The purpose of my thesis is to analyse and focus on the very actual topic of the Internet and computer criminality. The reason I chose this topic for my research is growing development of technology resulting in the evolution of new types of crimes, which need to be regulated by the law. The thesis is composed of six chapters, each of them dealing with different aspects of the cybernetic criminality. Chapter one is introductory and mainly focuses on the definition of the basic terminology used in the thesis, like computer systems, data, computer crime, internet crime and most importantly cybercrime. Chapter two gives a brief historical background to the relationship between the evolution of the information and communication technology and the appearance of the cybernetic crime. Chapter three discusses on the specifics of the cybercrime by the means of description of the typical cybercriminal, his motives, and his victims and last but not least of the possible prevention measures. The last part of this chapter concentrates on problems resulting from the transnational nature of cybercrime, which creates jurisdictional issues. Chapter four is subdivided into three main parts and provides an outline of the relevant International legislation in the field of cybercrime. Part one deals with the main...

Criminal and criminological aspects of ransomware spreading Abstract This diploma thesis deals with issues of ransomware spreading and examines certain criminal and criminological aspects of this cybercrime phenomenon. Ransomware is malware that encrypts, blocks or prevents access to the computer system or data in a computer system. In connection to this, it demands monetary or other ransom. This diploma thesis firstly describes ransomware from the point of view of its function and technical aspects, including its history, categorization of its variations and description of several notable infection examples, namely WannaCry, Petya, DoubleLocker and Vir Policie. Following section describes possible criminal qualifications according to Czech substantive criminal law, including the consideration of specifics of different ransomware variations and potential development of this criminal aktivity. The final part focuses on criminological aspects of ransomware spreading. It beggins with a description of the crime status and dynamics, including further details about latency and trends. Then follows the description of perpetrator and victim in view of certain criminological theories. Finally, criminological part comprises a chapter about crime control and prevention, which includes practical parts that aim to help...

published_or_final_version / Computer Science / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study discussed the issue of computer crime as it relates to the criminal justice system, specifically law enforcement. The information was gathered through several books, academic journals, governmental documents, and the Internet. First, the nature and forms of computer crime, Internet crime, and cyber terrorism were analyzed. Next, law enforcement responses were discussed. International aspects of the problem were separately pointed out. Further, detection and investigation of computer crime were examined. Problems related to the each component of the criminal justice system (law enforcement, investigators, prosecutors, and judges) were described. Specific solutions to these problems were offered. In addition, computer crime handling procedures were presented. Results indicate that computer crime will increase in the 21st century, and this problem cannot be controlled by traditional methods alone. Using new technology as preventive measures, and increasing awareness and security conscious culture will prevent the problem in the long run.

Electronic commerce was expected to grow exponentially, but the actual rate of growth in recent years has been disappointing. Recent surveys of perceptions of the development of electronic commerce clearly focus our attention on the perception and fear of computer crime as the major cause of this disappointing growth pattern. The thesis critiques existing private law solutions to this problem and argues from a normative theory on “the commons” for the application of new public law enforcement solutions in the public trust, sanctions, and public coproduction of order. The thesis argues that given the failures of existing private law solutions to the problem, these public law enforcement solutions should be more effective, efficient, and more satisfactory.

In this study, the development of the computer related crime will be examined in the first chapter. After a detailed introduction to computer crimes, the most common types of the computer crimes will be examined and the characteristics of the offenders and their motivates will be identified. The general investigation process of the computer crime investigation will be outlined in the second chapter. After attempting to define computer crime, computer criminals and investigation process, a case study related to the topic will be examined and the characteristics and the motives of the criminals will be identified. In the last chapter the response by law enforcement officers to high technology crime will be discussed.

While computer technology is generally intended to increase employee productivity and effectiveness that same computer technology may be used in negative ways that reduces productivity and increases cost in the business environment. Computer abuse has occurred in the past 12 months in more than half of the business environments surveyed by the Computer Security Institute. To date, research results still indicate that employee computer abuse is problematic and continues to significantly increase. It is estimated American businesses will lose $63 billion each year due to employees' computer abuse on the Internet. This study was a predictive study that attempted to predict employees' computer abuse intention (CAI) in the business environment based on the contribution of attitude (ATT), computer security policy awareness (CSPA), and computer self-efficacy (CSE). Working professionals from the south central United States were surveyed to determine their ATT toward computer abuse, CSPA, and CSE, as well as their intention to commit computer abuse in the business environment. A theoretical model was proposed, and two statistical methods were used to formulate models and test predictive power: Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR). It was predicted that ATT, CSPA, and CSE will have a significant impact on employee's CAI. Results demonstrated that ATT was a significant predictor in predicting employee CAI on both the MLR and OLR regression models. CSE was a significant predictor on the MLR model only. CSPA was not found to be a significant predictor of CAI on either regression models. There are two main contributions of this study. First, to develop and empirically validate models for predicting employee's CAI in the business environment. Second, to investigate the most significant construct of the three constructs studied that contribute to the employee's CAI in the business environment.

Law enforcement agencies worldwide, including those in Australia, have declared partnerships with the private sector to police e-crime as “critical”. However, this strategy faces uncertainties about appropriate formats and the potential for fostering corruption. Sarre and Prenzler’s (2000) Regulated Intersections model proposes that, to avoid corruption, cooperation must be limited and regulated closely. Consequently, this thesis examines the conditions under which investigative partnership policing of e-crime at the state police level can be mutually beneficial to police and the private sectors, while maintaining public interests. The thesis aims, therefore, to establish normative standards and guidelines for configuring effective and ethical public-private partnerships for e-crime investigation. An exploratory analysis of 3529 e-crime incidents, reported to and cleared by Victoria Police during 1999/00 to 2003/04, investigated the nature of reported e-crime, routine factors affecting its successful investigation and whether partnership was one of those factors. A pilot survey canvassed private sector responses to these issues and partnered e-crime investigation. Thirty-seven interviews were conducted with police, private investigators and e-crime victims. During the research, three Australian attempts at public-private investigative partnership formed to varying success, including the Joint Banking and Finance Sector Investigation Team (JBFSIT) at the Australian High Tech Crime Centre.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries have seen a phenomenal growth in society's use of information technology. Criminals, including terrorists and terrorist organizations, have also adopted information technologies. Information technologies are used to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness of terrorist activities and offenses. Investigating terrorist use of information technologies creates a number of challenges for law enforcement officials. While some of the challenges are encountered during conventional criminal investigations, terrorist investigations also present unique challenges. Through content and typological analysis, this study examined open source information to identify, categorize and propose a model of these challenges. Four primary categories were identified: technology, methodology, legal, and administration and human resources challenges.

No description available.