PPT 04

Computer Forensics and Cyber
Crime
CHAPTER 4
Contemporary
Computer Crime
Computer Forensics and Cyber Crime, 3rd ed. Copyright © 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Marjie T. Britz All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
• Explore the current state of Internet

crimes in the United States and abroad.
• Identify emerging trends in web-based

crime.
• Develop a working knowledge of the six

classifications of motive for modern
computer intruders.
Learning Objectives
• Become familiar with more computer

terms and recent laws that aid the
government in cracking down on computer
criminals.
• Gain knowledge of modern terrorists and

their use of technology which is changing
the face of terrorism completely.
Web-Based Criminal Activity
• Computer crime can involve more than

Internet-based activities:
 Financial losses
 Threats to personal security (i.e., identity
theft)
 Industrial espionage
 Threats to international security
 Threats to public safety
• Online crime, however, can include:

 Interference with lawful use of computers,
such as eco-terrorism, DOS attacks, use of
malware (e.g., viruses, worms) malware,
cybervandalism, cyberterrorism, spam, etc.
 Theft of information and copyright
infringement, such as industrial espionage,
ID theft, and ID fraud.
• Dissemination of contraband or offensive

materials, such as pornography, child
pornography, online gaming, and treasonous or
racist material
• Threatening communications, such as extortion,
cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and
cyberbullying
• Fraud, such as auction fraud, credit card fraud,
theft of services, and stock manipulation
• Ancillary crimes, such as money laundering and
conspiracy
Malware: Viruses
• Viruses, their design, and dissemination,

have gone through different phases:
 Classical Era (1960s–1970s): Involved pranks
or were accidentally distributed
 Floppy Era (1980s–1990s): Targeted DOS
machines; primarily distributed via floppy
disks
 Macro Era (1990s–2000s): Infected documents
and templates, rather than programs
 Internet Era (2000–present): More
sophisticated, seeking out vulnerable systems
Malware: Worms, DoS, and Botnets
• Worms seem primarily used to set up a

large-scale DoS attack.
• DoS (Denial of Service) and DDOS
(Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks
 Attempt to overwhelm servers, such as
through mail-bombing.
• Botnets and Zombie Armies

 Using zombies, compromised computers linked
to Internet as an army (or botnet), for theft,
extortion, or DDOS attack, for example.
Malware: Spam
• Spam
 Abuse of electronic messaging systems,
taking up resources, across multiple
platforms
Malware: Ransomware
• Ransomware and the Kidnapping of
Information
 Malware program that makes digital
resources inoperable or inaccessible in
extortive scheme
 Critical factors can include level of user's
education (less educated, more
vulnerable), sophistication of product (not
amenable to common software remedies)
Malware: Ransomware
 Examples include the PC Cyborg/Aids
information Trojan, distributed through
ordinary mail via a floppy, so that once
installed, victims had to pay $378 to regain
access to all directories and to unencrypt
files.
Theft of Information, Data
Manipulation, and Web Encroachment
• Traditional methods of proprietary
information theft can occur due to:
 Insiders, on the job or through maintenance
back doors
 Social engineering, including shoulder surfing
and dumpster diving
 Theft of equipment
 Malware
• Trade Secrets and Copyrights – Concerns:
 These forms of intellectual property have value
independent of whatever owner produces, such
as a razor company designing a new shaving
system.
 Theft can come from disgruntled employees,
competitors, and government entities.
• Political Espionage – Seriousness:
 FBI estimates that over 120 foreign
governments have intelligence operations
targeting the U.S.
 For example, Israeli intelligence secretly
monitored Presidential communications.
SEARCH (2000). The Investigation of Computer Crime. The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics:
Sacramento, CA.
Cyberterrorism
• Adeliberate, politically or religiously motivated

attack against data compilations, computer
programs, and/or information systems which is
intended to disrupt and/or deny service or
acquire information which disrupts the social,
physical, or political infrastructure of a target.
• Typical array of methods, like viruses and worms,
against U.S. government
Neo-Traditional Crime: Old Wine
in New Bottles
Dissemination of Contraband or Offensive
Materials
•Child Pornography
 Difficult to define, but generally refers to any
visual depiction of a lascivious exhibition of
the genitals or pubic area or sexually explicit
conduct of a minor
 Difficult to prosecute, as this raises First
Amendment issues about freedom of speech
in New Bottles
• Child Pornography
 Illegal in all states, prohibited by Federal law
 Primary reason for possession is pedophilia
or hebephilia, to satisfy sexual fantasies
about prepubescent children
 Sexual miscreants: to satisfy a desire for
new and different sexual stimuli
 Curiosity-seekers: to satisfy a peculiar
curiosity
 Criminal opportunists: to profit from its
distribution
in New Bottles
• Child Enticement/Exploitation
 As a way to generate child pornography and to
molest children, online predators use chat rooms to
identify victims, especially confused or ostracized
kids.
 Law enforcement has had great success with sting
operations or “honeypots” by using the same
strategy as predators, of pretending to be a child
and arranging for a meeting.
in New Bottles
• Online Pharmacies
 Used to make legitimate and illegitimate
purchases (e.g. anabolic steroids,
amphetamines, and painkillers) privately and
conveniently
in New Bottles
• Online Gambling
 Ease of access, including minors
 Open all day
 e-Banking makes it easier to play
 Might generate billions in profit
 Internet Gambling Prohibition & Enforcement
Act of 2006 makes it illegal, but is difficult to
enforce due to lack of public, international
cooperation.
in New Bottles
Threatening and harassing communications:
• Cyberstalking and Harassment
 Stalking: Willful, malicious, and repeated
following and/or harassing another person in
an effort to inflict or cause fear of actual harm
through words or deeds committed via
electronic means
 Cyberstalking: Done via electronic
communication
 Cyberharassment: Focuses on actual harm
suffered, including defacement of character
Neo-Traditional Crime: Old Wine in
New Bottles
• Cyberbulling: An aggressive, intentional act
carried out by a group or individual, using
electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and
over time against a victim who cannot
easily defend him or herself
 Illegal only in some states, not under Federal law
Smith et al., 2008: 376.
New Bottles
• Online Fraud
 Intentional deception, misrepresentation, or
falsehood made with the intention of receiving
unwarranted compensation or gratification
 Cuts across gender, social class, and race
 Comes in a broad array of forms
New Bottles
• Internet auction fraud can come in the
form of:
 Nondelivery of goods
 Misrepresentation as to condition of an item
 Addition of hidden charges (fee-stacking)
 Shill bidding (where seller submits bids to
drive up price of item)
New Bottles
• Online Credit Card Fraud: Besides
traditional fraud, can include:
 Skimming (installing devices at ATMs, for
example, to steal info from cards)
 RFID (taking info from "wave and pay" device,
like toll highway transmitters)
New Bottles
• Web-Cramming/ISP Jacking
 Web-Cramming: The unauthorized charging of
consumers via monthly telecommunication
fees
 ISP Jacking: Disconnecting individual users
from their selected Internet service providers
and redirecting them to illegitimate servers to
generate long distance charges for those using
dial-up
New Bottles
• Fraud via Data Manipulation
 Data Diddling: Any method of fraud via data
manipulation (usually involves redirecting or
rerouting data representing monies or
economic exchanges)
 Salami technique: Stealing fraction of a cent
from millions of accounts, so as to go
undetected
 IP Spoofing: Manipulation of data packets
between computers to mimic a third party and
falsely gain access to funds
Neo-Traditional Crime: Old
Wine in New Bottles
• Securities Fraud and Stock Manipulation
 Having instant access to stock values and
statistics, encouraging day-trading, buying stock
with little or no actual knowledge of the
company
 Vulnerable to dissemination of false information,
used to trick individuals to purchase stock at
inflated prices
 Insider trading: Individuals with access to
confidential information unavailable to public
use it to make stock purchases/sales, for
personal gain
New Bottles
• e-Fencing: Sale of stolen goods through

technological means
• Fraudulent Instruments: Including

counterfeiting and forgery through
technological means
Ancillary Crimes
• Money Laundering
 An enterprise or practice of engaging in
deliberate financial transactions to conceal the
identity, source, and/or destination of income
 Usually a critical element for organized crime
to function
Ancillary Crimes
• Process of Money Laundering

 Placement (point of entry of illicit funds)
 Layering (using networks to obscure origins of
funds)
 Integration (return of funds to legitimate
economy)
Ancillary Crimes
• Combating Money Laundering

 Finding
 Freezing (accounts)
 Forfeiture (of funds)
• This can be accomplished by:

 Holding Internet service providers accountable
for failure to maintain adequate records
 Making financial institutions responsible for
inadequate security
 Enforcing “Know Your Customers” regulations
Conclusions
• Technology both enhances & threatens modern

society.
• Computer crime is increasing for a variety of
reasons:
 Computers are equivalent to storage warehouses
 Increasing connectivity & interdependence of
infrastructures
 Technical expertise is decreasingly important
 Increasing number of threat groups with
sophisticated methodologies & advance technology
 Government apathy

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PPT 04

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Computer Forensics and Cyber

• Explore the current state of Internet

• Identify emerging trends in web-based

• Develop a working knowledge of the six

• Become familiar with more computer

• Gain knowledge of modern terrorists and

• Computer crime can involve more than

• Online crime, however, can include:

• Dissemination of contraband or offensive

• Viruses, their design, and dissemination,

• Worms seem primarily used to set up a

• Botnets and Zombie Armies

• Adeliberate, politically or religiously motivated

Smith et al., 2008: 376.

• e-Fencing: Sale of stolen goods through

• Fraudulent Instruments: Including

• Process of Money Laundering

• Combating Money Laundering

• This can be accomplished by:

• Technology both enhances & threatens modern

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