COMPUTER CRIMES

Abstract

4 To combat these new criminal behaviors, Congress passed specialized legislation.5 Experts have had difficulty calculating the damage caused by computer crimes due to (i) the difficulty in adequately defining what is a computer crime,6 (ii) victims' reluctance to report incidents for fear of losing customer confidence,7 (iii) the dual system of prosecution,8 and (iv) the lack of detection.9 In 2006, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Homeland security's National Cyber security Division began a joint effort to estimate the number of cyber attacks and the number of incidents of fraud and theft of information.10 B. Types of Computer-Related Offenses DOJ divides computer-related crimes into three categories according to the computer's role in the particular crime.11 First, a computer may be the object of a crime.12 This category primarily refers to theft of computer hardware or software.13 Second, a computer may be the subject of a crime.14 In this category, the computer is akin to the pedestrian who is mugged or the house that is robbed - it is the subject of the attack and the site of any damage caused. [...] the United States and thirty-three other countries have signed the Council of Europe's Treaty on Cybercrime.394 The Treaty on Cybercrime requires parties to: (i) establish substantive laws against cybercrime; (ii) ensure that their law enforcement officials have the necessary procedural authorities to investigate and prosecute cybercrime effectively; and (iii) provide international cooperation to other parties in the fight against computer-related crime.395 While the United States has already signed the treaty, the Senate still must ratify the treaty in order to give it effect in the United States.396 Second, the United States participates actively in the Subgroup on High-tech Crime at G-8's Lyon Group.397 One accomplishment of the Subgroup includes the development of a network that allows law enforcement authorities of member nations to contact each other for rapid assistance in investigating computer crime and preserving electronic evidence.398 In addition to increased multinational governmental cooperation, international organizations and private corporations are also working to combat international computer crimes by contributing to the drive to harmonize national legislation.399 For example, in 1992 the Business Software Alliance, a software industry trade group, launched an international copyright enforcement program involving national software trade associations and law enforcement agencies that began by focusing on distribution of counterfeit software.400 Nonetheless, international efforts have been mixed.