CYBER CRIME
Chapter 7

Prosecution and Governmental Efforts to Combat Computer Crime

• Computer Specific Statutes, page 189-190
o Fraud and Embezzlement
o Terrorism or Espionage
o Child Seduction & Exploitation
o Stalking
o Access Device Fraud

• National Information Infrastructure Protection Act (1996)
o Prosecute individuals for trafficking of passwords
o Prosecute offenders who attempt to extort money by threatening computer harm
o Prosecute offenders who attempt to access a protected computer even if there was no intent to cause damage to the computer

• Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (1998)
o First act to make the possession of another’s personal identifying information a crime, punishable by up to 20 years in prison
o Also provided for a system of victim restitution, including attorney’s fees, lost time at work, and denial of credit

• Aggravated Identity Theft: Offenders who use a stolen or fraudulent identity to commit additional crime are subject to longer prison sentences
o Established by the Identity Theft penalty Enhancement Act (2004)

• Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act (2008)
o Broadened the scope of activities which may be prosecuted as identity theft and provided mechanisms for the recovery of direct funds stolen from victims
o Also provided for the recovery of indirect costs of victimization including lost wages and credit rehabilitation

• President’s Working Group on Unlawful Conduct on the Internet
o Individuals from business community, government entities and civil liberty/nonprofit advocacy organizations
o Charged with analyzing legal and policy issues involving the Internet
for criminal behavior
 Develop mechanisms for tracking and identifying on-line offenders
 Improve training for average user to decrease risk
 Enhance current laws that address identity fraud to include the Internet and computers
 Local LE agencies should establish a presence on the Net
o Introducing the community to the department
o Enabling citizens to make comments, suggestions and complaints

• Innocent Images (1995): federally funded program that investigated over 800 cases in which adults had traveled interstate to meet minors for illicit purposes and more than 1,850 cases of child pornography in a five-year period

International Efforts to Address Cyber Crime
• Japan and England have enacted computer crime statutes
• Hong Kong, China has expanded their Telecommunications Ordinance to generally address cyber crime
• Philippines created cyber crime laws after the creator of the Love Bug Virus was acquitted
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF): established in 1989 to combat money laundering; represents 31 jurisdictions from six continents
• All countries develop criminal statutes and avenues for prosecution of money laundering and financing of terrorism
• All countries require financial institutions to perform due diligence by reporting suspicious activity, establish “know your customer” policies and strengthen customer identification measures in wire transfers, both domestically and internationally
• All governments cooperate with each other in the investigation of money laundering and terrorist financing. Develop mutual legal assistance treaties and information sharing