Text 2 Computer Crime

Homicide and rape have changed little for centuries, but forms of theft have altered greatly. For example, train robbery did not exist until trains began carrying currancy, gold, and wealthy passengers. Thieves have always adjusted their strategics to the technologies and opportunities of the times. One of the latest features is theft by computer.

The electronic computer is only about fifty years old but is already an integral (necessary) aspect of our lives. Business and finance, as we know it, would be impossible without the computer. The computer seems for most of us to be a mysterious genius which guides rockets in space, play chess, etc. But it is no genius. It is a stupid tool for handling great numbers of data with incredible (невероятный) speed. It is all the same for the computer to whom it obeys and for what purposes. The computer cannot identify fraudulent checks and fraudulent data. When the data are of great value, the computer becomes a target for fraud, especially the data concerning property, services, and money which can be transferred from one account to another within the computer. The thieves are not only bookkeepers and tellers (кассир в банке), but also computer programmers, operators and engineers.

Because the computer is so new, all the ways it can be used in crime are yet to be discovered.

There are three basic criminal uses of computers:

1. Embezzlement. This is a modern workplace crime. An employee writes a computer program which diverts company assents (актив, имущество) for his or her personal use. So here the trusted (доверенные) employees steal from their employers.

2. Falsification of company records. This is usually a crime by company managers who are attempting to mispresent the company’s assets. Here the crime is committed by the compa­ny, not against it.

3. Theft of computer data. This crime may be committed by insiders (сотрудник oрганизации) or by outsiders with insiders’ assistance. It includes stealing of programs - which can be very valuable - for use of other companies, or the theft of other information stored in the computer which may be con­fidential and valuable.

Of course, companies and financial institutions have used many security means to prevent and discover computer crime. But in spite of this criminal can do a great damage in a very short. time

Offender characteristics.

Here we are dealing with a new kind of crime. The offen­ders are not like the typical street criminals. They are young - eighteen to thirty years old - and possess selfconfindence, recklessness (отвага) and desperation (безрассудство). But, above all, they are good employees.

The best way to identify the potential perpetrator is on the basis of skills, knowledge and ассеss (доступ) possessed by people engaged in computer technology. Perpetrators are usually bright, highly motivated, courageous like adventures and are qualified people, who know as much about the system as the designers do.

In the computer crimes there are from two to dozens of people cooperating in the offence because of the complex tech­nology of computers.

Computer manipulations are often used in colleges and Universities by students to change their grades on their trans­cripts or to receive the right answer to their research work.

As the technology exists the computer crimes will take on new forms and will represent serious problems for present law enforcement.

Notes:

altered – изменились

have adjusted – разрешили споры, уладили

incredible - невероятный

assents – активы, имущество

trusted employees – доверенные сотрудники

insiders – cотрудники организации

damage – ущерб, урон, убытки

recklessness - отвага

desperation - безрассудство

acesess – доступ