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Computer crimes: what the governemt should do to curb them
“‘WORMS’ and ‘viruses’ were described in biology text books, not police reports. Today terms like these bring to mind crashed networks, massive disruptions in communications and infrastructure systems, and billions of dollars in damages.” (John Ashcroft, US Attorney General)
In one of its decisions, The American Supreme Court has defined “Internet” as “an international network of interconnected computers.” “Cybercrime” denotes “a crime where a computer or a network of computers is the primary factor in committing the criminal offence.” Just like any other revolutionary technology, the Internet has an immense potential not only for advancement, but also for abuse. Computer network break-ins, corporate espionage, privacy violations, software piracy, pornography, fraud, stalking by e-mail, etc., are just some of the crimes facilitated by the Internet.
There is a general misconception that crimes committed online are not as grave as traditional crimes. In fact, today’s powerful computers make it possible for a cybercriminal to do an amount of damage far beyond what a single person could do in the conventional world of crime. Also, compared to the usual methods of robbery, etc., which also expose the criminal to danger, cyber-crime offers no physical threat to the offender. A criminal sitting in the comfort of his house, armed with just a personal computer connected to a modem, can successfully victimize businesses and individuals anywhere in the world. In 1991, the National Research Council (USA), agreeing with this reality, stated in its report “Computers at Risk”:
“The modern thief can steal more with a computer than with a gun. Tomorrow’s terrorist may be able to do more with a keyboard than with a bomb.”
According to a report prepared by the BBC, cybercrime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities on the globe. Keeping in view the extent to which computers have become an indispensable ingredient of modern life, it was certain that some people would see the Internet as an opportunity to cause mischief or make money. Following is a brief account of some of the various categories of cyber-crime as identified by different law enforcement agencies:
1. Recreational hacking: It is the act of gaining access to a system and showing up failings in its security, just for the sake of intellectual challenge. “Hackers” is the name given to those who indulge in this activity.
2. Criminal hacking: Financial gain, sabotage, revenge are the usual motives behind it. Those who commit criminal hacking are called “crackers.”
3. Political hacking: It is a form of criminal hacking. Political activists deface websites in order to put across their message and discredit their adversaries. They are sometimes called “hacktivists.”
4. Denial of service attacks: In it a website, server, or system is flooded with data, with the intention of making it collapse. According to the American FBI, the amount and intensity of such attacks is unprecedented.
5. Viruses: A virus is a programme that, having been installed into a system, replicates itself and attaches itself to other programmes, causing a variety of harmful effects. Viruses were once spread by floppy disks. These days one is either concealed inside a file downloaded from the Internet, or attached to an e-mail message.
6. Software piracy: It is the unauthorised use, copying, or distribution of software. Kinds of software piracy consist of: softlifting, hard-disk loading, counterfeiting, and online piracy. Software piracy causes a huge loss of income to the companies that manufacture programmes, games, etc., for business and individual users.
7. Cybersquatting: It is the act of reserving or registering an Internet address—-mostly a company name—-with the aim of selling it to its true or rightful owner. According to the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a US federal law, “cybersquatting is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.”
8. Fraud: The Internet has given a new boost to financial scams and get-rich-quick schemes. Auction sites on the web also offer opportunities for fraud. It often happens that goods that have been ordered and paid for online are never delivered. An Internet scam may be concealed in an apparently credible website that provides no means of checking whether the site owner is legitimate or not.
9. Cyberstalking: According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, USA, cyberstalking is the threatening behaviour or unwanted advances directed at another using the Internet and other forms of online and computer communications. Victims are targeted through email, chat rooms, message boards, and discussion forums.
10. Pornography and paedophilia: The Internet facilitates the exchange of pornographic images of children between paedophiles, who have thousands of pictures at their fingertips. Also, there are innumerable websites containing obscene material of every nature that can be viewed and downloaded without any difficulty.
11. Hate sites: These are Websites, maintained by extremists, promoting racial, religious, or any other kind of hatred.
12. Criminal communications: Criminal groups active in Europe, Great Britain, etc., are using the Internet to organize their criminal activities. Their main means of communication is the e-mail.
The above narration may sound like an imaginary tale, but it is solid fact. The following instances will elucidate the reality of cybercrime:
1. In 1986, “Pakistani Brain”, one of the first computer viruses, was released. It infected IBM computers around the world.
2. In 1988, Robert Morris released the first Internet worm and crashed over 6,000 net-linked computers, crippling the Internet.
3. In 1994, Vladimir Levin, a Russian student and a mastermind behind a criminal hacker gang, broke into Citibank’s network and transferred $10 million into his account.
4. In 1997, a nationwide survey conducted by the University of Cincinnati, USA, found that about 25 per cent of stalking incidents among college age women involved cyberstalking.
5. In 1999, the Melissa virus caused an estimated $80 million in damage when it swept around the world, paralysing e-mail systems.
6. In 2000, the biggest e-commerce sites on the Internet fell like dominoes. First, it was Yahoo! Inc. On February 6, 2000, it was shut down for three hours. The next day, Buy.com Inc. was hit. By the same evening, CNN, eBay, and Amazon.com had gone dark. And in the morning, the mayhem continued with online broker E* Trade and others. All this caused over $1 billion in losses and shook the confidence of business and individuals in e-commerce.
7. Also in 2000, hackers-for-hire pleaded guilty to breaking into phone giants AT&T, GTE, and Sprint, among others, for calling card numbers that eventually made their way to organised crime gangs in Italy. According to the American FBI, the phone companies were hit for an estimated $2 million.
8. In 2001, software piracy caused a worldwide revenue loss of around $11 billion.
9. In June 2003, the UK Labour Party’s official website fell victim to hackers. The content of Labour Party news was replaced by an image of US President George Bush carrying his dog with British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s head superimposed on it.
10. In July 2003, a news report stated that according to the UK Fraud Advisory Panel, identity thefts in UK are causing the economy an estimated 1.3 billion pounds a year.
11. In July 2003, another news report declared that criminal gangs in Australia, by skimming personal information from credit cards, are costing banks, businesses, and customers more than $300 million a year.
Cybercrime is an undeniable reality. In USA, government agencies, including the Secret Service, Department of Defence, Customs Service, State Department, and the FBI have all committed money and manpower to cybercrime-fighting units. Also, laws have been enacted that not only define various cybercrimes, but also describe the rules of jurisdiction and procedure in order to effectively prosecute these offences. Examples of such laws are: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, No Electric Theft Act, etc. However, it is interesting to note that despite all these efforts, the United States is still not fully up to the task of dealing with or preventing all cyberattacks. Law enforcement officials cite a number of difficulties in fighting technology-savvy enemies. For instance, recruiting persons with advanced technological skills on government salaries remains a problem—-the salaries at the corporate level are much high. Similarly, as soon as law enforcement agencies find a technological fix for a problem, cybercriminals usually have already devised new technological strategies.
In Pakistan, at the moment, the rate of crime committed with the aid of computers may not be as high as is in the western developed countries, but the pace at which the Internet and computers are creeping into our corporate and private lives we will soon be having its full taste. Ironically, the government so far seems to have been ignoring the inevitable threat of cybercrime. The only known step taken in this regard is the creation of National Response Center for Cyber Crimes, in 2003. However, without proper statutes — as in USA, etc — to deal with the multifarious offences, the criminals will find numerous loopholes and escape routes in the system, rendering any prosecution futile. To conclude, so as to be able to prevent and deal with cyber crimes, the government must:
1. Recruit people for crime-fighting who have:
a. Degrees in computer science or law or both,
b. Prior work experience in field and academic institutions,
c. Commercial training,
d. Knowledge of basic data and telecommunications networks, and
e. Experience with various computer operating systems.
2. Enact laws that address various cybercrimes.
More info:
1. Computer Crime; available at
2. Cybercrime; available at
3. Cyber Crime; available at
4. Cybercrime Time-Line; available at
5. Cybersquatting; available at
6. Cybersquatting; available at
7. Cyberstalking; available at
8. Cyberstalking - a Very Real Problem; available at
9. Labour Website Hacked; available at
10. Piracy; available at
11. Software Piracy; available at
12. Ashcroft, John; Attorney General John Ashcroft’s Remarks before the First Annual Computer Privacy, Policy and Security Institute (May 22, 2001); available at
13. Greek, Dinah; Credit Card Hackers Swap Tricks Online; available at
14. Lancaster, Kristin; The Art of Computer Hacking; available at
15. Nicholson, Brendan; Cyber Gangs Skim Millions in Australia; available at
16. Pollitt, Mark M.; Cyberterrorism - Fact or Fancy?; available at
17. Veta, D. Jean; Testimony of D. Jean Veta, Deputy Associate Attorney General, before the house Subcommittee on the Courts and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary (June 29, 2000); available at
18. Wolven, Casey; Is Computer Hacking a Crime?; available at
The writer
