Internet and Proliferation of Computer Crime

Computer crimes are becoming as diverse as the Internet itself. As all types of commerce move to cyberspace, so do the commercial crimes proliferate (распространяются). Financial fraud, economic espionage, and thefts of computer chips are only a few of the many types of computer-related crimes perpetrated around the world. Financial institutions, such as banks and credit card companies, suffer great losses due to financial fraud. With on-line accessibility, organized criminal groups now accomplish illegal money transfers from across the globe. This new style of crime is forcing businesses small and large to take a closer look into Internet security.

The explosive growth in the illicit computer market has far outpaced reaction from law enforcement throughout the world. Alarmingly, few investigators and detectives have been assigned to investigate computer-related crime. Inadequate training and the failure of the computer industry to recognize and respond to the growing number of thefts makes the investigator's job even more difficult.

The Internet has created another serious problem in the world of computing and criminal behavior ‑ adequate security. Creating security measures that are sufficient to ensure consumer privacy is a difficult task with well over fifty million users connected through the Internet. The industry has responded, however, and is continuing to forge ahead in collaborative efforts to secure the Internet. To date, the full market potential of consumer spending on the Internet has been slight at best, primarily due to the conception of insufficient security. Consumers are reluctant to punch in their credit card numbers over the Internet, specifically the World Wide Web, in fear that the arena is too wide open.

In recent years, hackers have gained access to credit card companies computer systems, acquiring thousands of card numbers.

Assets such as balances in users bank accounts are one of the most common targets for computer related fraud. With more and more businesses replacing hard cash with electronically transferred transactions, the potential for abuse is great. The abuse is hard to detect and easy to perpetrate, making the investigation of such crimes extremely difficult.

Now that industry envisions a new market of expanding consumer spending over the Internet, investigation of technology to create a secure method of buying in cyberspace has begun.

In response to the expanding abuse of financial institutions, three credit card companies have developed a system known as Secure Electronic Transactions (SET). MasterCard, Visa, and American Express, with the cooperation of Netscape Communications and Microsoft, offer a system which would enable consumers to securely pass electronic credit card numbers. The technique is known as encryption, the same technology currently used by military and civilian intelligence agencies around the world.

Internet globalization has opened doors to criminal activities which are unprecedented, even in the most technologically-developed countries. Computer-related fraud has become an international security threat, and it is widely presumed that financial fraud will continue to rise, thus giving the need for security a new impulse.

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14