Digital U.S. There are also some very common
Digital
Computer Crime
Brandon Passer
Professor Neal Basta
CIS170 1/16/2018
Strayer University
Abstract
The
most challenging type of crime to combat today is computer crime or otherwise
known as cybercrime. Cybercrime is essentially an act
of crime that involves the use of a
computer. In society today, this could involve many
different types of computers since almost
everything that we use has computer that allows it to
function. There are several different
motives of why someone would want to use a computer to
commit a crime. Their motives are
also, not as simple as one would might think. Often what a criminal is seeking is some type
of
information.
This is what makes up information warfare. According to Taylor (2015), there are
four categories of cybercrimes; infrastructure
attacks, information attacks, technological
facilitation, and promotion (p.24). However, one of these categories presents
what can be seen
as a major issue for many government agencies within
the U.S. There are also some very
common forms of computer crimes that can cause
problems for many people, including the
government.
Each government agency has its own plan or strategy to combat such types
of
crimes.
Types
of Cybercrime
There are four categories
of computer crime: infrastructure attacks, information attacks,
technological facilitation, and promotion. Each one of these has a specific function and
presents
a specific problem for combating it. Infrastructure attacks are essentially
focused on destroying
a computer system or network that keeps a countries
infrastructure intact. The United States has
many examples of infrastructure that can be exposed
which can then cause the infrastructure to
be compromised. According to Taylor (2015), one such
type of infrastructure attack could be
compromising a computer system that controls passenger
and freight train routing systems which
could cause trains to collide (p.28). This could lead
to death or injury to people involved.
Another, more frightening type of infrastructure
attack, could be compromising the nuclear
power supply system of the United States. This type of
attack could cause a meltdown
and a crisis in which many people could die due to
exposure to nuclear radiation. The next
category of computer crime is information
attacks. This type of attack tends to be
more focused
on destroying and changing data files. According to Taylor (2015), This type of
attack can cause
the most economic and financial loss (p.29). A type of this form of attack are viruses and
worms. These are essentially computer programs that
can make copies of themselves which can
cause harm or damage to a computer system. Viruses and worms have differences as
well. A
virus is a type of coding that infects a computers
ability to give instruction. It can cause such
damage such as completely deleting files from a hard
drive or corrupting data to the point where
it can no longer function. The most frightening aspect about a virus is
that it can lay in wait
within a computer program for a long period of time
and a victim may never know that it was
ever present.
Worms are programs that can reproduce through a computer network by
compromising other computer systems. They essentially act as a digital form of a
hacker. They
often work more faster and more direct than a virus
does and can cause larger amounts of
damage. Another
form of attack is through technological facilitation. This form of attack is
more of an indirect one. It involves the use of technology to organize
potential attacks through
the use of online communication. A type of attack is through the organization of
“flash mobs” or
“smart mobs”.
These types of attacks involve the mass gathering of people at a
specific place
and time. This
can be done through the simple use of text communication or social media
outlets
such as Facebook or Twitter. The final form of attack is also indirect and
that is through the use
of promotion.
This involves websites that are structured to specifically benefit a
criminal
organizations cause or agenda. Examples of promotion include websites that a
geared towards
gaining numbers or websites that can be used to
collect donations to help fund a criminal or
terrorist organization.
Most
Threatening Form of Cybercrime
Now, the most dangerous
and threatening category of cyber crime is through information
attacks. Information attacks can cause significant
harm and can cost billions of dollars in loss.
According to the FBI’s website, one such dangerous
form of information attack is Ransomware.
Ransomware is a type of malware that takes data that
holds value hostage. Hackers that use
ransomware essentially ask for some type of currency
in return for the data. Most common way
that this form of attack is usually spread using
email. Usually someone who is
unsuspecting will click on these emails and open files
that are attached to the email which
carry the harmful ransomware. Once the ransomware infects the computer, it
spreads to every
aspect of the computer including file folders, hard
drives, back up drives and any drive that is
attached to the computer physically. It can even spread to other computers that
are sharing the
same network.
The FBI sates that this type of malware is becoming more
sophisticated. A large
scale computer attack like this could cause victims to
lose millions of data as well as millions of
dollars. The
FBI also does not recommend that any victim that suffers such an attack
actually
give in and pay the ransom. Even if a victim does pay the ransom they are
not necessarily
guaranteed to receive their data back.
There
are several government agencies within the United States that are constantly
trying
to combat cybercrime.
These agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Department of Homeland Security(DHS), the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Secret
Service, US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE)
and The U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ). The role
that the FBI plays in combating cybercrime is that it conducts investigations
into cybercrime as well as making arrests. The
Department of Homeland Security also conducts
investigations into cybercrime as well as working with
other government agencies. They also
create tools in fighting cybercrime and share those
tools with other government agencies. The
Federal Trade Commission is tasked with protecting
consumers from potential attacks. The
U.S.
Secret Service essentially controls the Electronic
Crimes Task Force. This special task
force was
created to locate and track down international cyber
criminals who are involved in many forms
of cybercrime such as data breaches and bank
fraud. The US Customs and Immigration
Enforcement are tasked with creating anti cybercrime
techniques to support in the protection of
borders. They are also tasked with investigating into
the exploitation of children. The U.S.
Department of Justice investigates child pornography
and is tasked with prosecuting cyber
criminals.
Conclusion
and What Can the U.S Government Do Better?
The one way that law
enforcement agencies can better counteract computer crime would
be to work with foreign governments to increase their
level of jurisdiction. These agencies only
have a certain level that they can reach in stopping
cyber criminals. For instance, if a data
breach
was to occur from another country and it affected our
security over in the United States, these
law enforcement agencies may be limited in what they
can do to bring the perpetrator to justice
because of jurisdiction lines. By increasing a level of jurisdiction, this
can act as a potential
deterrent for cybercrime. A potential cybercriminal may realize that
there could be harsh
penalties for such an act at an international level,
thus he or she may not feel inclined to commit
the act.
References
Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., & Liederbach, J.
(2015). Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson
Cyber Crime. (2017, March 22). Retrieved January 18,
2018, from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
Brain, M., & Fenlon, W. (2000, April 01). How
Computer Viruses Work. Retrieved January 18, 2018, from https://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
Combating Cyber Crime. (2017, June 20). Retrieved
January 18, 2018, from https://www.dhs.gov/topic/combating-cyber-crime
Wolf, U. (2009, January 27). Cyber-Crime: Law
Enforcement Must Keep Pace with Tech-Savvy Criminals. Retrieved January 19,
2018, from http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Cyber-Crime-Law-Enforcement-Must-Keep-Pace.html?page=1
Brown, J. (2016, August 17). 5 Federal Agencies with a
Role in Ensuring Enterprise Cybersecurity. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from
https://www.ciodive.com/news/5-federal-agencies-with-a-role-in-ensuring-enterprise-cybersecurity/424557/
