Computer Crime: Technology and Cyberspace

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A major part of the world today revolves around technology and cyberspace. Almost every day one will use a type of computer in some way, whether it is work related or if it is for personal use such as social networking. Another thing occurring on a daily basis is criminals committing either trivial or major crimes; so it is not hard to imagine that these two actions would start to syndicate into one. Cyber-crime is defined as “unauthorized use of a computer for personal gain” (Dictionary.com), but the true depth of the definition is so much deeper. Anyone can be affected by cyber-crime, it can affect personal computer users all the way to massive corporations. There are many government agencies trying to get control of this growing problem. Cyber-crime is a problem affecting everyone; it will continue to grow unless computer users become educated on the threats out in cyberspace and become aware of the risks taken every day when one logs on to his or her computer.
“As in the past, it is criminals who have been among the first to recognize the potential of a wide-open, sparsely populated, and poorly policed space (Fuller 11).” That is exactly what cyberspace was in the beginning, and most of it is new territory still. One way to become aware of the cyber-crimes one can fall victim to is to first know what types are out there. The top five cyber-crimes are the following: tax-refund fraud, corporate account takeover, identity theft, theft of sensitive data, and theft of intellectual property (Singleton 2). Also, all cyber-crimes have three things in common; the tools needed to commit the crime, a strategy on how to follow through with the crime, and the outcome which is the crime itself (Singleton 2). There are also different forms...

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