Essay on Barriers to Addressing Cybercrime Problem

Moreover, if the fight against cybercrimes will be in full force then law enforcement must be technologically capable to deal with cybercriminals.  This means that law enforcement must have the tools necessary to determine whether a cybercrime has been committed, identify the persons responsible, get enough evidence against them and file the necessary case in court.  At this point however, law enforcement is incapable of dealing with cybercrime.  According to Gene Stephens, “The outlook for curtailing cyberspace crime by technology or conventional law-enforcement methods is bleak. Most agencies do not have the personnel or the skills to cope with such offenses.... Cybercrime cannot be controlled by conventional methods. Technology is on the side of the cyberspace offender and motivation is high--it's fun, exciting, and profitable.”  

            Secondly, it is not only the public and the law enforcement who lack understanding and knowledge of the nature of cybercrimes.  Even the Judiciary needs to be updated on cybercrimes.  The judiciary has likewise contributed to this sluggish response to combat white-collar crimes.  The treatment of our judges and magistrates on white-collar criminal offenders are more lenient as compared to blue-collar criminal offenders.  Studies show that the former are less likely to be imprisoned or even if they are imprisoned they more likely to receive lower average sentences. In an article entitled “White –Collar Plea Bargaining and Sentencing after Booker,” it described the disparity of treatment and application of the law insofar as white collar offenders and blue collar offenders are concerned.  It states that blue collar offenders who have stolen a particular amount of money are more likely to receive tougher and stiffer penalty compared to the white collar offenders who have stolen the same amount (Bibas Stephanos, 2005, p.2).  It also states that white-collar offenders are more likely to receive plea bargaining and have more chances of being granted probation  (Bibas Stephanos, 2005, p.2).  This emphasizes the public perception on the issue of white-collar crimes that it is less serious and less grave compared to the blue collar crimes.  

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            The media is also a guilty of contributing to our country’s listless response against cybercriminals.  The media is an important institution in every society.  They have a responsibility to inform and educate the public about the seriousness and evils of cybercrimes.  Their job is to expose to the public and make them understand that cybercrimes do not only affect the affluent but they also affect the middle-class and lower-class.  However, it seems that the media is not performing their solemn obligation to the public.  Research shows that the mass media give more attention on violent crimes and street crimes.  A study was conducted in Canada on whether white-collar crimes are being adequately reported by the mass media.  The study was limited among the leading newspapers in Canada, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star to determine if it is true that the media coverage of white-collar crime is lower than other papers.  It revealed that though Vancouver Sun has admitted that its coverage of white-collar crimes is diminishing, the other papers’ coverage were even lower than Vancouver Sun’s coverage of white-collar crimes. 

            At this point, it is still inconceivable how the public and the government working together can stop cybercrimes.  The power of technology is indeed in the hands of the offenders.  They have the skill and the technological knowhow to commit cybercrimes and at the same time protect themselves against being caught.  What makes the task of the government more difficult is the fact that this crime can be committed without the offenders being physically present in the country.  The challenge therefore is not only with strengthening the country’s domestic capability of dealing with cybercrimes but also in forging alliances with other countries so that there will be better results in dealing with cybercrimes.  There are also existing laws that can already deal with these crimes but the challenge is with respect to the execution and implementation of these laws.  It is also imperative that the public be constantly educated about cybercrimes.  This can be done by proper information dissemination of the nature of these crimes, how they are committed, the means by which these crimes could be avoided, and the punishment imposed by law for the commission of these crimes.     

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Essay on Cybercrime as Victimless Crime? Is Cybercrime a Harmless Crime?

Cybercrime is one of the new species of white-collar crime that poses serious challenge to the law enforcement agencies.  Richard Johnston, in his article entitled “The Battle against White-Collar Crimes,” emphasized the extent of the challenge our criminal justice system is facing insofar as the problem of cybercrime is concerned.  Studies show that one in three American households has been a victim of white-collar crime, yet just 41% actually report it. (Richard Johnston, 2002, p. 1)  This just shows that these kinds of crime are happening in our country yet very few are being prosecuted, convicted and punished for these crimes. 

            Since cybercrime is a relatively new term, majority of the American public still are unaware of the extent of the damage it can cause to any person.  The public are still unaware that of the extent and magnitude of the damage it can cause to the United States economy.  A cause of concern about cybercrime is that this crime which appears to be harmless is now considered as a more profitable business activity compared to illegal drug trafficking.  According to Valerie McNiven, an advisor to the US government on cybercrime, in 2004 alone proceeds from cybercrime reached $105 Billion, an amount greater than the proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs (John Leyden, 2005, p.1).

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            Worth considering also is the fact that a person’s identity is stolen every three seconds.   According to research a total of 8.4 Million Americans were victimized by identity theft in 2007 alone “Identity Theft Statistics”, 2009, p.2).  The cost for the consumers who have been victimized by identity has also reached $49.3 Billion in 2007 alone.  Consequently, identity theft through the use of Internet is now considered as the fastest growing crime in the United States.

            Despite the damage it may cause, it appears that the public are still not doing anything to protect themselves against cyber crime.  While awareness about the damage of compute viruses is high, the awareness about the dangers of cybercrime is still low.  This is the result of the study conducted by Symantec Corporation.  According to Symantec Corp, only 19.5% of consumers and 48.9% of tech professionals use a personal firewall on their PC.  Moreover, the same survey shows that 87.1% of consumers and 94.7% of technology professionals use anti-virus software to protect their computer against damaging viruses.  The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that compared to awareness of computer viruses, awareness of cybercrime is still low.  

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Essay on Cybercrime - What is Cybercrime

            If a study will be conducted today and people were to be asked on which they should be imposed a harsher and stricter penalty, a person who robs a bank or a person who commits fraud with the use of an internet.  The most common answer that will probably be elicited from a majority of the respondents is that the bank robber should be meted the harsher penalty. In fact, they may even be surprised to find out that fraud with the use of Internet is a crime. This perhaps highlights the current problem with cybercrime.

            Cybercrime is defined as a crime committed on the internet using computer either as a tool or as a targeted victim.  The Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Treaty uses the term cybercrime in relation to offenses that range from criminal activity against data to content and copyright infringement.  However, cybercrime is much more than data theft and violations of copyright.  According to the United Nations Manual on Prevention and Control of Computer Related Crime, cybercrime is more extensive and now includes activities that extend to fraud, unauthorized access, child pornography and cyberstalking.

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Basically, cybercrime is divided into the following categories: a) cybercrimes against persons, b) cybercrimes against property and c) cybercrimes against government.  A cybercrime is deemed committed against a person when it causes serious damage to a person.  For instance, online pornography is an example of cybercrime.  When a person posts and transmits pornography through the Internet and makes the same accessible to any person who uses the Internet a crime is committed.  It is a crime because it undermines and destroys the fundamental value system of today’s younger generation.  It is a crime because people may get addicted to pornography which may eventually trigger worse crimes such as rape.

A cybercrime is deemed committed against property when the Internet is used to cause damage and prejudice to certain property.  For instance, a person is able to transmit harmful viruses with the use of the computer and the Internet paralyzing the operations of a business organization.  This is a crime because other person’s or business organization’s property is destroyed.  On the other hand, a cybercrime is deemed committed against the government when the Internet is used as means to spread fear and terror against the people in a country.  This can be done by gaining control over important and sensitive government information or facilities. 

    

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Essay on UK Law against Cybercrime

The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 is the relevant law that establishes jurisdiction on the United Kingdom for violation of cybercrime.  The crimes covered by the law are various acts of computer misuse which are defined under Section 1 to 3 which include unauthorized access to computer material, unauthorized access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offense and unauthorized modification of computer material.

As a rule, UK adheres to the principle of territoriality. However, in the event that the offense takes place outside of the United Kingdom, it shall still have jurisdiction to try the perpetrator of the crime under the Computer Misuse Act of 1990. The relevant provisions are Section 4 and 5 which states that it is not necessary for the cybercrime to be committed within the territory of United Kingdom so long as the offense is significantly linked to the United Kingdom.  Thus, even the act committed is not a crime in the place of commission but it is a crime in United Kingdom and it is established that the offense is significantly linked to it, the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 may be applied for purpose of prosecution.

Since the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, the deficiency in the cybercrime laws of United Kingdom may be supplemented by the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention. Section 3 Article 22 of the said treaty provides for the rules when the contracting parties to the treaty are obliged to establish jurisdiction over the criminal offense. Paragraph (a) is a restatement of the principle of territoriality which is a basic characteristic of criminal law. It states that the contracting parties shall adopt legislations necessary to punish the commission of crimes defined in the treaty that are committed within its territory.

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Paragraph (b) and (c) are also based on the principle of territoriality. When the crime is committed on board a ship or an aircraft registered under the laws of Japan while passing through the territory of United States, is Japan deprived of its jurisdiction to prosecute the offense. Following paragraph (b) and (c) the treaty requires that contracting parties to establish jurisdiction over criminal offense committed inside its ship or aircraft registered under its name. As a matter of legal principle the crimes committed inside the ship or aircrafts of a particular nation even when they are outside its territory are still considered committed within its territory since they are considered as extensions of the territory of the state.

Paragraph (d) on the other hand is a restatement of the principle of nationality as basis for conferring jurisdiction upon a state. It states that the nationals of a particular state are not immune from criminal liability of their own state even if they are outside its territory. They are still obliged to comply with their domestic law even when they are beyond the territory of their own state. For instance, a British man who goes to a country which does not have a law against hacking and while within the territory of the country uses a computer to hack through a computer of another country is still within the jurisdiction of his own state.

In 2003, a new extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the United States of America was signed among the parties.  The new extradition treaty which is a supplementary to the extradition treaty signed at London in 1972 and amended by Supplementary Treaty signed at Washing on June 25, 1985, is a reflection of the modern practice in extradition. 

It states that any crime that is punishable by a maximum sentence of or more in both the requesting and the requested state is extraditable.  In Article 2, the new treaty states that “An offense shall be an extraditable offense if the conduct on which the offense is based is punishable under the laws in both States by deprivation of liberty for a period of one year or more or by a more severe penalty.”

It is worth noticing that the new treaty avoided making an enumeration of extraditable offense which was done in the 1972 treaty.  With the use of dual criminality clause in Article 2, there is no longer any need to amend or supplement the new treaty as new offenses become punishable under the laws of both states.  The new treaty therefore looks forward into the future by including any other offenses that may be punishable under the laws of both states by imprisonment of one year or more.

Moreover, the new treaty encompasses offenses which are previously not punishable under the 1972 treaty.  Thus, new treaty also looks backward by covering all offenses although not previously mentioned in the 1972 treaty.

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Essay on International Agreements against Cybercrimes

There are a number of agreements that purport to deal with cybercrimes. These international agreements are manifestations of the global community’s response to the global challenge of cybercrime. One of these agreements is the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. While it does not directly state that cybercrime is included within its scope, in view of the transnational nature of organized crime and its close association with organized crime, the UNTOC may be referred to as basis for prosecution since cybercrime is covered in this agreement by implication.

Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention

Another agreement is the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention. The Cybercrime Convention was signed in 2001 by the United States and 29 other countries in Budapest, Hungary.  The multilateral treaty which took effect in July 2004 was the first treaty signed to address the growing problem of cybercrime. The main goal of the Cybercrime Convention is to provide for a common criminal policy by harmonizing national laws with the aim of protecting the society against cybercrime. (Henrik W.K. Kaspersen, 2009)

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At the first international treaty on crimes committed via the Internet and other computer networks dealing with infringements of copyright, computer-related fraud, child pornography and other violations of network security, it commits signatories to prosecute the violators of computer-related crimes with a firm resolve.  It is the goal of the signatories to the treaty to end the cybercriminals’ feeling of invincibility by requiring sanctions and making cybercrimes and other computer-related crimes an extraditable offense and by reducing the number of countries that the cybercriminals can avoid prosecution.

The United States was one of the thirty (30) counties that signed the Convention on November 23, 2001 in Budapest.  The United States also ratified the Convention on August 3, 2006.  As of 2006, there have been forty three (43) countries that signed on the Convention. 

Towards this end, the contracting parties to the treaty are required to define criminal offenses and sanctions under their own domestic laws for the four categories of computer-related crimes such as fraud and forgery, child pornography, copyright infringements and security breaches. The treaty also requires the signatories to establish domestic procedures for detecting, investigating and prosecuting computer crimes and collecting electronic evidence and to establish a rapid and effective system of international cooperation.

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