Computer Crime and International Issues

Computer crimes, also known as cybercrime, costs consumers, retail companies and corporations billions of dollars annually. Not only is cybercrime becoming more sophisticated, but it's also more difficult to trace and, ultimately, prosecute those who commit the crimes. This is because a single cybercrime operation can be spread across several countries -- even continents -- and authorities in one country can't enforce their own laws against criminals in another sovereign country without cooperation from law enforcement there.

1. Background

   • Cybercrime is growing in countries where there are large numbers of people with advanced computer skills, but few information technology jobs available. A 2007 analysis by IT security firm Sophos Labs found that China produced 30 percent of the world's malicious software, followed by Brazil with 14.2 percent and Russia with 4.1 percent. The United States and other non-British English-speaking countries produced about one-third of the world's malware. Europe was the source of more spam than any other continent, and China hosted more Web pages that would secretly install malicious software on computers of visitors.

   Challenges

   • One of the major challenges law enforcement authorities have with investigating cybercrime is "phishing" and spam attacks are created by botnets: a group of Internet-connected computers that forward malicious transmissions such as spam or viruses without the computer's user knowing about it. This makes it difficult to trace the attack to the original source. In addition, a cybercrime operation could include a group in one country that created the botnet, while a group in another country rents computers to send fraudulent emails to steal banking information and a third group in another country might transfer the stolen funds.

   Strategic Alliance

   • In 2006, an alliance was formed among law enforcement officials in five countries, including Australia's Federal Police, Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police, New Zealand's Police, the United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation. These officials formed the Strategic Alliance Cyber Crime Working Group, with the goal of sharing forensic tools, joint training and public awareness strategies. Among the group's other activities are launching information bulletins on emerging global cybercrime threats and a closer information-sharing on transnational cyber threats to look at trends and vulnerabilities.

   Cybercrime Laws

   • According to the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement authorities investigating cybercrimes face the challenge of varying criminal laws among different countries, finding criminals across borders and securing the electronic evidence of the crimes. In November 2001, the United States and 29 other countries signed the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, which required each country to establish laws specifically against cybercrime. The agreement was intended to enable more cooperation between law enforcement authorities in different countries and prosecute cybercrimes more effectively.