Cybercrime

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Cybercrime is a term used broadly to describe criminal activity in which computers or networks are a tool, a target, or a place of criminal activity. These categories are not exclusive and many activities can be characterized as falling in one or more categories.

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[edit] Overview

Although the term cybercrime is usually restricted to describing criminal activity in which the computer or network is an essential part of the crime, this term is also used to include traditional crimes in which computers or networks are used to enable the illicit activity.

Examples of cybercrime in which the computer or network is a tool of the criminal activity include spamming and certain intellectual property and criminal copyright crimes, particularly those facilitated through peer-to-peer networks.
Examples of cybercrime in which the computer or network is a target of criminal activity include unauthorized access (i.e, defeating access controls), malicious code, and denial-of-service attacks.
Examples of cybercrime in which the computer or network is a place of criminal activity include theft of service (in particular, telecom fraud) and certain financial frauds.
Finally, examples of traditional crimes facilitated through the use of computers or networks include Nigerian 419 or other gullibility or social engineering frauds (e.g., "phishing"), identity theft, child pornography, online gambling, securities fraud, etc. Cyberstalking is an example of a traditional crime -- harassment -- that has taken a new form when facilitated through computer networks.

Additionally, certain other information crimes, including trade secret theft and Industrial espionage, are sometimes considered cybercrimes when computers or networks are involved; such activities in the context of Corporations as opposed to Government organizations may involve traditional espionage and information warfare, technically, once such activities involve networks/computing facilities at any major point, the neologism "netspionage" (generally defined as "Network-enabled Espionage" -- c.f., ABA's definition, FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, and their Joint Broadcast discussion from Washington, DC, November 2000 regarding Netspionage) is becoming more common in usage.

Cybercrime in the context of national security may involve hacktivism (online activity intended to influence policy), traditional espionage, or information warfare and related activities.

Another way to define cybercrime is simply as criminal activity involving the information technology infrastructure, including illegal access (unauthorized access), illegal interception (by technical means of non-public transmissions of computer data to, from or within a computer system), data interference (unauthorized damaging, deletion, deterioration, alteration or suppression of computer data), systems interference (interfering with the functioning of a computer system by inputting, transmitting, damaging, deleting, deteriorating, altering or suppressing computer data), misuse of devices, forgery (ID theft), and electronic fraud.

[edit] Applicable laws

[edit] United States

  • ACCESS DEVICE FRAUD. 18 U.S.C. § 1029. Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices.
  • COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT. 18 U.S.C. § 1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers.
  • CAN-SPAM ACT. 18 U.S.C. § 1037. Fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail.
  • EXTORTION AND THREATS. 18 U.S.C. § 875. EXTORTION and THREATS. Interstate communications.
  • IDENTITY THEFT AND ASSUMPTION DETERRENCE ACT of 1998. 18 U.S.C. § 1028. Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information.
  • No Electronic Theft ("NET") Act. 17 U.S.C. § 506. Criminal Offenses. (criminal copyright infringement)
  • Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701, et seq. (STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONAL RECORDS ACCESS)

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] Australia

[edit] Others

[edit] Academic resources

[edit] Government resources

[edit] Commercial resources

[edit] Further reading

Wikibooks

For a detailed analysis of Cyber Law in India; please refer to Guide to Cyber Laws by Rodney D. Ryder; Oxford University Press. Rodney D. Ryder is Partner with Fox Mandal Little www.foxmandallittle.com, a full service commercial law firm. He is presently Advisor to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India on the implementation of the Information Technology Act, 2000 www.cca.gov.in.

[edit] Misc

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