Schindler, 2000). Companies also need the proper security to handle computer crimes. “Organizations need to properly fund, train, staff and empower those tasked with enterprise-wide information security,” said Patrice Rapalus, director of the Computer Security Institute (“Computer Crime Soaring,” 2002). Many businesses are also hiring good-guy hackers to prevent bad-guy hackers from breaching their systems (Allbritton, 1998). Reducing networking is another simple solution to improving a company’s security system. “Government agencies need to reconsider and probably pull back from their embrace of networking,” said James Dempsey, senior staff council for the Center of Democracy and Technology.

Other improvements need to be made by the government to detect criminals better. For one, the government needs to upgrade their systems. The FBI and other agencies systems are currently using systems that are at least ten-years old, and they need to upgrade them for better detection (Help Net Security, n.d.). Better employee training and funding should also be done to help catch criminals. Most government agencies have inadequate personnel for catching computer criminals and need to train and fund better and more qualified people (Help Net Security, n.d.). Several agencies have already been set up to help detect criminals and are helping solve this problem. The FBI has set up the National Infrastructure Protection Center and regional Computer Intrusion Squads to stop cyber criminals (“Computer Crime Soaring,” 2002).

Moreover, many actions are already being taken and need to be taken to punish the hackers. Many new laws are both needed and have been implemented to punish computer criminals. Cyber-criminal laws need to be more severe towards lawbreakers and should establish rules of conduct to clearly define what is illegal (Zikun, n.d.). Accordingly, the federal government and many states have implemented laws to combat computer crime, allowing a better basis for prosecution (Schindler, 2000). Some of these new laws established include the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Frontline, n.d.).
Furthermore, many hackers have already been convicted and punished. One hacker, Kevin Mitnick, who was named the “most wanted computer criminal in the United States,” was sentenced to 46 months in prison and had to pay $4,125 (Kabay, 2000).

In short, although computer “hacking” has become a growing concern, much is being done to address this problem. Many problem indicators show that this is a big problem that needs to be solved. The almost limitless number of possible victims for the variety of hackers makes computer crime hard to stop, and hackers have many different ways of hacking, and the results can be catastrophic. The government and companies also have bad protection for preventing the intrusions and many problems with stopping the hackers. However, even though computer crime is a big problem, much can and has been done to help fight it. Users and companies have many ways to protect themselves from these invasions, and the government has many ways to help defend the companies and users from the hackers. Also, many actions have already been and need to be taken to help punish hackers. “While some regard hackers as a threat, others think they are a manageable problem” (Ma, n.d.). If these solutions are undertaken, the world of computer usage will no longer be a dark, dangerous alley for criminals to tamper with and will become a haven for anyone who wants to come.

References
Allbritton, C. (1998, September 20). Hackers in white hats. The Wichita Eagle, pp. A4, A6.
Computer crime. (2000). In The American heritage dictionary of the English language: Fourth edition. Retrieved March 12, 2004, from http://www.bartleby.com/61/88/C0538800.html
Computer crime soaring. (2002, April 8). BBC News. Retrieved March 11, 2004, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/1916655.stm
Experts: Computer hacking is a growing threat to U. S. (1999, August 9). The Wichita Eagle, p. A5.
Frontline. (n.d.). Computer crime laws. Retrieved April 1, 2004, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/blame/crimelaws.html
Help Net Security. (n.d.). The FBI fights computer crime. Retrieved March 18, 2004, from http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=34
Information Systems Unit. (n.d.). Computer crime prevention. Retrieved March 18, 2004, from http://www.nrps.com/isu/comprev.eht
Kabay, M. E., &Walsh, L. M. (2000, December). The year in computer crime. Information Security Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2004, from http://infosecuritymag.techtarget.com/articles/december00/features.htm
Ma, V. (n.d.). Net virtues become vices in hands of mischief makers (University of Hong Kong Journalism and Media Studies Centre). Retrieved March 11, 2004, from http://jmsc.hku.hk/students/jmscjournal/advance/velentina.htm
Markoff, J., &Schwartz, J. (2000, October 28). Hackers hit Microsoft. The Wichita Eagle, pp. A1, A5.
Schindler, D. J., &Halpern, T. H. (2000, March 27). WWW.computer.crime: E-crime and what to do about it. Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved March 11, 2004, from LookSmart database.
Ward, M. (2003, September 29). Does virtual crime need real justice? BBC News. Retrieved March 11, 2004, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3139456.stm
White paper: Lies, damned spies and computer crime statistics. (1999, July 22). ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved March 18, 2004, from http://www.computerweekly.co.uk/Article42001.htm
Zikun, N. I., Maksimenko, E. V., &Zharov, A. V. (n.d.). Security of information systems and problem of detecting computer crimes in the practical activities of the operative departments fighting against crimes in the field of intellectual property and high information technologies. Computer Crime Research Center. Retrieved March 18, 2004, from http://www.crime-research.org/eng/library/Zikun28.htm

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