From: harshanathsmb [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 8:32 AM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Computer Crime

 

From: harshanathsmb [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 11:29 AM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Computer Crime - From Dr. WAIDYASEKARA

 

Computers generally play four roles in crimes: They serve as objects, subjects, tools, and symbols. Computers when sabotaged or stolen are the objects of crime. There are numerous cases of computers being blown up, burned, beaten with blunt instruments, kicked, crushed and contaminated. Here some examples from United States, in San Francisco, an electrical transformer in the basement of a building exploded, causing a poisonous liquid coolant to be released. The computers in the building continued to operate, but the fire department would not allow anybody to enter the building to attend them, which rendered the information unavailable.

 

The damage may be international, as in the case of “an irate taxpayer who shot a computer four times through the window of the local tax office”, or unintentional, as in the case of “a couple who engaged in sexual intercourse while sitting on a computer sabotage destroys information, or at least makes it unavailable”.

 

Computers play the role of subjects when they are the environments in which technologist commit crimes. Computer virus attacks fall into this category.

 

The third role is where computers become a tool in crime where criminals use it to produce false information or plan and control crimes.

 

Finally, computers are also used as symbols to deceive victims. In fact criminals may use computers, graphics software, and colour printers to forge documents. Criminals who create automated crime software and those who purchase and use the software will be using their computers as tools to commit crimes.

 

Broadly Cyber-Crimes can be classified as:

·                     Unauthorized access

·                     Unauthorized interception

·                     Unauthorized use of computer, computer system

·                     Computer related fraud

·                     Computer forgery

·                     Damage to computer data

·                     Computer sabotage

 

Further, Cyber-Crime could be identified as having a tremendous effect on these basic groups.

1.                  An Individual could be a Person or a Property of an individual.

2.                  An Organization could be a Government, a Firm, a Company or Group of Individuals.

3.                  Society at large. 

 

The following are the crimes, which can be committed against the above mentioned groups. 

 

Against Individuals – This could be where either the persons are unknown to each other or where the persons are known.

(i.)                          Harassment via e-mails.

(ii.)                         Cyber-stalking.

(iii.)                       Dissemination of obscene material.

(iv.)                      Defamation.

(v.)                        Hacking/cracking.

(vi.)                      Indecent exposure.

 

Against Individual Property – Here the victim and the property is known by the offender.

(i.)                          Computer vandalism.

(ii.)                         Transmitting virus.

(iii.)                       Unauthorized control over computer systems.

(iv.)                      Hacking /cracking.

 

Against an Organization

(i.)                          Hacking & Cracking.

(ii.)                         Possession of unauthorized information.

(iii.)                       Cyber terrorism against State Institutions.

(iv.)                      Distribution of pirated software etc.

 

Against the Society at large

(i.)                          Pornography (basically child pornography), Further, miscreants in the user society of the Internet have inclined themselves towards vice by new developments such as Money Laundering and "Cyber Porn". The problem, arising has become so serious at present that it has made the US government to contemplate on having a “.xxx” domain for controlling a more than $12 billion online porn industry. [4]

(ii.)                         Corrupting youth through indecent exposure.

(iii.)                       Trafficking. As in the case of “On Valentine's Day this year animal activists set up a chat-room and encouraged people to log on and 'chat' at the same time. For every word typed an email would be sent to the target organizations in the vivisection and fur industries in an effort to crash their websites.” [5]

 

 

Links

 

1.                  http://www.justiceministry.gov.lk/ Prevention of Computer Crimes Bill. This Bill makes provision for the recognition, investigation and punishment of computer specific crimes. A main feature of the Bill is that the use of the computer regime for child pornography is made punishable. View Bill (PDF version)

2.                  Intellectual Property Law In Sri Lanka ACT NO. 36 of 2003 The Trips agreement and a case digest by Dr.Harsha Cabaral Attorney-at-law (Sri Lanka)

3.                  http://www.indiaitlaw.com/itact99.htm

When speaking about Cyber-Crime, we usually speak about two major categories of offences: one category is where a computer connected to a network is the target of the offence; this is the case of attacks on network confidentiality, integrity and / or availability. The main goal of Internet security is to keep proprietary information confidential, to preserve its integrity, and to maintain its availability for those authorized to view that information. When information is accessed and examined by unauthorized individuals, it is no longer confidential. By connecting to the Internet Organizations have made their information assets far more vulnerable to unauthorized access and breaches of confidentiality. If data are tampered with, modified, or corrupted by intruders there is a loss of information integrity. Some times this can happen inadvertently, but most often it is the intentional act of a hacker or a disgruntled employee seeking revenge. Finally, if information is deleted or becomes inaccessible to authorized users, there is a loss of availability. [3] http://www.indiaitlaw.com/itact99.htm

 

 

4.                  http://www.isc.meiji.ac.jp/~sumwel_h/index-English.html

5.                  http://www.usdoj.gov/   definition on Computer Crimes

6.                  http://www.cybercrime.gov/   relat

7.                  http://www.cybercrime.gov/reporting.htm

Unlike traditional crime, Cyber-Crime could be described as a global crime. “Computer-related crimes are committed across cyber space and don’t stop at the conventional state-borders.” It is common knowingly that while our experience in the field of Cyber-Crime is still in its insipience stages the large scale crimes committed through Cyber-Crime affects large proportion of our society [7]. http://www.cybercrime.gov/reporting.htm

 

 

8.                  http://www.ghostship.com/infosyssec/compcrim1.htm

9.                  http://www.law.wits.ac.za/salc/issue/ip14.pdf#search='law%20&%20computer%20related%20crime

10.              http://www.educationengine.com/business.htm

11.              http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/singapore/ONI_Country_Study_Singapore.pdf

12.              http://www.cybercrime.gov/Computer Intrusion Cases - chart.htm

 

 

 

IT law seminar on Sept.8 Category: Science and Technology

Source: DAILY NEWS Date: Thu Aug 31, 2006 Writer: Sandasen Marasinghe

BASL Secretary Sunil Abeyratne said that although both government and private sectors promote the computer education in the country and the society had entered the electronic commerce almost all, including lawyers are ignorant of the legal aspects in the computer crime such as computer hacking and electronic banking.

"We cannot handle the crime of this nature under the Criminal Law," Abeyratne said. "It's the responsibility of the BASL to educate lawyers as well as the public about this crime in the IT field. The BASL IT committee organised this event to address this need.

This is Not Enough

Further there is a lack of expertise on the part of the Police, Prosecutors and the Courts in this field. In Sri Lanka, there are approximately more than 20,000 Policemen, Customs officers to be trained apart from those of the strong Judiciary, which has also to be more knowledgeable on the incidence of Cyber-Crimes and its evil effect on society.

 

Disputes Settlements

A procedure for settling jurisdictional disputes by a body of experts knowledgeable in both jurisdictional issues and computer crime could also be developed. This could provide speedy and flexible alternatives to existing dispute-resolution mechanisms, such as in the case of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe’s Convention on Peaceful Settlements of Disputes. It appears to be generally accepted that claims of extra-territorial jurisdiction are subsidiary to primary territorial claims.

 

Conflicts of extra-territorial jurisdiction should preferably be settled through mutual consultation among States. Further, it is suggested that the establishment of a “Bureau of Investigations on Cyber-Crimes” in SRI LANKA or a “Media Development Authority” (MDA) with a similar professed commitment as in the case of Singapore’s MDA. Also it will be essential to have the necessary amendments to the existing Acts as Penal Code, Evidence Ordinance, Civil Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Code and other relevant statutes so that there will be sufficient provisions incorporated to dead with Computer Crimes.

Money Printing

Credit Card Duplication caught in SL in 2006

Pornography (Both adult and Child)

Terrorism

Hijack the www.srilankanarmy.com -à”CanadianTamil.com”

Change of SL Custom’s website and had a picture of a tiger.

 

From Dr. S. WAIDYASEKARA