NCJ Number
210523
Date Published
March 2005
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This background paper for a workshop at the 11th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (April 18-25, 2005, in Bangkok) analyzes the status of computer-related crime and recommends measures to combat it.
Abstract
The global proliferation of new information and communication technologies has spawned more forms of computer-related crime that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer systems, as well as critical infrastructure. Variations in the levels and degrees of technological adaptation to the computer age have created a "digital divide" that makes some regions more vulnerable to computer-related crime. Combating such crime poses a number of forensic problems related to the collection and admissibility of intangible and transient digital evidence. New investigative expertise is also required to trace criminal activity and its effects through a variety of Internet service providers and sometimes across national borders, which involves issues of jurisdiction and sovereignty. Such challenges require international cooperation in countering computer-related crime. This cooperation, in turn, requires that countries have the legal, procedural, and regulatory tools essential for dealing with computer-related crime. This paper discusses the national legislation that is a prerequisite for international cooperation; and it offers recommendations for international cooperation in researching computer-related crime as well as for public and private-sector cooperation in countering such crimes. Seven recommendations are offered for consideration by the 11th Congress in its efforts to address computer-related crime. 45 notes