Home Title Page Introduction Background Legal Consequences Prevention Conclusion References

Background

Cyber crimes, according to B4USurf, an organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, are any illegal actions directed by revenue of security and computer systems (B4USurf, 2012). In a simpler explanation, any criminal act while sitting behind a computer screen and a keyboard is considered a cyber crime. There are five categories of computer crime:

Online piracy, or music theft, is the “infringement of copyright on a commercial scale” (IFPI, 2007). Piracy includes counterfeits, bootlegs, and Internet piracy (creative Internet piracy content). The financial side of cyber crimes proves that hackers can do just about anything they want. ID theft and fraud are the most common crime of the cyber world. Because the use of the Internet piracy is increasing by the second, it’s becoming easier to steal someone’s credit card information and even harder to catch the thief (B4USurf, 2012).
As for cyber-terrorism, FBI defines it as “the premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which result in violence against noncombatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents” (Krasavin, 2001). In schools, cyber-crime exists. In Downingtown, PA, a group of hackers stole almost $700k from the Downingtown School Districts bank account. Though returned, the thieves are still at large (Craig, 2013). Students hack into virtual grade books and can change their earned “F” to an “A”. Becoming a victim of a cyber crime puts one in a weird position. A computer can be used as the target of a cyber-offense, for example, a virus through spam (Robinson, 2001). Computers can be used as the primary tools for the cyber-crime, for example, child pornography, fraud, and the sale of illegal substances and goods online (Robinson,2001). The Internet piracy, the ATM machine, and someone’s tuition could all be at risk without the slightest hint or suspicion because cyber crimes occur behind a computer, and today everyone is behind a computer.