computer crime
In today's society our most valuable commodity is not grain, steel or even technology; it is information. Because of computer networks, just about everyone can now access an astounding range of information. The Internet is international, even though 80 percent of the Internet use occurs in the United States, and a staggering amount of information on every subject imaginable is available for free. Because so many people now have access, computer crimes have become more frequent. Everyone with a computer and a modem can commit a computer crime if so inclined. Anyone, conceivably, could become a "white collar" computer criminal. When the term "white collar" crime came into wide spread use several decades ago, it was thought that certain crimes were committed by persons whom no one would normally suspect of criminal behavior: professional, "white collar" workers. In the late 1990's, however, the term "white collar" is somewhat inaccurate. The playing field has been leveled by the widespread use of computers. Now "white collar crime" tends to mean simply "non violent crime" or "economic crime." As technology becomes increasingly accessible to more and more people, it also becomes a potential tool for increasing numbers of criminals
The term later came to mean a person adept to "cracking" new systems undetected. To do so would prevent us from seeing that it endangers each one of us. Magnetic strips on credit cards and ATM cards require computers to read them and to keep records of the millions of transactions made ever day. Some crimes such as embezzlement, wire fraud, and forgery, are already covered under existing law. La Macchia, a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, distributed free software through a bulletin board service on a M. It includes crimes that are committed with a computer, crimes that occur in cyber space, and crimes committed against a computer. For these reasons, computer crimes are considered white collar. Some cyber-criminals obtain the codes by "shoulder surfing" or looking over the shoulder of unwary people in phone booths. Phreaks broke into the NYPD's phone system and changed the taped message that greeted callers. Phreaks, crackers, and sometimes hackers illegally access and use voice mail, e-mail, and network access accounts-which constitute toll fraud or wire fraud. " We are all users," in the words of Buck Bloonbecker, whether or not we actually use computers, because we all rely on them. The new message said, "officers are too busy eating doughnuts and drinking coffee to answer the phones. Software piracy is another growing and seemingly insurmountable problem. The enormous range of computer crimes means that all of society should be concerned about computer security, regardless of our individual level of computer expertise.
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