Criminalistics Characteristic of Cybercrimes’ Committers
Date: October 15, 2003Source: Computer Crime Research Center
By:
Computer crimes are characterized by high latency. Therefore, official statistics cannot give an opportunity to obtain adequate data on criminalistical characteristic of
persons, who commit crimes by using computer technologies in Ukraine. It happens because of the imperfectness of statistics and high latency of such crimes that is
proved in particular by home researches in this field [1,2].
Computer crimes are characterized by high latency. Therefore, official statistics cannot give an opportunity to obtain adequate data on criminalistical characteristic of persons, who commit crimes by using computer technologies in Ukraine. It happens because of the imperfectness of statistics and high latency of such crimes that is proved in particular by home researches in this field (1,2).
Problems of persons committing crimes by using computer technologies were considered in works of foreign and native scientists: P. Androushko, V. Vekhov, P.Bilenchouk, V.Kozlov, V.Krilov, G.Levitsky, V.Loukashevich, N.Rozeneld and others [3,4,5]. However, despite of absolute theoretical and practical importance of these researches, problems of criminal characteristic of persons committing crimes by using computer technologies, their personal properties have not been studied sufficiently yet. In our opinion, further research and development of criminalistical characteristic of those persons are urgent and have not only theoretical importance but also practical one. One of the main factors not only in investigating crimes but also taking preventive measures is to reveal criminalistical information on a criminal person.
Criminal person is a minimum totality of signs characterizing a criminal, which is necessary to institute criminal proceedings against him. Lack of one of these signs means no availability of corpus delicti.
Personal qualities and environment gradually determine motivation of deciding to commit a crime by using computer technologies. Motivation includes the process of origin and formation of motive of criminal conduct and its purposes.
The motive of criminal conduct should be considered as an impulse formed under the influence of person's social environment and life experience, which is an inner direct reason of criminal activities and express personal attitudes towards what they are directed at [6].
Problem of criminalistical characteristic of “a computer criminal” requires studying it on the level of essential assessment of factual data generalized in the criminology and criminalistics and analyzing statistical data, which characterize an object of investigation, criminal-legal characteristic of criminal's personality.
“Professional” habits and style of criminals are expressed by some ways, methods and means of committing crimes. Crime traces prove peculiarities of criminal's social-psychological portrait: experience, profession, age, sex, knowledge and so on. Formation of the bank of typical models of various categories of criminals allows optimizing the process of detecting the circle of persons among those the search of a criminal is the most probable. Obtained in the process of investigation data on a criminal's personality, his criminal conduct and guiltiness forms a factual base to make up well-grounded legal decisions on his criminal prosecution.
Many persons including high-skilled experts and amateurs are involved in the computer crimes. Delinquents have a different social status and level of education. They can be divided into two big groups:
1. Persons maintaining business and working relationships with a victim.
2. Persons maintaining no business relationships with a victim.
Officials abusing their official position can be referred to the first group. They are clerks, security officers, inspecting officials, persons dealing with organizational questions and engineering-technical staff. According to our research, the part of programmers, engineers, operators and other organization officials obtaining illegal access to computer systems made up 41,9%. In 20,2% of cases, other officials committed such crimes, former organization officials making 8,6% [7]. Representatives of other organizations engaged in service maintenance and repair of systems constitute a potential menace.
Persons possessing considerable knowledge in the field of computer technologies and being mostly guided by mercenary motives can be referred to the second group. This group also includes experts-professionals considering security of computer systems as a challenge to their professionalism. Some of them gradually begin tî enjoy such activities and conclude that it is possible to combine material and intellectual incentives.
As to the criminal's psychic attitude towards a crime to be committed, most computer offences are committed with direct intent. Programmers and security officers have practically minimized an opportunity to damage accidentally or carelessly guarded interests of computer technique users.
Most computer crimes are characterized by mercenary motives. The role of offences committed by mischief-makers is not considerable. Political motives can be met as well because global computer systems are an effective instrument of political demarches.
According to Interpol expert commission, statistical ratio of various motives at the computer crime commitment is the follows:
- Mercenary motives – 66%;
- Political motives (terrorism, political actions) – 17%;
- Research interest – 7%;
- Hooligan and mischief motives – 5%;
- Revenge – 4%.
Foreign and native researches give an opportunity to form abstract portraits of typical computer offenders. Literature sources often describe the typical modern computer wrongdoer (hacker) in the following way: he early learns computer, computer system is his sense of life, he is a social renegade paying no attention to surrounding world, and he often has some negative complexes. The first real life achievement for many children is to become a hacker.
Despite that, all computer attack initiators are called hackers, they are different, possess different possibilities and damage caused by their activities is different as well.
Steven Levy had his book “Hackers: Heroes of computer revolution” issued in 1984. He characterizes three generations of hackers in it. The first one appeared in 60th – early 70th at computer science faculties in universities. In late 70th, the second generation invented the personal computer and did not study computer science in specialized institutes. The third generation (hackers of early 80th) created many applied, educational and playing programs for personal computers. The typical figure here is Mitch Caper the former teacher of transcendental meditation, who made “Lotus 1-2-3” program, which favor the success of IBM computers.
Many people now call themselves hackers. They are ranged from a person who is capable of writing easy macros in Word to Kevin Mithnik who was pursued by Interpol for some years.
Any highly skilled expert in computing technique is often called a hacker. We cannot but agree with that. Professionalism is highly valued in any work. With reference to computing technique for example the system administrator (even if a system has two-three machines) must narrowly study operation systems, transport records, peculiarities of coding languages and details of applied packages. Fist of all it reveals weak and strong places of computer systems and uses obtained information. These data allow not only “to protect” systems from breaking but also on the contrary – “to break” them. Thus, the term “hacker” combines at least two meanings: “breaker” and expert.
From the standpoint of psycho-physiological characteristics, it is as a rule a creative person, professional capable of running a technical challenge and risks. Large companies now strive for recruiting the most experienced hackers to protect information and computer systems.
Neil Davis, an expert in computer security, thinks that hackers-amateurs are the most numerous but the least dangerous (80% of computer attacks). They are interested in no aim but the attack process itself. They enjoy overcoming systems of protection. Their actions are often easy to suppress because hackers-amateurs prefer not to enter into a conflict with the Law. According to practice, most hackers do not have the traditional criminal past.
The improvement of computing technique favors the sophistication of computer crimes. Whereas the development of global information network Internet caused cyber-crimes.
The analysis of native and foreign practice and the study of literature sources show that the age of computer offenders is ranged from 14 to 45 years.
It can be concluded from materials of expert researches [8] that the age of 33% deliberate criminals did not exceed 20 years when committing a crime, 54% - from 20 to 40 years, 13% - were older than 40 years. That is researches deny a formed opinion that hackers are mainly teenagers from 13 to 20 years.
Men five times oftener commit crimes by using computer technologies. Most subjects of such crimes have finished or unfinished high technical education (53,7%) and other finished or unfinished high education (19,2%) [9]. However, the number of crimes committed by women has increased recently. It is connected with the professional orientation of some specialties and posts...
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