Have you ever read your bank statement and found charges that you never made? Have you been working on your computer and noticed that all of a sudden it is working much more slowly or many ads keep popping up? These things are evidences of potential computer crimes. Pauline Go has listed a few of the crimes that individuals can experience. Computer crimes can also target businesses, industries, and even governments. The Target scandal affected 40 million shoppers this past year. I was affected by this because my bank noted I had shopped on Black Friday at Target and they wanted to prevent a crime against my account. This type of crime is becoming such a problem that the U.S. Department of Justice actually has a computer crime and intellectual property section. This section of the department works to fight computer criminals. The FBI also has a cyber crimes unit. They work to mitigate identity theft, fraud, and computer intrusions as noted by their website.
Earlier this year a young boy in our school district gained control of the school's robo-calling system and sent a message to over 500 families telling them that school was closed the next day. As you can see by this article, the local police didn't know exactly what to charge him with. The article doesn't mention that the messages came from the school phone number and therefore were very convincing. It also doesn't tell you that the problem was discovered quickly and they did end up having school that day. So, computer crimes can be carried out in a wide variety of ways and it doesn't take a degree in computer science to break into computers or steal identities.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that in 2005, 67% of businesses had experienced at least one cybercrime. In the European Union, organized crime groups take $1.9 billion dollars from credit card users according to Huffington Post in 2013. Numbers like these probably do not paint even half of the problems that computer criminals create. Back in the days of yesteryear, the Lone Ranger would ride into town and take care of the bad guys. Today we have Anonymous and other hactivists that use computers to disrupt computer criminals or to be political activists. Here is a case where Anonymous felt the need to ride in on his/her shining white computer to fight for those that were crying for help in Kenya. Just as it was never quite known if the Lone Ranger was a good guy or a bad guy until the end of the show, it is difficult t tell whether the hacktivists are really the good guys or not. Until there is a better way to catch computer criminals, we may see hacktivists riding in to try to save the day.
I find it amazing that 25 years ago an entire industry such as cybercrime units, now a major element in law enforcement did not exist. The expansion of the internet has created new fields of studies, new industries and unfortunately new forms of crimes. The case you provide is interesting because it highlights the fact that even with specialize task force to deal with large scale cybercrimes law on the local level does not yet fully know or considered how to deal with “smaller” cybercrime. As a leader, how would you have dealt with the misuse of the Waterloo School phone systems? If the nature of the crime was different, let’s say they used the system to promote a fake bomb scare at the school, do you think the Waterloo police department would have reacted differently?
ReplyDeleteMichael -
DeleteI would have treated it as a crime, because it impacted attendance, which ultimately could have bearing on funding if it became a habit. I suspect the police department would have handled it much differently if it had been a bomb scare. The more I am learning, the more I appreciate the college's IT department that demands very tight security on the college's computers. Having a student break into electronic records could be a huge problem. The example from the small rural high school in my hometown indicates that students are trying to break into things. I suspect that is no different for a college.
Good summary. As the Internet of Things becomes more of a daily part of our lives, there will be those taking advantage of our required access. If you do anything beyond pure cash transactions, odds are you will be a victim. Last year, I had to close down my PayPal account after it was hacked by someone in Iran ... and I had the feds asking about why I was spending $95 to buy something for someone in Iran. Paypal had flagged the transaction, so it never went through and I never lost the money.
ReplyDeleteBritt -
DeleteI have gotten hit once a year for the last several years. I have fortunately had it caught very early each time and have not had to pay anything. One of the times it was a person at the credit card processing center that stole the number. The surveillance systems that banks, etc. have now for this type of crime catches things so quickly. I was notified within 10 minutes of one of the transactions.
Hello Julie - Great post! I have had my information stolen before as well. While I was working someone stole my wallet in January 2003. Fortunately I was able to shut down the criminals before they did much damage. My bank was able to take care of things but it did cause some problems until everything was wrapped up. I wish alerts was in place to help inform of charges on the first transaction, but I am glad to see the improvements they have made in the field.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the credit scandal at Target last fall, the company has taken measures to ensure it does not happen again. All the systems have been updated and new credit card machines have been installed. Are new CEO just got announced on July 31. His name is Brian Cornell and he is the first CEO to be hired from the outside. He comes with a strong background that includes grocery and technology. It should be interesting to see how things play out.
Heather -
DeleteI have read many articles online that note that Europe does not have the same problems that we do because they have computer chips in their credit/debit cards. Do you have any inside information on whether that will become a reality here?
This is a very timely topic. I imagine that most of us who have used a credit card or a debit card have, by now, been hit by some sort of cybercrime/fraud that has been perpetrated against us and our accounts. The good news that I can see is that I now get regular calls from my credit card company any time I have make a credit card purchase that is anywhere outside of the traditional location or size of the history of my normal transactions.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, the growing cost of the cyber-security forces that banks and other financial agencies must employ is a cost that is borne by each of us and leads to a general decrease in productivity in our economy. Is the growing cost of cyber-security worth paying in light of the ease of transactions made when shopping over the Internet? My guess is that the answer is yes. It seems to be "the cost of doing business" just as the stagecoach companies had to hire someone to ride shotgun as money was transported from one location to another in the times of the Wild West.
I think our cyber-security force is the 21st Century addition of that shotgun rider.
Joe Hollowell
Joe -
DeleteI think you are correct in assuming it is the cost of doing business. Consumers expect to do things online and using online technologies to make purchases. They will pay more for this luxury, but I expect they won't mind due to the convenience.