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Computer Crime Essay Research Paper Computer CrimeComputer (стр. 2 из 2)

crimes were not looked upon as a serious issue with far-reaching effects. In

1996, computer crime has become a damaging and dangerous part of life. It is

now necessary to revamp these laws to include young offenders.

The young people committing some of these crimes have very detailed

knowledge of computer systems and computer programing. If they can handle this

type of knowledge, and commit these crimes, they should be able to foresee the

consequences of their actions. Most young hackers feel that they are bright,

and therefore should be able understand the results of their actions on other’s

computers and computer systems. The laws should treat these young offenders

like adults, because they realize what they are doing is wrong, and should

suffer the consequences.

Some of the computer crimes listed in the criminal code are only

summary offences; thus are not considered very serious. This spreads the

message to hackers that the crimes are not serious, but they are. Since the

hackers don’t view the crimes as serious, they are likely to commit more of them.

If the consequences of breaking any laws referring to computer crime were made

tougher, hackers would realize what they are doing is wrong. They will also see

other hackers being charged with offences under the criminal code ans figure out

that they may be next on the list to be punished for their actions.

Not only do these laws need to be made tougher, they need to be enforced

consistently. The Authorities must from all countries must have a conference to

discuss the need for consistent enforcement of the law referring to computer

crime. This is because computer crimes are truly international. A hacker in

Canada may break into a bank in Switzerland. Does the criminal get punished by

the laws of the U.S. or by the laws of Switzerland? This needs to be decided

upon.

The authorities must have special operations to stop computer crimes,

just as they do for drug trafficking. Much time must be devoted to stopping

these crimes, before it leads to disaster. The problem is getting out of hand

and the public must actively participate in cooperation with the authorities in

order to bring the problem under control.

Security is one matter that we can take into our own hands. Until new

laws are created and enforced, it is up to the general computer-using public to

protect themselves. The use of passwords, secure access multiports and common

sense can prevent computer crimes making victims of us all.

Passwords can add a remarkable amount of security to a computer system.

The cases where pass words have been cracked are rare. Included with the

password program must be a access restriction accessory. This limits the number

of guesses at a password to only a few tries, thus effectively eliminating 98%

of intruders.

Secure access multiports (SAM’s) are the best protection against

computer crime making a victim out of a computer user. When joining a network,

the user calls in and enters password and access code. The user is then

disconnected from the network. If the network recognizes the user as a valid

one, it will call the user back and allow he/she to log on. If the user was

invalid, the network will not attempt to re-connect with the user (see figure 1).

This prevents unwanted persons from logging on to a network.

Common sense is often the best defense against computer crime. Simple

things like checking and disinfecting for viruses on a regular basis, not

sharing your password or giving out your credit card number on online services

(ie: Internet). Also, employers can restrict access employees have to computers

at the place of employment. This would dissipate most computer crimes executed

by employees.

If new laws and enforcement of those law are not soon established, along

with heightened security measures, the world will have a major catastrophe as a

result of computer activity. The world is becoming increasingly dependant on

computers, and the crimes committed will have greater and greater impact as the

dependancy rises. The possible end of the world was narrowly averted, but was

caused by a computer crime. The United States defense computer system was

broken into, and the opportunity existed for the hacker to declare

intercontinental nuclear war; thus leading to death of the human race. Another

event like this is likely to occur if laws, enforcement of the laws and security

of computers are not beefed up. The greatest creation of all time, the computer,

should not lead the destruction of the race that created it.