Cybercrime: Criminal Threats from Cyberspace (Crime, Media, and Popular Culture)

This fascinating and timely book traces the emergence and evolution of cybercrime as an increasingly intransigent threat to society.Cybercrime: Criminal Threats from Cyberspace is intended to explain two things: what cybercrime is and why the average citizen should care about it. To accomplish that task, the book offers an overview of cybercrime and an in-depth discussion of the legal and policy issues surrounding it. Enhancing her narrative with real-life stories, author Susan W. Brenner traces the rise of cybercrime from mainframe computer hacking in the 1950s to the organized, professional, and often transnational cybercrime that has become the norm in the 21st century. She explains the many different types of computer-facilitated crime, including identity theft, stalking, extortion, and the use of viruses and worms to damage computers, and outlines and analyzes the challenges cybercrime poses for law enforcement officers at the national and international levels. Finally, she considers the inherent tension between improving law enforcement's ability to pursue cybercriminals and protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens. Cover Page 1 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Series Foreword 9 Contents 7 Chapter 1. Twenty-First Century Twilight Zone: Stalking a Town 13 INTRODUCTION 13 STALKING A TOWN 15 Chapter 2. From Mainframes to Metaverse: The Origins and Evolution of Cybercrime 21 WHAT IS CYBERCRIME? 21 THE EMERGENCE OF CYBERCRIME (1950–1990) 22 Mainframes and the Rise of Hacking 22 Phone Phreaking 25 Hacking 26 Malware 32 CYBERCRIME INCREASES IN INCIDENCE AND COMPLEXITY (1990–2009) 35 Hacking Evolves 35 Twenty-First-Century Phone Phreaking 41 Malware Evolves 42 Cyberspace + Crime = Cybercrime 48 Chapter 3. Three Categories of Cybercrime 51 TARGET CYBERCRIMES 51 TOOL CYBERCRIMES 54 COMPUTER INCIDENTAL 57 Chapter 4. Target Cybercrimes: Hacking, Malware, and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks 61 HACKING 62 ‘‘Outsider’’ Hacking 63 ‘‘Insider’’ Hacking 68 MALWARE 75 DDOS 80 Chapter 5. Tool Cybercrimes: Fraud, Harassment . . .Murder? 85 HACKING CASINOS 85 CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY 87 Theft 88 Extortion and Blackmail 92 Fraud 95 CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS 100 Psychological Harm 100 Physical Harm 110 Chapter 6. Cyber-CSI: Computer Crime Scene 115 INTRODUCTION 115 THE PORT OF HOUSTON ATTACK 116 EVIDENTIARY CHALLENGES 118 Trojan Horse Defense 118 Admissibility of Evidence 121 PRIVACY 130 Chapter 7. Beyond War Games: Who Are the Cybercriminals? 133 HACKERS 133 INSIDERS 135 FRAUDSTERS30 138 STALKERS 140 SUM 144 Chapter 8. Cyber-Law and Order: Investigating and Prosecuting Cybercrime 147 INTRODUCTION 147 CASE #1: INVITA 148 CASE #2: ROME LABS 151 OPTIONS: FORMAL OR INFORMAL 153 COLLECTING EVIDENCE 153 ARRESTING SUSPECTS 157 SUM 160 Chapter 9. U.S. Law Enforcement: Agencies and Challenges 161 INTRODUCTION 161 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: INVESTIGATING 161 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: PROSECUTING 166 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: CHALLENGES 167 Chapter 10. Global Law Enforcement: Few Agencies, Even More Challenges 175 INTRODUCTION 175 THE NEED FOR ORDER 175 KEEPING ORDER 177 REAL-WORLD CRIME AND THE LAW ENFORCEMENT MODEL 179 CYBERCRIME AND THE LAW ENFORCEMENT MODEL 182 ASSESSMENT 184 GLOBAL INITIATIVES 185 Chapter 11. Privacy versus Security: Which Trumps? 189 INTRODUCTION 189 FOURTH AMENDMENT: BACKGROUND 192 FOURTH AMENDMENT: TELEPHONES 195 FOURTH AMENDMENT: COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 201 Web Postings 206 Transactions 208 FIFTH AMENDMENT 211 FINALTHOUGHTS 215 Chapter 12. New Ways to Fight Cybercrime 219 INTRODUCTION 219 MODIFYING THE CURRENT MODEL 220 Convention on Cybercrime 220 Law Enforcement Strike-Back 223 Civilian Strike-Back 224 More Officers 226 NEWAPPROACHES 227 SUM 231 Notes 233 Index 283 21st century twilight zone : stalking a town -- From mainframes to metaverse : the origins and evolution of cybercrime -- Three categories -- Target cybercrimes : hacking, malware, etc -- Tool cybercrimes : fraud, harassment-- murder? -- Cyber-CSI : computer crime scene -- Beyond war games : who are the cybercriminals? -- Cyber-law and order : investigating and prosecuting cybercrime -- U.S. law enforcement : agencies and challenges -- Global law enforcement : fewer agencies, even more challenges -- Privacy versus security : which trumps? -- What is the future of cybercrime? Enhancing her narrative with real-life stories, the author traces the rise of cybercrime from mainframe computer hacking in the 1950s to the organized, professional, and often transnational cybercrime that has become the norm in the 21st century