Federal Computer Crime Laws.pdfVIP

? S A N S I n s ti tu te 2 0 0 4 , A u th o r r e ta in s f u ll r ig h ts . Key fingerprint = AF19 FA27 2F94 998D FDB5 DE3D F8B5 06E4 A169 4E46 ? SANS Institute 2004, As part of the Information Security Reading Room Author retains full rights. 1 Federal Computer Crime Laws Maxim May GSEC Practical 1.4b June 1, 2004 Abstract The Internet has been a boon to business, science, education and just about any field you can think of, including crime. Just like every human invention, Internet has two sides to it, on the one hand it allows businesses to be more productive and scientists to share research data almost instantaneously, on the other hand it grants criminals an additional tool to commit crimes and get away with it. Because of its unique nature that transcends national borders and the anonymity that it allows for its users, Internet is perfect for those who wish to evade the law. Computer related crime is an unavoidable risk that all IT professionals have to face and protect their networks against, as such it is important to know what laws are there that deal with computer related crime. In this paper I will describe the major US federal legislation that has been enacted to deal specifically with the problem of computer crime. Computer Crimes Internet has spawned new forms of crimes and made old crimes easier to commit, cyber-stalking, identity theft, child pornography, fraud and scams, copyright violations, hacking and creating malicious code, the list goes on and on. In a 2003 survey conducted by the CSI with the participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Computer Intrusion Squad, of the 530 respondents made up of U.S. corporations, government agencies, financial institutions, medical institutions and universities, 56% reported unauthorized use of their computer systems.1 The total financial loss amongst 251 respondents who chose to report it was $201,797,340. Of that amount the greatest portion, $70,195,900, was lost due to the