Argumentative Essay Scaffold

Draft
INTRO Cyber fraud is a very common form of cyber-crime which is usually used  Background
(LEGISLATION) by offenders to gain money dishonestly. With innocent members of the information on the
issue
public being cheated out of their money, anti-cyber-crime laws are vital in
 Why is the issue
order to keep citizens of Queensland safe from harm. The Cybercrime Act currently being
(2001) currently exists in the area of cyber fraud. This legislation covers discussed?
unauthorised access with intent to commit a serious offence,  Who are the
unauthorised impairment of electronic communication, unauthorised stakeholders?
impairment of data held on a computer disk, unauthorised modification of  Define terms
juvenile, indictable
data to cause impairment and unauthorised access to, or modification of,
and serious
restricted data. offences
Recent concerns by stakeholders in the community have prompted the  hypothesis
investigation of the sufficiency of the Cybercrime Act (2001) in preventing
cyber fraud and to create a relevant suggestion to improve the regulation
of the legislation.
BODY PARA 2  Mention 2
(KEY ASPECTS opposing/
OF THE different
The Cybercrime Act (2001) currently protects individuals from identity
LEGISLATION) viewpoints of
theft by convicting offenders to sentences of two to ten years of stakeholders (e.g.
imprisonment (Woodgate Roger, 2003; The Cybercrime Act, 2001). community or
government) in
Another way that the Cybercrime Act (2001) is currently protecting regards to the
amendment’s
individuals from cyber fraud and initially identity theft, is by increasing
 Explain the
police power to allow federal police, with a warrant, to obtain computer positives and
parts for up to 75 hours and conduct a detailed examination (Woodgate negatives of the
Roger, 2003). law

However, the Cybercrime Act (2001) is only effective once an offender has
been caught or suspected of committing a crime. Furthermore, there is
great concern amongst stakeholders within the community as cybercrime
is generally “one of the most under-reported forms of criminal activity”
(‘Crime and criminal justice statistics’, 2009; Australian Government,
2006). Stakeholders within the police force are troubled by the high
amount of companies that are reluctant to publicly declare cyber-crime or
fraud incidents that may negatively affect consumer confidence (2006). In
2002, only 31% of organisations reported computer security incidents to
law enforcement (Australian Law Journal, 2009). In 2005, incidents of
cybercrime had increased but the level of reporting to law enforcement
had remained unchanged (2009). The possibility that there are significant
efforts being made to conceal fraudulent attacks, have also impacted
individual victims of the crime as they are hesitant to take the steps
needed to pay further costs in pursing offenders, due to the fear of being
unable to recover loss and pay the cost of investigation.
BODY PARA 3 Detection and prosecution of cybercrime requires private and government  Based on the
(RECCOMENDA contributions and the failure of either of these elements will result in information
TIONS) discussed, provide
undetectable fraud and increased losses.
alternative
solutions to the
In corporate and private sectors, “significant costs are already expended concerns raised by
on internal cybercrime and fraud teams” (Australian Law Journal, 2009), stakeholders
however, co-operation with law enforcement is the real indication of and/or yourself
success in regards to internet security. In order to promote honest
reporting of incidents of cyber fraud within these sectors, it is suggested
that an external auditor employed by the state be routinely implemented
(either each month or more frequently) to monitor and ensure that data
isn’t being forged to conceal fraudulent attacks. This will further enhance
law enforcement's ability to effectively regulate cybercrime.

Conclusion The increase in cybercrime has presented unique challenges for the law  Sum everything up
enforcement, and is a matter which demands co-operation between law briefly in order of
how it was written
enforcement and the corporate and private sector.
Thus, by the investigation of the Cybercrime Act (2001), it can be seen
that the legislation would be sufficient if it were regulated effectively
through the co-operation of the private sector and corporate sector in
making sure that incidents of cyber fraud are reported.