Cyber Crime Regulations: Worldwide Overview
Some interesting facts released by the United Nations Conference On Trade and Development (UNCTAD) global mapping for legislations against cyber crime reveal that many more countries, even in Asia and Africa, are giving priority to the issue of cyber crime. A total of 107 countries now have a data protection and privacy legislation measures in full place.
It becomes obvious that cyber crime is a towering global threat, one for which trillions of dollars are being spent in a desperate but necessary effort to combat and contain it. And as such, it is important that we know just what cyber crime entails.
What Is Cyber Crime?
Cyber crime generally refers to offended and illegal activities that involve computers and global electronic computer networks. Some of these activities are inspired by various goals, from profit-seeking intruders to eerie cases of cyber terrorism, from identity attacks to corporate systems attacks, and from wanton damage to property all the way down to sheer obscenity.
Whether the computer was used to commit the crime, or whether it was the target of the crime, as long as the offense involves a computer it is a standard case to be regarded as a cyber crime. Examples of cyber crime include the following:
- Exchanging child or even adult pornography;
- Revenge porn;
- Copyright infringement;
- Harassment and stalking (also known as cyberbullying);
- Cyberattacks (which disrupt the activities of legalized computer networks);
- Espionage;
- Identity theft;
- Fraud (including bank and credit card frauds among other schemes).
Federal Fraud Statutes
Crimes against information and information systems, crimes against communications and technology and the internet are all regarded as cyber crimes. Due to the massive reach of these crimes, the response against them is coordinated and global. Organizations and individuals in their own best interest should always seek to adhere to regulatory requirements that have been laid down in view of curbing cyber crimes.
Everyone must understand that the use of the internet for cyber crimes results in criminal prosecution with disastrous consequences. Examples of such clamp downs carried out by governments include such as the Megaload case and the DDoS attack on the website of the US Department Of Justice (Cybercrimes, 2018).
Several federal statutes have been passed in the US to prohibit the use of some ports as a means for perpetrating cyber crime. These include:
- Email Fraud Statute
Thus is in connection with internet spam and scams. It is prohibited to access a protected computer without authorization for the purpose of sending or transmitting or relaying commercial messages or altering header information in/through electronic mail with fraudulent intent.
- Computer Fraud Statute
It is a crime to access a lone computer or a computer network without proper authorization for the purpose of trafficking passwords or classified information or for perpetrating fraud or for passing malicious code.
- Wire Fraud Statue
It is a federal crime to take advantage of the radio, television, wire or cable networks or any kind of computer used by governments or corporations or financial institutions to indulge in fraudulent schemes.
What You Can Do Against Cyber Crime?
There are a few things one can do as an individual to assist in the fight against cyber crime. The foremost of these is to know the various laws against cyber crime in different countries across the globe (Cybercrime Law, 2017). After you have taken the time and put in the necessary effort to know these laws, it is equally important to comply with these regulations, whether you are an individual or a financial institution or a business or a corporate identity.
You must also train your staff or family and friends how to recognize cyber crime, to desist from practicing it or getting involved in anything that even looks like it, and to immediately report any suspicious activity they come across to the appropriate authorities.
