Crimes in Technology

1. COMPUTER AND
INTERNET CRIME
CHAPTER 3

2. VIGNETT
E
The Reveton
Ransomware Attacks
1. Ransomware is a malware that disables a computer or
smartphone until the victim pays a fee or ransom.
2. While searching the internet, their computers locked
up, and they received the following message,
purportedly from the FBI: “This operating system is
locked due to the violation of the federal laws of the
United States of America! (Article 1, Section 8, Clause
8; Article 202; Article 210 of the Criminal Code of
U.S.A. provides for a deprivation of liberty for four to
twelve years.)
3. The message then accused the victim either of
visiting pornography Web Sites or of distributing
copyrighted content.
4. Victims were told they could unlock their computers
and avoid prosecution by paying a fine of $200 within
72 hours of receiving the message.
5. The message came replete with the official Logo.
Countries affected by
this are:
1. France
2. Germany
3. United Kingdom
4. United States of
America
Applications needs to be
upgraded:
1. Java
2. Acrobat Reader
3. Adobe Flash
4. Windows
5. Browser (Mozilla, Google

3. IT SECURITY INCIDENTS: A MAJOR CONCERN
The security of information used in business is of utmost importance. Confidential business data and private
customer and employee information must be safeguarded, and systems must be protected against malicious
acts of theft or disruption.
IT professionals, and IT users all face a number of ethical decisions regarding IT security, such as the
following:
 If a firm is a victim of a computer crime, should it pursue prosecution of the criminals
at all costs, maintain a low profile to avoid the negative publicity, inform its affected
customers, or take some other action?
 How much effort and money should be spent to safeguard against computer crime?
(In other words, how safe is safe enough?)
 If a company realizes that it has produced software with defects that make it possible
for hackers to attack customer data and computers, what actions should it take?
 What should be done if recommended computer security safeguards make conducting
business more difficult for customers and employees, resulting in lost sales and
increased costs?

4. Table below shows the occurrence of common computer security incidents at 149 U. S.-based
organizations that responded to the 2010/2011 CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey.

5. Why Computer Incidents Are So Prevalent?
In today’s computing environment of increasing complexity, higher user expectations, expanding and
changing systems, and growing reliance on software with known vulnerabilities, it is no wonder that
the number, variety, and impact of security incidents are increasing dramatically. Table below shows
the ranking of the best and worst countries in terms of percent of computers infected by malware as
determined by Kaspersky Lab, a provider of computer security software and services.
Separately, the Business Software Alliance recently analyzed 24 countries representing the major users
of information and communications technology in the world. The countries were rated based on data
privacy, cybersecurity, cybercrime control, protection of intellectual property, IT infrastructure, free
trade, technology interoperability, and the compatibility of country criminal laws with international
standards regarding computer crime. Japan was the highest ranked country—with Australia, Germany,
the United States, and France also rated highly. Brazil was rated dead last, primarily because it has no
law that guarantees the privacy of data transfer, and its laws against cybercrime are very weak.