|
| |
| Home >> General Public User>>Cyber Law>>UK>>Computer Crimes |
Computer Crimes |
The increase and integration of computers into all areas of the present society has unavoidably led to varied computer related criminal activities. In such criminal activities, the computer may constitute the instrument of crime, as in the cases of murder and fraud; the object of the crime, as in the case of theft of the processor chips; or the subject of the crime, such as hacking and distributing viruses. From time to time, the criminal law has been amended for the purpose of addressing some of the issues brought up by the involvement of computers in criminal activities. Under the English law, the offences which are relevant to crimes involving the use of computers have been divided into two categories –
(a) the traditional types of criminal offence which may be committed using computers, such as fraud; and
(b) the new offences which have been established particularly, to address activities distinct to a computer environment, such as distributing computer viruses.
Successful prosecution of perpetrators of computer crime is very rare. Till date, there are comparatively, very few cases which have been brought before the courts. This kind of negligence owes to various reasons, such as, lack of reporting by victims and lack of adequate training within prosecuting authorities. The transnational nature of computer crime and the associated jurisdictional problems also, contribute to the complexities in the procedure of investigating and prosecuting offenders. Moreover, networking of computers creates serious forensic challenges to the law enforcement agencies while obtaining evidence and subsequently presenting it before the courts. The computer crimes are governed by various legislations, such as, the Theft Act, 1968, the Criminal Damage Act, 1971, the Computer Misuse Act, 1990, the Telecommunications Act, 1984, the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act, 1981 and the Criminal Law Act, 1977.
|
|
|
