Computer Related Crimes Case Study

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The increasing widespread adoption of computers in society has led to numerous computer related crimes. Some of these crimes are ‘pre-computer’ that existed before the advent of computers such as embezzlement, fraud or threats while others are completely ‘modern technology’ crimes that began with the introduction of computers such as hacking, viruses, phishing, denial of service and many more.
This paper gives general overview of what cybercrimes or computer related crimes are and then proceeds to discuss whether we have adequate legal tools and resources to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
1. Introduction
Cybercrimes or computer related crimes are crimes that involve a computer and a network (Moore, 2005). These crimes can be divided into a number of different categories. First, computers may be incidental to an offense. An example is where a drug trafficker uses a computer to store records of his transactions such as drug shipments and payments and therefore making the computer a tool of significant evidential value. The second category is where a computer is used as a tool for committing an offense. A case in point is the United States v
Cyberspace has become an increasingly attractive hunting ground for criminals, activists and terrorists motivated to make money, air their grievances, cause disruption or even bring down corporations and governments through online attacks. One of the most significant data breaches in recent years has been the successful theft of 143 million customer records from Equifax. This was a cyber crime with devastating consequences due to the type of personally identifiable information stolen and its effect on the credit markets. A study independently conducted by Accenture estimates the increased cost of cyber crime to be more than US$17 million in 2017 in the financial services, utilities and energy sectors (Accenture Report,

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