The Ohio State University Computer Crimes Essay

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Business Finance

The Ohio State University

Description

his assignment is a take-home essay assignment of four questions for which you are expected to develop a 2-3 page essay per question that fully responds to the question being posed.

  1. Examine how computer crimes are conducted.
  2. Assess best practices for fighting computer crime.
  3. Estimate how computer crime impacts the profitability of corporations.
  4. Assess how computer crime professionals are positioned in organizations to combat computer crime.

Technical Requirements:

Length: 2-3 pages each question, double spaced, 1" margins, 12 pitch type in Times New Roman font left justified format.

Sources: All sources for this assignment must come the assigned reading within the course. You are not limited to the pages assigned from each document, but are limited to those documents to defend and support your arguments/claims.

Citations/References: You must use APA style for this assignment.

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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: COMPUTER CRIMES

1

Computer Crimes
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations

COMPUTER CRIMES

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Introduction

Computer crimes refer to illegal acts in which computers are the primary tools that
facilitate the action (Lusthaus, 2013). On a broad focus, computer crimes are classified into three
categories: crimes in which the computer hardware, software, and peripherals are the targets for a
criminal act; a criminal act in which the computer is the subject of crime, i.e., the criminal act
consists of attacking a computer system; and illegal actions in which computers and linked
systems are the instruments by which crimes are committed, such as stealing of money, data or
cyber child pornography (Lusthaus, 2013). Computer crimes are acts that cost the world
economy billions of dollars yearly. In the last decades, the development of new technologies and
the internet have resulted in new and growing types of computer crimes because most of the
systems currently in use are reliant on these new technologies and the internet.
How Computer Crimes Are Conducted
According to Broadhurst, Grabosky, Alazab, Bouhours and Chon (2013), computer
crimes are subdivided into four categories of harmful acts and behaviors. These categories
include cyber-deception and thefts, cyber-trespass, cyberbullying, and cyber-pornography. The
description of these four categories of computer crimes informs us of how each type of crime is
conducted. Cyber-trespass refers to invading into another person’s cyber spaces where titles are
ownership rights have already been established, for example, virus distribution and hacking.
Cyber-deception and theft refer to patterns of crimes that are intended to acquire data or finances
through dishonest means, such as falsified use of credit cards, robbing of e-banks, or theft of data
(Broadhurst, Grabosky, Alazab, Bouhours & Chon, 2013). Cyber-pornography refers to
infringement of regulations on civility and obscenity. Lastly, cyber-violence refers to the violent
effects of computer activities on a person, political, or social grouping. While acts of cyber-

COMPUTER CRIMES

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violence are not manifested directly, the target or victim is affected by the violent act and may
inflict psychological scars as the ramifications. These classes of computer crimes are further
categorized into five categories that include hacking, spamming, phishing, cyberbullying,
identity theft, and internet auction fraud/plastic card fraud (Broadhurst, Grabosky, Alazab,
Bouhours & Chon, 2013).
Phishing is a social engineering attack that tricks a person in an attempt to steal
information, including login credentials and credit card data (Konradt, Schilling & Werners,
2016). Phishing occurs when an invader impersonates a trusted entity and dupes a target into
opening an instant message or email. The victim is deceived into clicking a malicious link that
installs malware or freezes the system to reveal sensitive information or as part of a ransomware
attacks (Konradt, Schilling & Werners, 2016). Internet scammers send mass emails to target
corporations or individuals, thereby increasing the chances of getting a person hooked. Phishing
occurs in three ways: creating a mimic website, sending convincing emails to lure a target to the
website, and acquiring confidential information then redirecting the person to the real site.
Presently, most of the phishing attacks come as fake offerings or gifts (Konradt, Schilling &
Werners, 2016).
Spam email is another common type of computer crime. Spam email occurs in the form
of mass distribution of numerous emails that advertise services, products, or mostly fraudulent
investment schemes (Panwar, 2014). A spam message cons or tricks a person into believing that
he or she will get a genuine service or product at a discounted price. However, the spammer goes
ahead to ask for sensitive information or money. After the victim pays money or discloses
confidential information such as credit card number, the spammer uses that information to

COMPUTER CRIMES

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commit fraud or crimes. Today, most spammers use social engineering attacks such as phishing
e-mails or spreading malicious codes to get money or sensitive information from victims.
Hacking is the most common type of computer crimes. Hacking is defined as the illegal
access and consequent usage of another person’s computer system (Panwar, 2014). Hacking
occurs in various forms, right from unauthorized collection of information to invading into target
systems. Hacking happens through a technology-based approach where a person is deceived into
trusting that he or she is engaging with a real computer system and telling the target that the
computer system that he is using has a problem. The user will then provide confidential
information. For instance, in a Trojan horse attack, a computer criminal conceals unapproved
instructions with a program, and the instructions remain inactive until a particular event occurs
within which the instructions get activated (Panwar, 2014). Once the guidelines are enabled, they
invade the system and organize the instructions into botnets that attack the entire system to
sabotage their operation or steal information.
Cyber harassment refers to the use of communication devices such as blogs, emails,
defamatory websites, and mobile phones or electronic information to harass a person or a group
through attacks (Panwar, 2014). Cyberbullying does not end until the criminal is apprehended or
warned. Insults, taunts, and harassment over the internet are rampant among the youth, especially
over social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Cyberbullying has negative consequences as
the victim is likely to get into depression and commit suicide.
Internet fraud occurs when a computer criminal advertises nonexistent goods for sale on
the internet (Panwar, 2014). The criminal act occurs when a person is lured into buying the fake
products, but the goods are never delivered to the user. Fraudsters use money transference
services since it is stress-free to collect finances without disclosing their personal information.

COMPUTER CRIMES

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They use stolen credentials to register with websites, making locating them challenging
(Leukfeldt, Lavorgna & Kleemans, 2016). Plastic card fraud is the unlawful use of credit cards or
the stealing of plastic cards to get money or property. This type of fraud occurs when a criminal
steals data on plastic cards from retailers or cash machines and use them to buy products
(Panwar, 2014). Countering this computer crime is challenging because neither the cardholder or
the card is present at the physical till point a criminal is making payments using stolen data.
Practices for Fighting Computer Crimes
Cybersecurity implies safeguarding equipment, information, computer, computer
resources, communication devices, and information systems from unauthorized access,
modification, use, or destruction (Sebestyen & Hangan, 2017). The significance of cybersecurity
is that it allows an organization to protect its infrastructure networks. Cybersecurity also
safeguards computer systems from harmful technologies, worms, viruses, and bags. Most
organizations employ various prevention techniques and detection systems to fight computer
crimes. Conventional detection technologies applied include Tripwires, anomaly detection
systems, Honey Pots, configuration checking tools, and operating command tools (Sebestyen &
Hangan, 2017). Honey pot lures are baits deployed to trap and keep a computer criminal engage
long enough to enable identification and even arrest. The tricks are in the form of fictitious
accounts, client information, mock system administration accounts, or an array of files that seem
to contain confidential information. In addition to enabling the identification of an attacker,
honey pots keep evidence of computer crime attacks.
Tripwires are software applications that take pictures of crucial infrastructure features
that can be used to identify essential file modifications. Therefore, tripwires give evidence of
computer crimes since most of the attackers modify systems and alter file systems or fix

COMPUTER CRIMES

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backdoor entry and directory features when prying on an organization's information systems.
Vulnerability assessment tools or configuration checking tools are software applications that
identify insecure networks (Sebestyen & Hangan, 2017). Even though the function of
configuration checking tools is to prevent attacks, they can also be used as monitoring devices to
provide evidence of computer crimes. Configuration checking tools detect suspicious patterns of
the information infrastructure that may be malicious.
Anomaly detection systems detect unusual activities in information systems. Most
importantly, these systems generate and study host and network activities, user profiles, and
system programs, hoping to detect deviations from ordinary activities (Sebestyen & Hangan,
2017). Abnormal commands, unusual vital strokes, and unusual system activities give evidence
concerning the presence of computer crimes. Operating system commands enable detection of
intrusion through analyzing log files and comparing outputs of similar systems among the
various manual techniques. System administrators use controls to look for any evidence
suggestive of the possibility of computer crimes.
In addition to these detection techniques, necessary cybersecurity measures that should be
implemented in organizations include passwords, second-step verification programs, and antivirus programs. Most of computer criminal criminals exploit vulnerabilities in networks, i.e.,
weak passwords to penetrate websites (Reyns & Henson, 2013). A person can ensure that a
password is strong by including a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Additionally,
one can employ the services of password generators to create strong passwords. Second-step
verification is a security procedure intended to verify logging information before accessing a
network or website. Second-step verification provides an extra layer of security that does not
only need a username and passcode but additional details for the authorized individual to access

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a network. In most cases, one-time-pin (OTP) is generated for a person to login to a system, and
it expires within minutes after generation (Reyns & Henson, 2013). Lastly, anti-malware and
anti-virus are security software that safeguards computers against bugs, malware, and viruses.
They make the system inaccessible to computer crimes as well as report susp...


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