ICT crime classification

Crime classification is a very important step in every investigation; G. Mutusovskly says that “constant development of criminalistical characteristic of crimes is explained by the necessity of improving methods of their detection on the base of getting to know the nature of the criminal action itself, it’s mechanism, ways regularities of the inquiry process, and peculiarities of reflected evidences.”

Success in investigating any crime mostly depends on an investigators ability to understand not only the criminal-legal nature but also the criminalistical nature of the committed crime only under definite conditions. He should know typical criminalistic evidences of different crimes and be capable of revealing necessary criminalistical characteristic of a corresponding crime.
Trial-psychological characteristic reflects the most substantial psychological data on criminals and victims, typical groups of witnesses as to separate kinds of crimes and so on.

Different characteristics are used as a complex in the practical activity of crime investigation, every of which aims at making investigation more effective and establishing truth in a case.

Not enough research has been done on computer crimes classification; however, current research gives us three broad classifications:

CRIME OF MISCHIEF:

People who partake in this kind of criminal activity are usually young and curios mostly in their late teens and early twenties. They have developed competence and skills in computers and engage in breaking into computer security systems for a thrill, i.e. they get psychological arousal by successfully breaking into computer security systems. These people are generally called crackers and not hackers. Research confirms that not withstanding their competence in computers, they usually succeed to break into secured systems by chance. Though they serve to identify flaws in systems, they are criminals by virtue that they enter into secured systems without authority. In more advanced countries, such young people who do not have criminal motives in their activities are usually considered by security managers and law enforcement agencies for employment. There is however a class of mischief criminals who design and spread viruses to mess software for ‘kicks’. They get psychological stimulation out of success in it .Their crime is software vandalism. Amid relentless progress in urbanisation and the information society, more and more people are losing contact with the community and are harbouring amorphous hatred in isolation and alienation, perhaps that is why they engage in these crimes. Often offenders show no remorse for their crimes and even boast of their accomplishment.

ICT-OCCUPATIONAL CRIMES:

Persons who engage in this form of crime violate criminal law in the course of their occupational activities and do not conceive themselves as criminals but rather as respectable citizens.

They are generally employees and hence they have the technical know how, access and opportunity to carry out most of what is considered criminal. Insiders have perpetrated a lot of criminal activities. Their most common targets include breaking into credit facilities. Information databases, espionage, piracy of software and programmes and even subscribing and down loading child pornographic material.

Outsiders contracted such as suppliers, computer systems engineers, can gain access to computer systems and networks and may enter and steal information, alter data bases, or install viruses.

Project managers both in governmental organisations and NGOs will often embezzle money entrusted to them. They will attempt to alter computer records to cover-up their activities. These cover-ups are not so sophisticated and whenever suspicion arises, they are often easy to investigate.

Example: Some unscrupulous professionals at the Stock brokerage firms manipulate equity markets in what is now known as the ‘pump’ and ‘dump’ scheme. Typified by dissemination of false but rather positive information about a company stock. This usually causes the band wagon effect (Pump) and the unsuspecting dear public rush in to buy the shares of the company which at the time the prices are very high. The crooked professionals proceed to sell their shares (Dump) and make a fortune while the share prices return to their original cost.

Racketeering also falls to this class. (Racketeering The process of repeated (pervasive) fraud or other crimes)

PROFESSIONAL ICT-CRIMES:

People who engage in professional ICT-Crimes are characterised by specialised skills in computers, ICT gizmos, gadgets etc. and their activities are either aimed towards economic gain or extremist goals like cyber-terrorism. Cyber-terrorism is a reflection in the cyberspace of a threat against a country usually in the form of distribution of hate propaganda against citizens of the said country; distribution of bomb making technology and attacking systems that forms part of a nations critical infrastructure. These individuals make crime their profession. Criminal hackers fall on this class. One of the widely used methods by professional ICT-criminals for obtaining payment card requisites in criminal structures is creating porno web sites. According to foreign special services, the Internet porno business is closely related to professional criminal groups specialising in plastic card frauds.

Porno web sites are also used to launder stolen card requisites. For example, after visiting of a porno site, a card owner finds out, with surprise, that he/she subscribed for the service and it will collect subscription fees monthly, and it is quite problematic to cancel.

Consider this other example, UP and ATM: though no case has been reported in Kenya, this type of activity has been repeated in less innocuous fashion. Criminals have been known to build false fronts for automated teller at banks. These devices fit over regular machines and are similar in appearance. The false front will accept cards, prompt for the holder’s Personal Identity Number (PIN), and the give a message about some problem and a suggestion to contact the bank in the morning. After a few hours, the crooks collect the device; remove the card read the stored PIN’s and spend a few hours extracting as much cash as possible at legitimate bank machines using the cards and access codes collected.

Professional ICT-Criminals carry out ICT-Crimes or use computers as a means of concealing other crimes (staging). Illegal groups like the Skin Heads, Ku Klux Klan, Al-Qaeda terrorist movement and other anti-social groups have found the internet a fertile ground for recruitment and spread their ideologies. Other crimes committed by these criminals include:

1. Card forgery;

2. Money Laundering;
3. Lost or stolen card fraud;
4. Multiple payments of service and goods;
5. Post or phone order fraud;
6. Repeated cash withdrawal;
7. Slip fraud;
8. ATM fraud;
9. Skimming (connecting an electronic recorder to the POS/ terminal or ATM);
10. Child pornography;
11. Blackmail;
12. Kidnapping and Rape;
13. Narcotics;
14. Terrorism; &
15. Hate Crimes (neo-Nazis, KKK e.t.c)