Essay About Computer Crime And Computer Virus

Computer Crime Is Increasing
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Computer Crime Is Increasing
A report discussing the proposition that computer crime has increased
dramatically over the last 10 years.
Introduction
Computer crime is generally defined as any crime accomplished through special
knowledge of computer technology. Increasing instances of white-collar crime
involve computers as more businesses automate and the information held by the
computers becomes an important asset. Computers can also become objects of crime
when they or their contents are damaged, for example when vandals attack the
computer itself, or when a “computer virus” (a program capable of altering or
erasing computer memory) is introduced into a computer system.
As subjects of crime, computers represent the electronic environment in which
frauds are programmed and executed; an example is the transfer of money
balances in accounts to perpetrators accounts for withdrawal. Computers are
instruments of crime when they are used to plan or control such criminal acts.
Examples of these types of crimes are complex embezzlements that might occur
over long periods of time, or when a computer operator uses a computer to steal
or alter valuable information from an employer.
Variety and Extent
Since the first cases were reported in 1958, computers have been used for most
kinds of crime, including fraud, theft, embezzlement, burglary, sabotage,
espionage, murder, and forgery. One study of 1,500 computer crimes established
that most of them were committed by trusted computer users within businesses i.e.
persons with the requisite skills, knowledge, access, and resources. Much of
known computer crime has consisted of entering false data into computers. This
method of computer crime is simpler and safer than the complex process of
writing a program to change data already in the computer.
Now that personal computers with the ability to communicate by telephone are
prevalent in our society, increasing numbers of crimes have been perpetrated by
computer hobbyists, known as “hackers,” who display a high level of technical
expertise. These “hackers” are able to manipulate various communications
systems so that their interference with other computer systems is hidden and
their real identity is difficult to trace. The crimes committed by most
“hackers” consist mainly of simple but costly electronic
trespassing, copyrighted-information piracy, and vandalism. There is also
evidence that organised professional criminals have been attacking and using
computer systems as they find their old activities and environments being
automated.
Another area of grave concern to both the operators and users of computer
systems is the increasing prevalence of computer viruses. A computer virus is
generally defined as any sort of destructive computer program, though the term
is usually reserved for the most dangerous ones. The ethos of a computer virus
is an intent to cause damage, “akin to vandalism on a small scale, or terrorism
on a grand scale.” There are many ways in which viruses can be spread. A virus
can be introduced to networked computers thereby infecting every computer on the
network or by sharing disks between computers. As more home users now have
access to modems, bulletin board systems where users may download software have
increasingly become the target of viruses. Viruses cause damage by either
attacking another file or by simply filling up the computers memory or by using
up the computers processor power. There are a number of different types of
viruses, but one of the factors common to most of them is that they all copy
themselves (or parts of themselves). Viruses are, in essence, self-replicating.
We will now consider a “pseudo-virus,” called a worm. People in the computer
industry do not agree on the distinctions between worms and viruses. Regardless,
a worm is a program specifically designed to move through networks. A worm may
have constructive purposes, such as to find machines with free resources that
could be more efficiently used, but usually a worm is used to disable or slow
down computers. More specifically, worms are defined as, “computer virus
programs [which] propagate on a computer network without the aid of an
unwitting human accomplice. These programs move of their own volition based upon
stored knowledge of the network structure.”
Another type of virus is the “Trojan Horse.” These viruses hide inside another
seemingly harmless program and once the Trojan Horse