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'Hi-tech crime' or 'e-crime' covers any crime committed against or using computer systems, from hacking into an organisation's website and defacing it to online identity fraud or child abuse internet sites. One example of this is 'phishing' which involves criminals using the Internet to deceive people into disclosing their credit card numbers, bank account details or other valuable information.
Criminals have sought to exploit the Internet as it offers a rapid and prolific means of communicating as well as a good chance of anonymity. However, it is important to note that the Internet is simply a new vehicle for committing an offence; on the whole, it has merely changed the way in which many old crimes such as fraud, blackmail and the distribution of obscene and other illegal images are being committed.
Government regularly reviews all legislation to ensure that it is robust enough to criminalise offences whether they are committed on or off line. Where legislation does not adequately cover the modern means of offending, appropriate changes are made. For example, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced a new grooming offence and risk of sexual harm orders, to help protect children from paedophiles who use the Internet.
In April 2001, the Home Office established the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) as part of the National Crime Squad to combat national and transnational hi-tech crime within or that impacts upon the UK. As well as funding this unit, dedicated resources are also allocated to every local force in England and Wales to provide for the salaries, equipment and training of investigators in specialist units dealing with hi-tech crime investigations.
Scams seeking to deprive an individual of their money are not new crimes. The Internet has merely offered the perpetrators of such offences a new means of making contact with potential victims. Many online scams involve bogus online auctions, dubious work-at-home schemes and phoney credit card offers. One particular scam originates from West Africa and involves an e-mail designed to obtain the recipient's bank account details by offering to transfer large sums to them for safe keeping. It is often referred to as the 'West African advanced fee fraud' or the '419 fraud' after the relevant section of Nigeria's criminal code.
For more information on what to do to protect yourself from online fraud, go to http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/scams/page3.htm#internet [External website]
The Home Office is producing a government e-crime strategy which aims to provide a coherent, consolidated statement of the government position across departments in relation to e-crime. It provides a framework for government, law enforcement and industry action in response to e-crime, seeking to resolve current questions as well as advancing and informing the debate on longer-term issues.
The e-crime strategy will focus on issues such as the reporting of e-crime, crime reduction and prevention, legislation, the policing response, the role of business and the community in combating e-crime, and international co-operation.
For business, online fraud and 'Denial of Service' (when an information system is prevented from working properly) attacks, and the effects of viruses, worms or trojans are of growing concern. Incidents of hi-tech crime are believed to be on the increase yet many of these incidents go unreported.
When a business is broken into and their office equipment is stolen or damaged, the first thing they tend to do is call the police. However, if that same business becomes a target for a hi-tech criminal who may be out to extort money from them or wishes to wreak revenge for some reason by attacking their computer systems, then they tend not to be so keen on involving law enforcement.
There may be many reasons for this. The most significant seems to be that they are concerned that the police will march into their offices, take away all their IT software and hardware, and that they will be left with no way of carrying on the business they were trying to protect. Alternatively, they may be afraid of the embarrassment they may be caused by the event being made public.
The NHTCU is well aware of the concerns that industry has regarding the disruption any investigation might cause a business. In response it has developed a Confidentiality Charter [External website]. The Charter is designed to provide reassurance that business can report hi-tech activity and attacks without fear of causing unwelcome interference to their business.
The NHTCU has an Industry Liaison Team which is working to establish relationships with business to promote the mutual exchange of information. This relationship is vital to creating a safe and lawful digital environment for organisations to conduct their business in.
The CTCP project explores the underlying scientific evidence, takes technologists' views of what might be possible and makes a leap into the future of 2018 to show some of the ways in which the UK might evolve. It aims to identify and tackle issues which information and communications technologies might present particularly in relation to e-crime. For more information go to http://www.foresight.gov.uk [External website]
Sources: NHTCU, APACS and the BBA