Assignment 1: Digital Computer Crime Information Technology in Criminal Justice Lashavia Davis Strayer University Professor Marina Stakic

February 4, 2015

Computer crimes refer to any crime that involves a computer and a network, where unauthorized use of the computers where it may or may not have played an instrumental part in committing the crime. Computer crimes have a broad range of potentially illegal activities. It may be divided into one of two types of categories, “crimes that target computer networks or devices directly, and crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which is independent of the computer network or device.’” Which we have four major categories that fit inside one of two types of categories; the computer as a target, the computer as Instrument of the crime, the computer as incidental to crime and crimes associated with the prevalence of computer.

This computer crime used the computer as the target by accesses the operating program as the system’s manager, then deny the legitimate user or owner of the system access to his or her date or computer. When committing this crime we have four sub categories that the hacker may fall under, a network intruder who target the server and may cause harm to the network owners or the operation of their business, date alteration that directly targets the computer by attacking the useful information stored or processed by computer, malicious network intruders who primary focus is to alter critical data, are a ways a computer can be used as the target. One of the earliest cases of the computer being target took place when Robert Morris Jr, a computer science student who wrote a self-replicating, self-propagating program that infected an estimated 6,000 computer systems, that later became known as “The Morris Worm.”

Computers can be utilized as an instrument or tool to facilitate criminal activity which refers to the processes of the computer used to gain some other criminal objective. Such as theft where attacker is taking property with intent of permanent depriving the owner of their property or servicers. Theft of data and services includes theft of sensitive information, proprietary information, or other intellectual property that is stored on personal, government, or corporate computer systems. Hackers can also create fraud and now threats and harassment of individuals and companies. An example of the computer being used as an instrument of crime would be on March of 2007, Robert Soloway, also known as “The Spam King” was arrested on 35 charges of fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Soloway’s activities involved “hijacking computers from unsuspecting customers and using them to disseminate Spam that advertised his fraudulent marketing services, sending tens of millions of Spam messages using the hijacked computers.
Computers are incidental to other crimes; merely the computer is not essential for the crime to occur but helps facilitate the offense. When this takes place the computers help the crime to occur faster and also permit processing of greater amounts of information within a shortest possible period of time, making the computer crime more difficult to identify and trace. Some examples of such crimes include money laundering, processing and distribution of pornographic information unlawful banking transactions, and encrypting or erasing data files and criminal records. One form of this crime taking place was in twenty-fourteen in Miami, Florida. Alvaro López Tardón, of Miami Beach, was sentenced to one hundred and fifty years in prison. Tardón was the head of an international narcotics trafficking and money laundering scam which distributed over 7,500 kilograms of South American cocaine in Madrid and laundered over $14,000,000 in narcotics proceeds in Miami.
A computer associated with prevalence of crimes is the presence of computers only. These crimes are occurring as a result of advancements of technology and use of computers. Some examples include violation of copyright of computer programs software, such as duplicated, packaged, and selling illegally, component theft, identity theft, counterfeiting, and any other peripherals. One form of this computer crime took place in Alaska, against “Amparo-Vazquez, aka Japhet Soto Santiago, aka Luis Angel Cortez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic formerly residing in Alaska” was sentenced to prison, Amparo-Vazquez conspiring to defraud the government, to use stolen identities to file income tax returns for the purpose of obtaining fraudulent income tax refunds, with stolen identities of more than 2,600 individuals.
Identity theft typically occurs when a cybercriminal successfully steals a person’s person identity and personal information. But it remains one of most common forms of digital crime. This type of crime is a gateway to other cybercrimes such as tax-refund fraud, credit-card fraud, loan fraud and other similar crimes. Some examples of identity theft’s purposes are: opening a line of credit purchasing goods or services, renting or buying a house or apartment and obtaining employment. Identity theft includes three general types of crimes, “unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing account, unauthorized use or attempted use of personal information to open a new account and misuse of personal information for a fraudulent purpose”.
When determine a cyber-terrorism that will present the greatest threat to the United States I would have said an attack on our infrastructure reliant. Since the united states “has identified itself as the most infrastructure reliant of any nation.” Which might be true because we significant depend on our national information system which includes eight area of “virtual national life support system: telecommunications, banking and finance, electrical power, oil and gas distribution and storage, water supply, transportation, emergency services, and government services.” Imagine if terroirs and foreign government could tap into our system it would possibly makes us as a country very indefensible against any threats we may come under. But most of all our country would not be able to function if we were to have a major shutdown, which explains why both former President George W Bush and Current President Barak Obama has developed a plan to protect the nation infrastructure system. President Obama created “The Cyber Space Policy Review”. In Which
“…The Federal Government shall work with critical infrastructure owners and operators and SLTT entities to take proactive steps to manage risk and strengthen the security and resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure, considering all hazards that could have a debilitating impact on national security, economic stability, public health and safety, or any combination thereof. These efforts shall seek to reduce vulnerabilities, minimize consequences, identify and disrupt threats, and hasten response and recovery efforts related to critical infrastructure (Barak Obama.)”
Based on this finding I determined this area cyber terrorism can created a great and most significant threat at this present time to the United State of American. As computer technologies keeps growing, so does the crime and threats of cybercriminal’s and cyberterrorist. Which mean the governments, court system, and law enforcement has to shift over to protect Business and Individuals from the leading and expending word of Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism along with the daily task list as while. The roles and responsible the Department of Justice alongside law enforcement are organize into categories The U.S Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation Which have many division under them, significant to serve us to better. Under the Department of Justice a programs called Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section was created to prosecuted violations of federal code covered by the computer fraud abuse act, which works under a sub united called CHIP Computer hacking and property. Who focus on prosecuting computer hacking, fraud and intellectual property cases. The federal Bureau of Investigation has many divisions working under them to help maintain cybercrime. There primary role is to capture the criminal behind the computer intrusion. Their primary role is to capture the criminal behind the computer intrusion, under a program called “InfraGardr” created to join the Department of Justice CCIPS and CHIP Programs, housed in the bureau’s cyber division to exchange information in collaboration in the fight against cybercrimes. While assisting the U.S Attorney Office whose primary goal is to representing the federal government in court to prosecuting federal suspects brought against cybercriminals.
The many efforts Law enforcement have had with bettering counteract of computer crimes, they should look into opening a real time portal from the time the criminal takes place to actual time that located and catch the crime being committed. Such as creating a device that can be put into a computer to detective programs running in the background and breach in the computer security system made from an outside network, that automatic transmit to the correct division to monitor the crime being committed, would be a great tool to close the gap on cybercrime to the law enforcement world.

References www.dictionary.com Eric J. Fritsch, John Liederbach & Robert Taylor Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism (3rd ed). www.FBI.gov www.IRS.gov www.lectlaw.com www.nw3c.com
www.whitehouse.gov