BUL3310 - Chapter 7

Hacker

A person who uses one computer to break into another.

Phishing

Sending an electronic message purportedly from a legitimate business to induce the recipient to reveal personal information.

Robbery

The act of forcefully and unlawfully taking personal property from another

Cyber crime

A crime that occurs online.

Cyberterrorist

A hacker whose purpose is to create a serious negative impact.

Misdemeanor

A lesser crime than a felony.

Forgery

The fraudulent making or altering of any writing.

Embezzlement

The fraudulent taking of money or other property by a person to whom it has been entrusted.

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

The purpose of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was to *curb the apparently increasing entry of organized crime into the legitimate business world*.

Mail and Wire Fraud

A potent weapon against white-collar criminals is the federal laws that prohibit mail fraud and wire fraud. Under these acts, it is a federal crime to devise a scheme that uses the U.S. mail, commercial carriers (such as FedEx), or wire (including telegraph, telephone, television, and the Internet) with the intent to defraud the public.

The Exclusionary Rule

Rule preventing the government from using evidence gathered in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Learning Outcome 4: Summarize the defenses to criminal liability.

The most important defenses to criminal liability include *mistakes, insanity, and entrapment*. In some cases, defendants can be granted immunity from prosecution, or be prosecuted for a less serious offense, in exchange for information.

Learning Outcome 2: Outline the rights of criminal suspects.

The rights of accused persons are protected under the U.S. Constitution, particularly by the *Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments*. Under the exclusionary rule, evidence obtained in violation of the constitutional rights of the accused will not be admissible in court. Individuals must be informed of their constitutional rights, including their *right to counsel and their right to remain silent*, when taken into custody.

Commercial Bribery

Typically, people make commercial bribes to obtain proprietary information, cover up an inferior product, or secure new business. Industrial espionage sometimes involves commercial bribes.

Federal Crimes under RICO

Under RICO, it is a federal crime to do the following: • Use income obtained from racketeering activity to purchase any interest in an enterprise. • Acquire or maintain an interest in an enterprise through racketeering activity. • Conduct or participate in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity. • Conspire to do any of the preceding acts.

Crime

A wrong against society punishable by fines, imprisonment, or death.

Computer crime

Crime that involves knowledge of computer technology for its perpetration, investigation, or prosecution.

Probable cause

Reasonable grounds for believing a search will reveal a specific illegality.

Learning Outcome 5: Know the legal protection for online victims.

The Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prohibits cyber theft, which is accessing, or attempting to access, a computer without authority to obtain classified or protected data. Penalties include fines and imprisonment for up to twenty years.

Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

The Fourth Amendment only protects against searches that violate a person's reasonable expectation of privacy. This exists if an individual actually expects privacy and the expectation is one that society, as a whole, thinks is legitimate.

Larceny

The wrongful taking and carrying away of another person's personal property.

Jurisdiction and Identification Challenges

A threshold issue in investigating and prosecuting cyber crime is jurisdiction. For example, a person who commits an act against a business in California, where the act is a cyber crime, might never have set foot in California but might instead reside in New York, where the act may not be a crime. Identifying the wrongdoer can also be difficult. Cyber criminals do not leave physical traces, such as fingerprints or DNA samples, as evidence of their crimes. Even electronic "footprints" can be hard to find and follow

Entrapment

An act by which a public official induces someone to commit a crime.

Identity theft

The act of stealing another's identifying information and using it to access the victim's financial resources.

Bribery of Public Officials

The attempt to influence a public official to act in a way that serves a private interest is a crime. The bribe can be anything the recipient considers to be valuable. The commission of the crime occurs when the bribe is offered. The recipient does not have to agree to perform whatever action is desired by the person offering the bribe, nor does the recipient have to accept the bribe.

Civil vs. Criminal Law

1. One important difference between civil and criminal law involves the *burden of proof* required. In a civil case, the plaintiff usually must prove his or her case by a *preponderance of the evidence*. That is, the plaintiff must convince the court that, based on the evidence, it is more likely than not that the plaintiff's allegation is true. In a criminal case, in contrast, the state must prove its case *beyond a reasonable doubt*—a much stricter standard. 2. In a *criminal case*, the jury's verdict normally must be *unanimous*—that is, every juror must agree in order to convict the defendant. In a *civil trial* by jury, however, typically only *three-fourths of the jurors* need to agree. 3. Another difference is that the sanctions—fines, imprisonment, or death—imposed on criminal wrongdoers are *harsher than those in civil cases*. The purpose of tort law is to compensate the victims of torts, not to punish the wrongdoers. In contrast, criminal sanctions are designed to punish those who commit crimes and to deter others from committing similar acts in the future.

Two elements must exist for a person to be convicted of a crime:

1. the *performance* of a prohibited act and 2. a specified state of mind, or *intent*, on the part of the actor.

Immunity

Accused persons cannot be forced to give information to the police or other authorities if it will be used to prosecute them. This privilege against self-incrimination is granted by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. To obtain information from a person accused of a crime, however, the state can grant that person immunity from prosecution. In addition, the state can agree to prosecute the accused person for a less serious offense in exchange for the information.

Search warrant

An order from a judge authorizing the search or seizure of private property.

Cyber fraud

Any misrepresentation knowingly made online with the intention of deceiving another for gain.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

At the federal level, the Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is commonly known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), is the *most important legislation targeting cyber crime*. The CFAA provides that a *person who accesses a computer online without authority to obtain classified, restricted, or protected data, or attempts to do so, is subject to criminal prosecution*.

Bribery of Foreign Officials

Bribing foreign officials to obtain favorable business contracts is a crime. The *Foreign Corrupt Practices Act* was passed to prevent U.S. business persons from using bribery to secure foreign contracts.

Learning Outcome 3: List the crimes that affect business.

Crimes affecting business include *forgery, robbery, larceny, embezzlement, mail and wire fraud, and bribery*. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act helps to curb organized crime.

Classification of Crimes

Crimes are classified as felonies or misdemeanors. *Felonies* are serious crimes punishable by death or by imprisonment in a federal or state penitentiary for more than a year. Under federal law and in most states, any crime that is not a felony is a misdemeanor. *Misdemeanors* are crimes punishable by a fine or by confinement for up to a year. If imprisoned, the guilty party goes to a local jail instead of a penitentiary. Disorderly conduct and trespass are common examples of misdemeanors.

Malware

Malicious software programs designed to disrupt or harm computers.

Business Crimes under RICO

Most of the criminal RICO offenses have little to do with normal business activities. *Securities fraud* (involving the sale of stocks and bonds) and *mail fraud*, however, can be criminal violations under RICO. The act has become an effective tool in attacking these white-collar crimes.

White-collar crimes.

Nonviolent crime committed in the business world.

Constitutional Safeguards

The Fourth Amendment protection from *unreasonable searches and seizures*. The Fourth Amendment requirement that *no warrants for a search or an arrest can be issued without probable cause*. The Fifth Amendment requirement that no one can be deprived of *"life, liberty, or property without due process of law."* The Fifth Amendment prohibition against *double jeopardy*—that is, trying someone twice for the same criminal offense. The Fifth Amendment requirement that no person can be forced to be a *witness against (incriminate) himself* or herself. The Sixth Amendment guarantees of a *speedy trial*, a trial by *jury*, a *public trial*, the right to *confront witnesses*, and the right to a *lawyer* at various stages in some proceedings. The Eighth Amendment prohibitions against *excessive bail* and fines and against *cruel and unusual punishment*.

Learning Outcome 1: Indicate elements of criminal liability.

The elements of criminal liability are (1) the *performance* of a prohibited act and (2) a specified state of mind, or *intent*.

Defenses to Criminal Liability

The law recognizes several defenses that excuse a defendant's criminal behavior. Among the most important defenses to criminal liability are *mistake, insanity, and entrapment*. Also, in some cases, defendants are given immunity and thus relieved, at least in part, of criminal liability for crimes they committed.