Introduction
David S. Wall, author of Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age, once said, “In a nutshell, we are shocked by cybercrime, but also expect to be shocked by it because we expect it to be there, but – confusingly – we appear to be shocked if we are not shocked (if we don’t find it)!” In today’s society, cybercrimes are considered a greater threat than ever. Computer crime can be defined as a crime that is committed where the computer or electronic data device is integral to the criminal act (Kranacher, Riley, and Wells 114). Although many do not believe that they can cause any vital damage, cybercrimes such as wiretapping, piggybacking, and computer ...view middle of the document...
If the allegations are true, this would be a violation of the Federal Wiretap Act, the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and the Stored Electronic Communication Act (SECA). These accusations greatly have the potential to damage Facebook’s reputation. It can be said with certainty that there will be a lot more focus on this case in the near future (Chellel, and Hodges ).
Piggybacking/Impersonation
A second type of cybercrime that is commonly committed is known as piggybacking. This takes place when one establishes some sort of access to a restricted area without consent to do so. Usually, this occurs when one gets internet access by using another’s wireless connection without their explicit knowledge. This is a very common practice that takes place in our everyday lives and, when used against business, can have many negative consequences. Companies can prevent this cybercrime from taking place through numerous different methods. Two of the most common are by setting up Wi-Fi Protected Access (protected by a password) and/or by launching MAC filtering (only certain MAC addresses can access that specific internet connection) (McCuhil). With enough protection, this type of cybercrime can be close to nonexistent.
Recently, two Seattle men were charged and convicted of various felonies while committing cybercrimes over a 30-month period. Brad Eugene Lowe and John Earl Griffin, sentenced to 78 months and 95 months respectively, were involved in stealing equipment, credit card numbers, and payroll information to acquire money and purchase goods. After much investigation, these suspects were believed to have a car that contained mobile hacking tools to get into several businesses’ wireless networks and steal data that was used for identity theft and fraud. The businesses from whom these men piggybacked from are still trying to overcome from this and agree that only time will allow them to return to the status they were in prior to the crime being committed (Buhain). This example greatly shows that, even though piggybacking is not as big of a threat as other types of cybercrime, it can definitely have a long-term impact on those that decide to commit the offense.
Computer Viruses
A third type of cybercrime is one that every person who owns a computer has dealt with at one point or another – computer viruses. These are best known as hidden computer programs that use computer resources/activities in...
